Validity Issues in Assessing English Language Learners' Language Proficiency

The No Child Left Behind Act has made a great impact on states' policies in assessing English language learner (ELL) students. The legislation requires states to develop or adopt sound assessments to validly measure the ELL students' English language proficiency (ELP). Although states have moved rapidly to meet these requirements, they face challenges to validate their current assessment and accountability systems for ELL students, partly because of the lack of resources. Considering the significant role of assessments in guiding decisions about organizations and individuals, it is of paramount importance to establish a valid assessment system. With the purpose of providing an overview to critical issues in validating the use of ELP assessments, this article reviews validity framework, key issues to consider in validating the ELP assessment system, and the current status of practice relative to validating ELP assessment.