All states are addressing the problems of accommodations for English Language Learners (ELL's) in state assessment systems, but Massachusetts is noteworthy for the way in which it handles this problem. Since the early 1980s, over 40 states have created a statewide assessment program. Testing in these states is typically modeled on the National…

This paper reports on the relationship between English language fluency and reading achievement in California sixth grade students. The interaction between fluency and social class was examined. This interaction was found to be similar for students who spoke English only and for Spanish speakers who were fluent in English. It was diminished for…

Black, Puerto Rican, Chicano, native American and low income white children represent the vast educational underclass who are most likely to be affected by test misuse or abuse. More than 50 million American children take at least three standardized tests a year, it is estimated. Of these an estimated ten percent are subjected to and are damaged…

One aspect of the development of a performance assessment is addressed--the field testing of the tasks. In a performance-based assessment, the tasks must allow each examinee a fair and equal opportunity to give the best possible demonstration of his or her ability, and must elicit a performance sample that enables scorers to evaluate each examinee…

A study was undertaken to examine psychometric properties of "La Prueba Riverside de Realizacion en Espanol" (PRRE) and the "Spanish Assessment of Basic Education" (SABE) when administered to a sample of limited-English-proficient students, grades 1 through 8. Spanish-language versions of both tests were used for the study.…

This paper discusses the sociolinguistic problems inherent in multilingual testing, and the accompanying dangers of cultural bias in either the visuals or the language used in a given test. The first section discusses English-speaking Americans' perception of foreign speakers in terms of: (1) physical features; (2) speech, specifically vocabulary,…