English Language Learners (ELLs) Research

Current CEEE studies on ELLs include:

• TUDA study
• WIDA evaluation

Completed CEEE Studies and Articles on ELLs include:

• Descriptive Study of Services to Limited English Proficient Students. A three-year project conducted in cooperation with the University of Minnesota's National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) on behalf of Development Associates, Inc. The study resulted in the development of new national estimates of the number of English Language Learners (ELLs) and the services they receive; provided information on the ways in which services for ELLs align with challenging state and local standards; tracked the participation of ELLs in state assessment programs and state accountability systems; and assembled national estimates of ELLs with disabilities and the educational services they receive.
  
  
• An Analysis of Reported State Assessment Data on English Language Learners, conducted with with the University of Minnesota's National Center on Educational Outcomes. The study was a field-initiated effort funded by the U.S. Department of Education to collect and analyze data in state education reports and web-based report cards; document what is known about the assessment participation and performance of English Language Learners; and generate models of best reporting practices through a survey of state personnel and community members.
  
  
• A Practical Discussion of Inclusion Issues in Statewide Assessments Emerging from Standards-Based Education Reform and Title
• Format: PDF | Pages: 26 | Copyright: 2001
  
  This paper describes current understandings regarding the inclusion of English language learners (ELLs) in statewide and district assessments. Title I requirements support a philosophical position that all students, including ELLs, should be taught to high state content and performance standards and that schools are accountable for their achievement. The participation of students with disabilities receives some attention in this paper as well because policy for including students with disabilities has shaped the way that policy makers view the inclusion of English language learners.
  
  
• Is it Real for All Kids? A Framework for Equitable Assessment Policies for English Language Learners.

  Entire text of article: Format: PDF or Word | Pages: 23 | Copyright: 1994 | Posted here with permission from Harvard Educational Review.

  Abstract
  Many people in education hope that reform will bring positive change for all students in the United States. However, Mark LaCelle-Peterson and Charlene Rivera argue in this groundbreaking article that, unless educational reformers reflect seriously on the implications of assessment reform for specific groups of students, among them students whose first language is not English, little meaningful change will occur.

  The authors present a demographic profile of English language learners, propose a definition of educational equity and excellence, and outline the range of educational goals the definition implies. They argue that it is erroneous to assume that changes that affect monolingual English students favorably will automatically do the same for English language learners, and offer options and recommendations for more appropriate assessment policy and practice for English language learners.
  
  Reference for citation:
  Mark W. La Celle-Peterson and Charlene Rivera. (1994). Is it Real for All Kids? A Framework for Equitable Assessment Policies for English Language Learners. Harvard Educational Review, 64(1) (Spring 1994), pp. 55-75. Retrieved [date] from http://ceee.gwu.edu/ELLs/ELLresearch.html.

Related CEEE Studies on Migrants include:

• Migrant Trading Partners' Study, funded through the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Migrant Education, was a study of promising state and local practices that enhance the continuity of migrant students' education. The study involved carrying out four case studies of sites that act as partners in the education of migrant children, i.e., sites between which migrant families move. Preliminary reports of policy findings have been used by the U.S. Department of Education in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Documentation of the cases and the final technical report was completed in June 1999. The report was published by the Center in the fall of 1999.