VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1 2020

VIRGINIA
VOICES
The official newsletter of & for

Park View High School educators

ASSESSMENTS &
ACCOUNTABILITY: THE NEGATIVE
WHAT IS IMPACT OF HIGH-STAKES
INSIDE TESTING ON EL STUDENTS 
BY CRISTINA ROBINETTE
How do we hold our students accountable for their

learning? How do we hold ourselves, as educators,

ASSESSMENTS & accountable for the content and knowledge our students
 

ACCOUNTABILITY - 1-2 are gaining? Simple, we assess and we use data to drive

our instruction. Furthermore, we work diligently to create

differentiated lessons, we allow our students to be

creative, and we modify tasks when needed. If we know

that the one-size-fits-all approach is not appropriate for

CONSEQUENCES OF our diverse learners, then why do we find high-stakes

HIGH-STAKES TESTS - 2 testing acceptable? 

Over the years, there has been a significant increase in

federal involvement in public schools. For example, The No

SOLUTIONS & Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was created to help hold

ADVOCACY - 2 states, schools, and teachers accountable for student

learning. However, high-stakes testing, like Virginia’s

Standards of Learning assessments (SOLs) has resulted in

extreme consequences for students and teachers. One

issue in particular is how these summative assessments

affect our English Learners (ELs). We do need

accountability in public education; however, standardized

assessments are both linguistically and academically

challenging for ELs due to its use of unfair and biased

language, lack of validity, and few accommodations to

support academic success.

VOLUME 1 SUMMER 2020

THE CONSEQUENCES OF ASSESSMENTS & ACCOUNTABILITY

HIGH-STAKE TESTING CONT.
ON SECONDARY ELL One barrier that stands in the way of ELs taking summative

STUDENTS assessments successfully is the linguistically complex language used.

ELL students enrolled later in high ELs may perform poorly on content tests, like the SOLs, solely because

school are more likely to dropout of their limited English knowledge (Alexander, 2017). ELs may also

due to inadequate language have limited opportunities to learn the content and skills necessary to

do well on these tests due to their English oral language proficiency

support (Alexander, 2017).
(Solórzano, 2008). 
ELs are unable to graduate;

therefore, limiting their post-

There are also test validity issues because these assessments do not
secondary education options and
truly measure or capture what an EL student knows because they
future success.
have not fully developed proficiency in the native language that the
Per law, ELs are NOT exempt from test is written in: English (Alexander, 2017). How can schools evaluate

taking the math, science, history, or or to determine high school graduation, grade promotion, and

EOC reading & writing SOLs. program placement if an EL’s test score is invalid?

ELs are more likely to have a

negative school experience. Another challenge which keeps ELs from succeeding on standardized

tests would be the lack of accommodations they receive. However,

SOLUTIONS! according to the 2018 EL Guidelines provided on the Virginia

Department of Education website, they take into account an EL’s

HOW CAN WE ADVOCATE? level of English proficiency, level of previous schooling in the native
Read the 2018 EL Guidelines Word
country, and level of schooling in the US. Other accommodations

document provided on the VDOE include changes in testing procedures, testing materials, or testing

website to identify which location. The document also states that the assessment itself cannot

accommodations your EL student is be altered or modified to meet the linguistic needs of ELs, but the

eligible for. accommodations offered do provide an opportunity for students to

demonstrate their knowledge. They claim that the SOL tests in no way
Work with school or county ESL
put English Learners at a disadvantage. 
teacher to identify which

accommodations are appropriate

However, are the accommodations provided by the VDOE equitable?
for your student.
One way to ensure fairness and validity is to provide testing
On SOL testing days, read over
accommodations that meet the needs of EL students. Solutions that
testing accommodations to ensure
would be more beneficial would be linguistic modifications like, “...

no irregularities take place. shortening sentences, removing extraneous information, and using

Voice your concerns about the only frequently used words and simple grammar” (Menken, 2010, p.

validity & negative consequences 127). Every child deserves the right to an education. Every child

of high-stakes testing for ELs. deserves the chance to succeed.

Works Cited
 Alexander, M. M. (2017). Transnational english language learners fighting on an unlevel playing field: high school exit exams, accommodations, and esl status. Language Policy, 16(2), 115–133. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-015-9390-y
Menken, K. (2010). Nclb and english language learners: challenges and consequences. Theory into Practice, 49(2), 121–128
Solórzano, R. W. (2008). High stakes testing: issues, implications, and remedies for english language learners. Review of Educational Research, 78(2), 260–329.