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Accommodations for English Language Learners Taking Large-Scale Assessments: A Meta-Analysis on Effectiveness and Validity

Harvard Graduate School of Education

Mabel Rivera and David J. Francis

University of Houston

MICHAEL J. KIEFFER is an advanced doctoral student in language and literacy at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Larsen 303, 14 Appian Way, Cambridge, MA 02138; e-mail Michael_Kieffer{at}post.harvard.edu. His research interests focus on the language and literacy development of adolescent readers, especially English language learners in urban contexts. A former middle school teacher, he also aims to develop and evaluate instructional approaches to meet the needs of struggling adolescent readers.

NONIE K. LESAUX is Marie and Max Kargman Associate Professor in Human Development and Urban Education Advancement at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Larsen 319, 14 Appian Way, Cambridge, MA 02138; e-mail: lesauxno{at}gse.harvard.edu. Her research interests focus on the reading and language development of at-risk learners, including students from linguistically diverse backgrounds, and effective instructional approaches to prevent reading difficulties.

MABEL RIVERA is a research assistant professor at the Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics in the University of Houston, 100 TLCC Annex; Houston, TX 77204–6022; e-mail: Mabel.Rivera{at}times.uh.edu. She is a former teacher of first grade students and students with special needs in the public school system. Her current research interests include the education and prevention of academic difficulties in English language learners. In addition, she engages in local and national service activities related to preparing personnel to teach English language learners and students with special needs.

DAVID J. FRANCIS is Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor and chairman of the Department of Psychology at the University of Houston, Department of Psychology, Houston, TX 77204–5022; e-mail: dfrancis{at}uh.edu. He also directs the Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics, and the National Research and Development Center for English Language Learners, funded by IES (Institute of Educational Sciences). His research interests focus on the application of advanced statistical and psychometric methods to problems in education, especially the identification, classification, and remediation of learning and developmental disabilities, and improving educational outcomes for English language learners and other at-risk populations.

Including English language learners (ELLs) in large-scale assessments raises questions about the validity of inferences based on their scores. Test accommodations for ELLs are intended to reduce the impact of limited English proficiency on the assessment of the target construct, most often mathematic or science proficiency. This meta-analysis synthesizes research on the effectiveness and validity of such accommodations for ELLs. Findings indicate that none of the seven accommodations studied threaten the validity of inferences. However, only one accommodation—providing English dictionaries or glossaries—has a statistically significant effect on ELLs’ performance, and this effect equates to only a small reduction in the achievement score gap between ELLs and native English speakers. Findings suggest that accommodations to reduce the impact of limited language proficiency on academic skill assessment are not particularly effective. Given this, we posit a hypothesis about the necessary role of academic language skills in mathematics and science assessments.

Key Words: achievement gap • assessment • English language learners • high stakes testing • language development

This version was published on September 1, 2009

Review of Educational Research, Vol. 79, No. 3, 1168-1201 (2009)
DOI: 10.3102/0034654309332490


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