Education Policy Analysis Archives (EPAA)
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Publisher
Arizona State University, University of South Florida
Publication Date
January 2008
Abstract
School reform efforts across the US have focused on creating systems in which all students are expected to achieve to high standards. To ensure that students reach those standards and to document what students know and can do, schools collect assessment information on students’ academic achievement. More information is needed, however, to find out when such assessments are appropriate for English learners and can provide meaningful information about what such learners know and can do. We describe and discuss a study that addresses the question of when it is appropriate to administer content area tests in English to English learners. Drawing on the student database of San Francisco Unified School District, we examined the effect of language demands on the SAT/9 mathematics scores of Chinese-speaking and Spanish-speaking students. Our results showed that while the English language demands of the problem solving subscale affect all students, they have a larger effect on English learners’ performance, thus rendering the tests inaccurate in measuring English learners’ subject matter achievement.
Keywords
Bilingual students, Educational evaluation
Extent
29
Volume
16
Issue
1
Language
English; Spanish
Media Type
Journals (Periodicals)
Format
Digital Only
Note
Citation: Tsang, S.-L., Katz, A., & Stack, J. (2008). Achieving testing for English Language Learners, ready or not?. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 16(1). Retrieved [date] from http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v16n1/.
Identifier
E11-00531
Creative Commons
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Tsang, Sau-Lim; Katz, Anne; and Stack, Jim, "Achievement Testing for English Language Learners, Ready or Not?" (2008). Education Policy Analysis Archives (EPAA). 245.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/usf_EPAA/245
