Dive Brief:
- On the third day of rulemaking negotiations for the new Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), English Language Learning (ELL) was center-stage as policymakers and experts traded ideas and hashed out compromises.
- One of the priorities of the session was ensuring the validity and reliability of ELL tests, which has been an ongoing difficulty in the past, Education Week reports.
- Fewer than a dozen states have native-language tests, and the ELL population continues to grow in the U.S.
Dive Insight:
Another key issue being discussed at this third ESSA negotiation session was the difference between providing regulations for states and providing guidance for them. Under ESSA, states with a "significant" number of ELLs must adequately provide for them, yet "significant" is also as-yet-undefined. According to Education Week, participants in the session also mostly agreed that exams for English language proficiency should be peer-reviewed.
For now, district officials considering the implementation of new ELL initiatives might want to turn to Oregon, where an innovative pilot used in eight districts has been successful. There, all learners are exposed to daily oral-language development time, instead of just non-native speakers. The model, called "Language for All," calls for collaboration with community partners and parents and the use of blended funding streams.