Should English language learners participate in state and district assessments?
All students should be included in educational accountability systems. This includes students who are learning English and other content at the same time. Some students will participate in the same way as other students; they will take regular state or district tests with no accommodations. Other students will participate in regular assessments using accommodations to enable them to better demonstrate their skills by reducing the language load of the test. Some students with limited English proficiency may need to participate in an alternate state or district assessment that measures the same standards as the regular assessments, but in a different format from traditional assessments (e.g., performance assessments). Alternate assessments comprise an emerging approach to including all English language learners in state and district assessments. Students who participate in these alternate assessments should still be part of the overall accountability system. 2. Why is it important to inc
