Evaluating English Learner Progress Models and the Quality of English Language Programs

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 is a four-year collaborative project from 2019 – 2023 between researchers and seven state education agencies in Arizona, Arkansas, Michigan, Mississippi (lead state), Ohio, Washington and Wisconsin that  examine (1) methods that effectively measure English learner growth towards English language proficiency; (2) the relationship between English learner progress and how programs and services are implemented in schools to support English learners; and (3) uses of English language proficiency assessment data to inform school improvement efforts.

Multiple years of student and school data gathered from participating states that use of a variety of English language proficiency assessments and academic assessments allow for a robust evaluation of the growth models states use to monitor English learner achievement and progress over time. Simultaneously, an English Learner Program Implementation Survey is being developed and will be piloted with groups who have roles in implementing and/or participating in English learner instruction programs. Analyzing the emerging connections between growth models, English language proficiency indicator results, and elements of high-quality program implementation is key to the project.

The states and the research team address four goals. In doing so this project will result in five meaningful outcomes that will improve programs and services in this area and benefit future research.

Project Goals 

1. Help states effectively measure English Learner (EL) growth towards English Language proficiency
2. Help states understand the relationship between English Learner progress and EL program implementation
3. Support participating states in improving their own growth models and using English Language Proficiency (ELP) assessment data to inform school improvement efforts
4. Inform the field’s understanding of effective measures of growth towards English Language proficiency 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 student receive.
5. Produce a technical report that documents the research design, processes, analysis procedures, findings, and lessons learned.

Click here for a video and here for a presentation on this project and preliminary findings given by the Mississippi state team and the research team during CCSSO’s 2021 National Conference on Student Assessment. Click here to access Frequently Asked Questions.

Project Partners 

State leadership teams: Seven state education agencies are participating in this project: Arizona, Arkansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, Washington, and Wisconsin. State team members guide leadership on decision-making on processes and products of the project, share state contexts and emerging issues related to English learner policies/programs and Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) implementation and ensure continuous improvements in design and delivery of high-quality products. The participating states are represented by senior staff members in the areas of English Learner program, assessment, accountability, and data/reporting.

Project management partner: CCSSO serves as the project management partner for this project. Fen Chou serves as the lead and the project co-principal investigator and Kathleen Lyons serves as the project manager.

Research partners: A team of national experts leads and conducts project activities with advice from the state leadership team and provides technical assistance to participating states. Lead experts include Pete Goldschmidt, professor, California State University Northridge; Mark Hansen, assistant professor, University of California Los Angeles Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing (UCLA-CRESST); and Maria Santos, consultant/senior advisor. In addition, the research team has access to an English Learner Technical Advisory Group, comprised of prominent researchers on English learner technical issues and English learner assessment experts, that provides input and advice on the project design, development, implementation and resource dissemination.

Com-Link serves as the external evaluator for this project. Jane Nell Luster, president of Com-Link, LLC, brings more than 20 years of program and project evaluation experience.

For questions about this project, please contact the management team at elsurvey@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.