The Michigan Department of Education is looking at whether to offer MEAPs, or some comparable substitute, in Spanish and Arabic to more than 27,000 students statewide. The Detroit News Fifth-grader Fatma Makki asks a question in her Dearborn class. MEAP tests may be offered in Arabic. A decision from Washington will take several months. As immigrant populations increase in many areas of the country, tensions are rising over whether native languages should be recognized officially in the schools, on government forms and even on driver's license examinations.
Refugees show up in Hazel Park who have been out of school in their homeland for many years.
They may have been in schools in different countries. The department is reviewing Michigan's policies and progress with its students for whom English is a second language. The department may agree that Michigan is doing fine by its newcomers, Cohen said. All kids need to be included in a state's assessment and accountability. Other languages may be looked at if the state is required to track immigrant students' progress, Brown said.