GAO-06-815 No Child Left Behind Act: Assistance from Education Could Help States Better Measure Progress of Students with Limited English Proficiency

In school year 2003-2004, state data showed that the percentage of students with limited English proficiency scoring proficient on a state's language arts and mathematics tests was lower than the state's annual progress goals in nearly two-thirds of the 48 states for which data was obtained. To help these students progress academically, state and district officials in the 5 states visited, reported using a variety of strategies, including training teachers to incorporate language development into academic classes. Further, the review of data 49 states submitted to Education showed that the performance of students with limited English proficiency on states' mathematics assessments for elementary school students was lower than that of the total student population in all of these states but 1. Although the student groups are not mutually exclusive, in most of the 49 states, the performance of students with limited English proficiency was generally lower than that of other groups, such as economically disadvantaged students. Factors other than student academic knowledge, however, can influence whether states and districts meet their academic progress goals for students with limited English proficiency, such as how a state establishes its annual progress goals. To support improved academic progress for these students, district and state officials that were spoken to within the 5 study states reported using strategies similar to those considered good practices for all students. In particular, they cited providing teacher training focused on these students, having school leadership focused on their needs and using data to target interventions as key to the success of these students. Appended are: (1) GAO's Group of Experts on Assessing the Academic Knowledge of Students with Limited English Proficiency; (2) Determining Adequate Yearly Progress for Student Groups; (3) Percentage of Districts Making AYP Goals for Mathematics for Students with Limited English Proficiency; (4) Proficiency Scores on Mathematics Tests for All Students and Students with Limited English Proficiency; (5) Enhanced Assessment Consortia Participation; (6) English Language Proficiency Assessments Used in the 2005-2006 School Year, by State; (7) Comments from the Department of Education; and (8) GAO Contacts and Acknowledgments. (Contains 6 tables and 7 figures.) [This document was produced by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, formerly known as the General Accounting Office.].