Two state consortia, one led by California and the other Wisconsin, have just submitted applications for the full $10.7 million available in a federal grant competition to create English-language-proficiency exams pegged to the common-core standards, my colleague Mary Ann Zehr writes over at the Learning the Language blog.
She notes that the two separate applications will force the U.S. Department of Education to decide if it will split up the money or choose one winner.
Some states with a large number of English-language learners are not a member of either consortium, Mary Ann says, including New York and Texas. (The Lone Star State did not adopt the common-core standards.)
Idaho, South Carolina, and Tennessee are apparently part of both consortia, each of which is proposing to develop computer-based assessments. Mary Ann’s blog post has lots more details, if this topic is of greater interest.