Accommodations for Students with Disabilities on State English Language Proficiency Assessments: A Review of 2011 State Policies
Author: Christensen, Laurene L.
Date: 2013-08-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: English Language Learners,State Policy,Disabilities,Student Participation,Student Evaluation,Federal Legislation,Accountability,Academic Achievement,State Standards,Language Proficiency,Individualized Education Programs,Educational Legislation,Adaptive Testing,Reading Tests,Writing Tests,Evaluation Methods,Listening Skills,Speech Tests,Testing Accommodations,Blindness,Visual Impairments,Braille,Visual Aids,Assistive Technology,Cues,Hearing Impairments,Deafness,Computers,Translation,Severity (of Disability),Decision Making,Oral Reading,Prompting,Sign Language,Deaf Interpreting,Native Language,Equipment,Scheduling

English language learners (ELLs) with disabilities are required to participate in all state and district assessments similar to their peers without disabilities. This includes assessments used for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I accountability purposes for demonstrating proficiency in academic content, assessments used for Title III purposes to measure yearly growth in English proficiency (in reading, writing, speaking, and listening), and other state and local assessments administered to all students. This report documents states' participation and accommodation policies for ELLs with disabilities on their English Language Proficiency (ELP) assessments. The states' online policies from 2011, after state verification, showed that 49 states addressed participation criteria for ELLs with disabilities. Of these states, 36 states allowed for selective participation of students with disabilities on the ELP assessment, meaning that a student may participate in some domains but not others. Most often, ELLs who were deaf/hard of hearing or who had visual impairments or blindness were considered for selective participation. Across the 50 states and the District of Columbia, policies varied with regard to whether an IEP or 504 plan was required to receive an accommodation. A total of 37 states mentioned that an IEP or 504 plan was required. However, five states did not require an IEP or 504 plan in order for an ELL to receive an accommodation on the ELP assessment. An additional nine states provided no policy information. Specific accommodation policies also varied across states. The accommodations most often allowed were Large Print (N = 46) and Proctor/Scribe (N = 42). The most often prohibited accommodations were Bilingual Dictionary (N = 38) and Native Language Translation of Test (N = 35). The summary of findings suggests that, over time, states have become more detailed in their policies relating to participation and accommodations for ELLs with disabilities on ELP assessments. Continued attention to the participation and performance of ELLs with disabilities in ELP and other state assessments is essential. Two appendices present: (1) State Documents Used in Analysis of Participation; and (2) Participation and Accommodation Guidelines by State. [This report was produced by the Improving Validity of Assessment Results for English Language Learners with Disabilities (IVARED) project of the National Center on Educational Outcomes.]