Published by the National
Center on Educational Outcomes
Number 4 / February 2002
Summary of
Teleconference on ELLs with Disabilities
On
January 28th,
2002, Martha Thurlow (National Center on Educational Outcomes), Gayle Potter (Arkansas
Department of Education), Nancy Maihoff (Delaware Department of Education), and Cynthia
Bryant (Office of Special Education Programs) participated in NCEO’s second
teleconference. With teams of state directors of special education, assessment, Title I,
ESL/Bilingual education, and accountability on speakerphones from 37 states, participants
talked about the issues that need to be considered when including English language
learners with disabilities in statewide assessments. Highlights of the presentations are
given here.
Research
Findings on the Participation and Performance of ELLs with Disabilities (Martha Thurlow):
Terminology
must be defined. Different terms are sometimes used to mean the same thing; sometimes the
same term is used to mean different things. The lack of clarity in terms used for the
population of students who are learning English as a second language make the
interpretation of test data difficult. In the teleconference, and in this summary, the
term English language learners (ELLs) is used to mean the same as limited English
proficient (LEP).
There
is very little information currently available on ELLs with disabilities in public data
reports from states. Even states with large ELL populations do not necessarily report data
for these students.
The
little data that are reported show that ELLs with disabilities generally score lower than
either ELLs without disabilities or students with disabilities who are native English
speakers.
Report from
Arkansas (Gayle Potter):
Arkansas
has an alternate portfolio assessment for LEP students and another for students with
disabilities. In the LEP portfolio assessment, the content standards, learning
expectations, and performance level descriptors are exactly the same as those for
grade-level native English speaking peers who take the regular state benchmark test. For
the LEP portfolios, some common tasks are adapted from released items on the regular paper
and pencil test and other entries are open ended. For the special education alternate
portfolio, the content standards are the same but the learning expectations are dependent
on the IEP. Data from the LEP and Special
Education Alternate Portfolio Assessments are just coming back in the winter of 2002.
Alignment
problems between the standards and instruction exist for the alternate portfolio, just as
they do for the regular statewide assessment. This is a general issue that relates back to
understanding the standards and infusing them into instruction.
Sometimes
there is a difference of opinion between the Special Education staff and the English as a
Second Language (ESL) staff over how a child who is an LEP student with a disability
should participate in the Arkansas state tests. The rule has been that special education
takes precedence. Since there is more work for the teacher associated with having students
in portfolio assessments, there is some concern that decisions about how to participate in
the assessment system may be driven by concerns about the amount of teacher work required
rather than correct placement.
Children
with no English are often misidentified as having a disability. There is a shift mid-year
out of special education when the teachers realize the child does not have a disability.
Report from
Delaware (Nancy Maihoff):
All
new students are in the state database within 10 days of their appearance in school and
are given an identification number that allows them to be tracked while they remain in the
state. Any student with a home language other
than English is tested with the LAS. If students score below a level 4 on the LAS they are
considered an English language learner.
It
is difficult to identify ELLs with disabilities when students are new to the state since
most special education assessments are for native English speakers. Students with obvious
physical disabilities are identified sooner than those with subtle disabilities.
Delaware’s
database allows data to be pulled on ELLs with disabilities. For 2001 testing, 275 ELLs
with disabilities were assessed – 10 were in the alternate assessment for students
with severe cognitive disabilities; 8 took the regular assessment with no accommodations.
The most frequently used accommodations for the others who took the regular assessment
were small group, re-reading or re-signing instructions, extra breaks, or testing over
several sessions.
Delaware
uses separate scanning sheets to track use of accommodations by ELLs and by students with
disabilities. For ELLs with disabilities, there is redundant information being collected
and entered. Delaware is working on a way to solve this problem.
ELLs
have a one-year exemption from participation in SAT9 testing if they are new to the state.
Schools may apply for a second year exemption for a student in special cases. A committee
of educators serves on the state-level board that reviews applications for extension of
exemption.
Delaware
is developing an alternate portfolio assessment for ELLs that will be operational in 2003.
When it is implemented, students will no longer be exempted from the DSTP.
Report from
OSEP (Cindy Bryant):
Read
the new OSEP guidance on assessing ELLs with disabilities. It should be out soon. It will
help address concerns over which side takes precedence in making testing decisions for
ELLs with disabilities.
There
will need to be variations in ways that students participate– including with
accommodations that meet individual needs, and alternate assessments (perhaps designed
specifically for ELLs as well as for IEP students).
Much
attention must be given to good decision-making and the issues surrounding these decisions
(does IEP or ELL come first; what accommodations address the language issues and which
address the disability issues, etc.).
Collaboration
in decision making, assessment, and educational interventions are critical.
AERA, CEC,
CCSSO Conferences
NCEO
and many other researchers will be presenting their findings at the annual conferences of
the American Educational Research Association—AERA, the Council for Exceptional
Children—CEC, and the Council of Chief State School Officers—CCSSO (Large Scale
Assessment). AERA will be in New Orleans April 1-5, CEC will be in New York City April
3-6, and CCSSO will be in Palm Desert June 23-26. Generally, papers or handouts are
prepared by presenters. So, even if you cannot attend, you can ask presenters to send
copies of their presentations. Programs for the conferences are online at the association
Web sites:
AERA:
http://www.aera.net
CCSSO: http://www.ccsso.org