Academic Assessment of English Language Learners

Abstract

This chapter discusses why testing policies and practices cannot produce valid measures of student achievement if English language learners (ELLs) are not properly characterized. It also discusses what an ELL is from the perspective of bilingualism as both an individual and a population—a distinction not clearly reflected in current approaches to ELL testing. The chapter examines how, in order to ensure valid and fair testing for ELLs, appropriate samples of these students should be included in the entire process of test development. It also examines a common practice in ELL testing—adapting tests originally developed for a mainstream population. The chapter shows that the validity of measures of ELL academic achievement is linked to the capacity of assessment systems to address randomness and develop testing models consistent with basic principles about language and the nature of linguistic groups. It concludes with a short summary and a reflection on the future use of critical, probabilistic, systemic perspective in large-scale testing for ELLs.