What About English Language Learners (ELLs)?
"Because almost all assessments measure language proficiency to some degree... ELLs may receive lower scores on content area assessments administered in English than they would if they took the same tests in a language in which they were proficient."
The above quote is from a publication by the Educational Testing Service, "Guidelines for Assessing English Language Learners"
While nearly all assessments of children, particularly young children, have Spanish language versions (and many have versions in other languages as well), the Oregon KA tests require all children to answer in English. While the teacher or the person giving the test can provide instructions to the child in Spanish, many choose not to do this because it just makes it more confusing for the child.
Although lower test scores for children who have recently immigrated is to expected for a variety of reasons - including the compounding effects of poverty and low social status - the "language" factor should not be one of the reasons. It's incumbent on the test developers to ensure this. As the developers of the tests used in the KA did not do this, the results for ELLs underestimate their actual abilities.
"Because almost all assessments measure language proficiency to some degree... ELLs may receive lower scores on content area assessments administered in English than they would if they took the same tests in a language in which they were proficient."
The above quote is from a publication by the Educational Testing Service, "Guidelines for Assessing English Language Learners"
While nearly all assessments of children, particularly young children, have Spanish language versions (and many have versions in other languages as well), the Oregon KA tests require all children to answer in English. While the teacher or the person giving the test can provide instructions to the child in Spanish, many choose not to do this because it just makes it more confusing for the child.
Although lower test scores for children who have recently immigrated is to expected for a variety of reasons - including the compounding effects of poverty and low social status - the "language" factor should not be one of the reasons. It's incumbent on the test developers to ensure this. As the developers of the tests used in the KA did not do this, the results for ELLs underestimate their actual abilities.