Tracking Progress of ELL Students

June 23, 2010

The number of English Language Learner (ELL) students continues to increase dramatically in U.S. schools. It is estimated that by the year 2030, 40% of the school population will speak English as a second language. Research by Craig Albers and colleagues examines procedures for screening and monitoring student progress that are essential for the appropriate use of Response-to-Intervention (RTI) models. To accomplish this goal, they will establish the reliability, validity, utility, and cost-effectiveness of existing ways to monitor progress of ELLs through traditional psychometric procedures and with more sophisticated modeling procedures. The goal is to distinguish between ELL students making adequate academic progress and those at risk for academic failure for reasons other than second-language acquisition. More information is available here.