Testing Accommodations for ESL Students

Appropriate Assessment Modifications for English Language Learners

Oct 24, 2009

NCLB requires that ELLs be provided accommodations when taking content assessments. Find out which accommodations are most responsive to and appropriate for ESL students.

As with special education students, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires that English language learners be provided accommodations when taking content-based standardized assessments. However, the accommodations designed for special education students are not appropriate for ESL students. In order for English language learners to successfully demonstrate their knowledge and skill in the contest areas of reading/ language arts, math, and science, their unique linguistic needs must be the focal point of any test-taking accommodations.

Responsive Content Assessment Accommodations for English Language Learners

Lynn Shafer Willner, Charlene Rivera, and Barbara D. Acosta, in the May 2009 issue of The Reading Teacher, argue that “most accommodations intended to mitigate the effects of cognitive or physical disabilities are inappropriate for ELLs who do not have such disabilities.” Instead, these educational researchers insist that changes to the testing procedures, testing materials, and/or the testing situation are needed so that ESL students can participate successfully in the assessment.

Further, these authors say that these accommodations must address “the unique linguistic and sociocultural needs” of the English language learner, but that they should not alter the “construct being tested.” ESL students need strategies that make the test directions and questions comprehensible to them, they do not need the content of the subject being tested dummied down or altered. The most responsive accommodations for ELLs will be those that help students with varying English proficiency access the content of the test.

In that vein, Willner, Rivera, and Acosta make a point to say that the ability of ESL students to perform successfully on any content area assessments ultimately depends on their having been taught the content being tested in the first place.

ELL Testing Strategies

Willner, Rivera, and Acosta, in their Reading Teacher article, outline two methods for providing appropriate and responsive test-taking accommodations for ESL students. The first is to design direct linguistic support to help students with the language of the test. The second is to plan for indirect linguistic support addressing the conditions under which ELLs take the test.

Some research-based suggestions for appropriate testing accommodations for ESL students include:

It is important that teachers assign accommodations based on individual student need. ESL students vary widely in their backgrounds, language proficiency levels, and linguistic needs. As Willner, Rivera, and Acosta point out, a “one-size-fits-all approach to accommodations is…unlikely to be effective.”

It is also important that ESL students practice test taking using the above or any accommodations prior to the actual test. For example, a bilingual dictionary will only be an effective tool if the student has had adequate experience using it prior to taking the test.

English language learners must be provided appropriate testing accommodations, according NCLB requirements. Responsive accommodations will address the unique linguistic needs of this student population and need to be designed specifically for ELLs. However, researchers Willner, Rivera, and Acosta say that the most important factor in ELLs’ success is whether they have been adequately taught the content being tested. As these researchers say, “If students have not been taught the content, accommodations are meaningless.”

More information about implementing accommodations for English language learners can be found in the ELL Accommodations Database compiled by the ELL Accommodations Research Team at the George Washington University Center for Equality and Excellence in Education.

Reference: Willner, Lynn Shafer; Rivera, Charlene, and Acosta, Barbara D. “Ensuring Accommodations Used in Contnent Assessments Are Responsive to English-Language Learners.” The Reading Teacher 62.8 (2009): 696-698.

The copyright of the article Testing Accommodations for ESL Students in ESL Programs/Lessons is owned by Margaret M. Williams. Permission to republish Testing Accommodations for ESL Students in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.