About the English Learner Progress Models and the Quality of English Language Programs Project

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Project Overview 
The Evaluating English Language Progress Models and the Quality of English Language Programs project was awarded through the U.S. Department of Education’s Competitive Grants for State Assessments program. It was a five-year collaborative project from 2019 – 2024 between researchers and seven state education agencies in Arizona, Arkansas, Michigan, Mississippi (lead state), Ohio, Washington and Wisconsin that examined (1) methods that effectively measure English learner (EL) growth towards English language proficiency; (2) the relationship between EL progress and how programs and services are implemented in schools to support ELs; and (3) uses of English language proficiency assessment data to inform school improvement efforts.

The states and the research team worked to address four goals. In doing so, this project resulted in five meaningful outcomes that will improve EL programs and services and benefit future research.

Project Goals

  1. Help states effectively measure EL growth towards English Language proficiency (ELP).
  2. Help states understand the relationship between EL progress and EL program implementation.
  3. Support participating states in improving their own growth models and using ELP assessment data to inform school improvement efforts.
  4. Inform the field’s understanding of effective measures of growth towards ELP and provide resources that states can customize and use.

Project Outcomes

  1. Disseminate research findings on existing models of measuring and assessing ELP.​
  2. Develop new criterion growth models that can improve and broaden the array of accountability modeling options.
  3. Produce recommendations on using growth and ELP indicator results effectively to monitor programs for ELs.
  4. Disseminate the EL Program Implementation Survey and findings to help states understand how ELP indicator and growth results relate to the EL program implementation that students receive.
  5. Produce a technical report that documents the research design, processes, analysis procedures, findings, and lessons learned.


For questions about this project, please email communications@ccsso.org.
The contents of this webpage were developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.