Measuring Students’ Level of English Proficiency: Educational Significance and Assessment Requirements

This article discusses the status of existing English language proficiency (ELP) tests, and compares the content coverage and psychometric characteristics of ELP assessments that existed prior to the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) with those developed after NCLB Title III guidelines were introduced. The article argues that the newly developed ELP assessments (post-NCLB) exhibit higher assessment quality when compared with most ELP tests developed prior to NCLB (pre-NCLB). However, more work needs to be done if the new ELP assessments are to inform the instruction and content-based assessment of English language learner students. The results of analyses suggest that ELP assessment outcomes can help inform decisions regarding participation of English language learner students in state content-based assessments.