1. The University of Central Florida Cocoa Campus
ELL-Focused Accommodations for Content Area Assessments: An Introduction
The University of Central Florida Cocoa Campus
Jamal Abedi
University of California, Davis
July 7, 2011

2. Accommodations for ELL Students
What is an accommodation for ELL students?
Why should ELL students be accommodated?
Can the same accommodations used for students with disabilities be used for ELLs?

3. 1. What is an accommodation for ELL students?
Accommodations are changes in the test administration or in the test itself as long as those changes do not impact the focal construct
Accommodations are provided to ELL students to level the playing field, i. e., making assessments accessible for these students
A distinction is made between accommodations and modifications

4. 2. Why Should English Language Learners be Accommodated?
Their possible English language deficiency may interfere with their content knowledge learning and performance.
Assessment tools may be culturally and linguistically biased for these students.
Linguistic complexity of the assessment tools may be a source of measurement error which may negatively impact reliability of the assessments for ELLs.
Language factors may be a source of construct irrelevant variance and affects validity of assessments for ELLs.

5. Performance Gap Between ELL and Non-ELL Students Reduces as the Level of Language Demand of Assessment Decreases
Reading
Science
Math
M SD
M SD
M SD
Grade 10
ELL
ELL with disab
Non-ELL/SWD
Grade 11 5

6. Performance/Reliability-Gaps Between ELL and non-ELL Students
Performance-Gap
Reliability-Gap
Reading
20% - 60%
15% - 40%
Science/Social Sciences
10% - 40%
12% - 35%
Math Problem Solving
8% - 25%
10% - 30%
Math Computation
0% - 10%
10 – 15%
I don’t know if you need these tables – can you trim them down for a broader population?
I agree with Jenny, I think the font will be too small for people to make out. 6

7. ELL Students’ Performance Outcomes Suffer From Lower Reliability
Sub-scale (Items)
English Only
LEP
Reading , N=
181,202
52,720
Vocabulary (30)
0.835
0.666
Reading Comp (54)
0.916
0.833
Average Reliability
0.876
0.750
Math, N=
183,262
54,815
Total (48)
0.898
0.802
Language, N=
180,743
52,863
Mechanics (24)
0.803
0.686
Expression (24)
0.812
0.680
0.813
0.683
Science, N=
144,821
40,255
Total (40)
0.805
0.597
Social Science, N=
181,078
53,925
0.530 7

8. There are 73 Accommodations Listed
47 (64%) are not related
7 (10%) are remotely related
8 (11%) are moderately related
11 (15%) are highly related
Rivera. (2003). State assessment policies for English language learners. Presented at the 2003 Large-Scale Assessment Conference

9. Samples of Accommodations Used for ELL Students that may not be Relevant
Test-taker marks answers in a test booklet
Copying assistance provided between drafts
Test-taker indicates answers by pointing or other similar method
Paper is secured to work area with tape/magnet 9

10. Samples of Accommodations Used for ELL Students
Enlarged answer sheets
Providing breaks
Tests administered individually
Tests administered in small groups
Tests administered in a location with minimal distractions

11. Evidence
Many states are aware of the validity concerns regarding accommodations that may alter the construct.
Thus, accommodations are grouped into two distinct categories: (1) Accommodations and (2) Modifications.
Accommodations are changes in test format, directions, etc. that do not alter the construct.
Modifications, however, are changes that alter the construct.
The main question, however, is whether the categorization of accommodations is based on credible research evidence.

12. Accommodations for ELLs
Bilingual Version of the Tests (Native Language Assessment)
English/Bilingual Glossary
Customized English/Bilingual Dictionary
English/Bilingual Commercial Dictionary
Linguistically Modified Assessment
Computer Accommodation with dictionary and pop-up glossary

13. Conclusion
There is not enough research to support many of the accommodations that are currently used in national and state assessments.
The only way to make judgments about the efficiency and validity of these accommodations is to use them in experimentally controlled situations with both ELL and non-ELL students and examine their validity and effectiveness under randomized experimental design.
The results of studies nationwide, have provided support for some of the accommodations used for ELL students.

14. Conclusion Examples of research-supported accommodations:
Providing a customized dictionary is a viable alternative to providing traditional dictionaries.
The linguistic modification of test items that reduce unnecessary linguistic burdens on students is among the accommodations that help ELL students without affecting the validity of assessments.
Computer testing with added extra time and glossary was shown to be a very effective, yet valid accommodation (Abedi, Courtney, Leon and Goldberg, 2003)