National Academies Press: OpenBook
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×

Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners

Panel to Review Alternative Data Sources for the Limited-English Proficiency Allocation Formula under Title III, Part A, Elementary and Secondary Education Act

Committee on National Statistics

and

Board on Testing and Assessment

Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS

Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
500 Fifth Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20001

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This study was supported by U.S. Department of Education Contract Number ED-08-CO-0119 to the National Academy of Sciences. Support of the work of the Committee on National Statistics is provided by a consortium of federal agencies through a grant from the National Science Foundation (award number SES-0453930). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-18658-2

International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-18658-7

Additional copies of this report are available from the

National Academies Press,

500 Fifth Street, N.W., Lockbox 285, Washington, DC 20055; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area); Internet, http://www.nap.edu

Copyright 2011 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Suggested citation: National Research Council. (2011). Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Panel to Review Alternative Data Sources for the Limited-English Proficiency Allocation Formula under Title III, Part A, Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Committee on National Statistics and Board on Testing and Assessment. Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine


The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.


The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Charles M. Vest is president of the National Academy of Engineering.


The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.


The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Charles M. Vest are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.


www.national-academies.org

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×

This page intentionally left blank.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×

PANEL TO REVIEW ALTERNATIVE DATA SOURCES FOR THE LIMITED-ENGLISH PROFICIENCY ALLOCATION FORMULA UNDER TITLE III, PART A, ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT

Alan Zaslavsky (Chair),

Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School

Jamal Abedi,

School of Education, University of California, Davis

Frank D. Bean,

Center for Research on Immigration, Population and Public Policy, University of California, Irvine

David Francis,

Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation and Statistics, University of Houston

Edward Haertel,

School of Education, Stanford University

David Hubble,

WESTAT, Inc., Rockville, MD

Rebecca Kopriva,

Wisconsin Center for Education Research and School of Education, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Robert Linquanti,

WestEd, Oakland, CA

Helen Malagon,

Office of Superintendent of Public Education, State of Washington Migrant and Bilingual Education Programs

Catherine Neff,

Office of Federal Programs, South Carolina Department of Education

P. David Pearson,

Graduate School of Education, University of California, Berkeley

Charlene Rivera,

Graduate School of Education and Center for Equity and Excellence in Education, George Washington University

Judith A. Koenig, Costudy Director

Thomas Plewes, Costudy Director

Esha Sinha, Research Associate

Michael J. Siri, Program Associate

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×

COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL STATISTICS 2010

Lawrence D. Brown (Chair),

Department of Statistics, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

John M. Abowd,

School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University

Alicia Carriquiry,

Department of Statistics, Iowa State University

William DuMouchel,

Oracle Health Sciences, Waltham, MA

V. Joseph Hotz,

Department of Economics, Duke University

Michael Hout,

Department of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley

Karen Kafadar,

Department of Statistics, Indiana University

Sallie Keller,

Science and Technology Policy Institute, Washington, DC

Lisa Lynch,

Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University

Sally Morton,

Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh

Joseph Newhouse,

Division of Health Policy Research and Education, Harvard University

Samuel H. Preston,

Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania

Hal Stern,

Department of Statistics, University of California, Irvine

Roger Tourangeau,

Joint Program in Survey Methodology, University of Maryland, and Survey Research Center, University of Michigan

Alan Zaslavsky,

Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School

Constance F. Citro, Director

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×

BOARD ON TESTING AND ASSESSMENT

Edward Haertel (Chair),

School of Education, Stanford University

Lyle Bachman,

Department of Applied Linguistics, University of California, Los Angeles

Stephen Dunbar,

College of Education, University of Iowa

David J. Francis,

Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics, University of Houston

Michael Kane,

National Conference of Bar Examiners, Madison, WI

Kevin Lang,

Department of Economics, Boston University

Michael Nettles,

Educational Testing Service, Princeton, NJ

Diana C. Pullin,

Lynch School of Education, Boston College

Brian Stecher,

RAND, Santa Monica, CA

Mark Wilson,

Graduate School of Education, University of California, Berkeley

Rebecca Zwick,

Graduate School of Education, University of California, Santa Barbara

Stuart Elliott, Director

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×

This page intentionally left blank.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×

Acknowledgments

This report is the product of the work by many people, each of whom contributed expertise to the enterprise. I first acknowledge with great appreciation the efforts of my fellow panel members, who brought expertise as data users and state data providers and in education policy, demography, statistical estimation methods, census and American Community Survey (ACS) methodology, administrative data systems, and testing and assessment. All of this expertise was critical to the multifaceted issues that had to be addressed in this evaluation of the admissible data sources for allocation of funds under Title III, Part A, of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The panel members freely contributed their time to accomplishing the myriad of tasks associated with assembling information and preparing this report and cheerfully accepted the duties of facilitating sessions at the five committee meetings. Their contributions during the period in which the report was in final preparation and after the outside review, when sections of the report had to be turned around on a very truncated schedule, are especially appreciated. These efforts manifested the panel members’ deep dedication to the well-being and effective education of English language learners and immigrant children.

The panel held public sessions at its first and second meetings. The sessions were organized as formal workshops, with presentations by internal and outside presenters followed by free-flowing discussion. In developing these public sessions, the committee greatly benefitted from the support of the staff of the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Census Bureau.

The panel was set on the right path at its first open meeting by Thomas M. Corwin, director, Division of Elementary, Secondary and Vocational Analysis, Budget Service, U.S. Department of Education, and Richard Smith, the department’s acting assistant deputy secretary and director, Office of English Language Acquisi-

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×

tion. They elaborated on the department’s charge to the committee and established the background for the study for the information of the panel.

This report was preceded by a significant report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office in 2006 that described the allowable data for the allocation of formula-based grants to states to support the education of students with limited English proficiency. It described the effects of using the ACS and the states’ assessment data, and it recommended a series of steps for the U.S. Department of Education to improve the quality and use of the data. The report’s authors, Harriet C. Ganson, assistant director for education, workforce and income security, and Nagla’a El-Hodiri, senior economist, discussed the findings of that report with the panel at its April 2009 workshop.

The panel was assisted in developing a full understanding of the ACS at its first meeting by Susan Schecter, chief of the American Community Survey Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. She updated the committee on the current status of the survey and discussed the plans for development of estimates for small areas and populations.

At its second meeting, the panel heard from experts on state testing, state practices, and programs for English language learners, as well as the U.S. Department of Education official responsible for the development and maintenance of the departmental databases that hold the state data. We thank a group of Title III directors for their contribution at the workshop: Celina Arias-Romero (California), committee member Helen Malagon (Washington), Joanne Marino (North Carolina), Barbara Medina (Colorado), Elizabeth Minjarez (Texas), committee member Catherine Neff (South Carolina), Redro Ruiz (New York), and Maria Santos (New York City). The administrative data are strongly affected by state practices, and the members of this group documented the state practices that reflect the individual policies and needs as perceived by the state agencies that conduct these programs.

Ross Santy, director of the Performance Information Management Service in the Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development, U.S. Department of Education, provided a summary of the types of data that are maintained on state programs, and traced the recent efforts to build a data system that increasingly standardizes and validates data maintained and submitted by state education agencies. His unit provided the committee with a number of special tabulations of data submitted by state education agencies to the U.S. Department of Education that greatly assisted our work.

Robert Kominski, assistant chief, Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division, U.S. Census Bureau, discussed the evolution and status of the questions on the ACS that provide the basic information for derivation of estimates of the number of limited English proficient students by state. The committee also extends special thanks to David Raglin and Sandra Clark of the Special Studies staff of the American Community Survey Office of the U.S. Census Bureau for facilitating the provision of extensive special tabulations of ACS data that permitted the panel to assess the adequacy of the ACS for allocation purposes.

We also acknowledge the guidance and support provided to this study by the

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×

two contracting officer technical representatives who were assigned to shepherd this project by the U.S. Department of Education. On numerous occasions, Pat Butler and Sandra Furey stepped in to assist in setting up meetings with the appropriate departmental experts, securing data for comparison purposes, and facilitating necessary contractual modifications to enable the successful completion of this study. Britt Jung of the department’s budget office provided advice and guidance throughout the study and assisted in the provision of special funding for the purchase of ACS tabulations from the Census Bureau that permitted much of the analysis contained in this report. William Sonnenberg of the National Center for Education Statistics provided significant assistance to the panel about data used in the current and past allocation formula for the distribution of Title III funds by the U.S. Department of Education.

The committee gratefully acknowledges the dedicated effort provided by the staff of the Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT) and the Board on Testing and Assessment (BOTA) of the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education of the National Research Council (NRC). Tom Plewes and Judy Koenig brought deep experience and broad organizational skill to their service as costudy directors, and their work was a key factor in ensuring the efficient completion of this report. Esha Sinha of the CNSTAT staff supported the analysis by developing the research databases of the data provided in various formats by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Census Bureau, and she managed, through extraordinary efforts, to conduct analyses for the committee. Michael Siri, also of the CNSTAT staff, provided smooth administrative management of the five meetings held in several venues. The task of contacting state directors of English language learner programs to ascertain the latest information on their screening and assessment tests was ably and cheerfully handled by Rose Neugroschel of BOTA. We also want to acknowledge the active participation and guidance provided by Constance Citro, director of CNSTAT, and Stuart Elliott, director of BOTA, whose advice and leadership were instrumental in moving this study from the planning to report preparation stages.

This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the Report Review Committee of the NRC. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that assist the institution in making its report as sound as possible, and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.

The panel thanks the following individuals for their review of this report: Jonathan G. Dings, Planning and Assessment, Boulder Valley School District; Gerunda B. Hughes, Office of Institutional Assessment and Evaluation, Howard University; Joseph B. (Jay) Kadane, Department of Statistics, Carnegie Mellon University; Neal Kingston, Center for Educational Testing and Evaluation, University of Kansas; Jan Lanier, Division of College and Career Readiness, Tennessee Department of Education; Lilia G. Sánchez, English Learner and Curriculum Support Division,

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×

California Department of Education; and Robin Scarcella, Academic English/ESL Program, University of California, Irvine. Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Allen L. Schirm, Human Services Research, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., and Kenneth W. Wachter, Demography and Statistics, University of California, Berkeley. Appointed by the NRC, they were responsible for making certain that the independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of the report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the NRC.


Alan Zaslavsky, Chair

Panel to Review Alternative Data Sources for the Limited-English Proficiency Allocation Formula under Title III, Part A, Elementary and Secondary Education Act

Page xiii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×

Tables, Figures, and Boxes

TABLES

1-1

 

Summary Definitions of Selected Variables Used in This Report,

 

12

1-2

 

Operational Definitions of the ELL Population,

 

19

2-1

 

ACS Sample Sizes: Initial Addresses and Final Interviews, by Type of Unit,

 

26

2-2

 

English Language Learning Children and Youth Aged 5-21, by State, 2005-2008,

 

38

2-3

 

Average Number of ELL Children and Youth Aged 5-21, by State,

 

40

2-4

 

Percentage Share of ELL Children and Youth Aged 5-21, by State,

 

41

2-5

 

Standard Errors of Percentage Shares of ELL Children and Youth Aged 5-21, by State (in percentage),

 

42

2-6

 

Ratio of ELL Students Aged 5-18 in Public Schools to All Students Aged 5-18 in Public Schools (in percentage),

 

43

2-7

 

Standard Errors of Ratio of ELL Students Aged 5-18 in Public School to All Students Aged 5-18 in Public School (in percentage),

 

45

2-8

 

Coefficients of Variation of Estimates of ELL Students, by State Size,

 

46

2-9

 

Absolute Difference in Percentage Share of States Across Years (in percentage),

 

48

2-10

 

Difference in Percentage Share of ELL Students of States by Varying Age Groups, Enrollment Status, and Type of School (in percentage),

 

51

2-11

 

Difference in Percentage Share of ELL Students of States by Varying ELL Criterion,

 

52

2-12

 

Coverage Rates for Housing Units, Group Quarters, and Total Population (in percentage),

 

55

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×

2-13

 

Allocation Rates for Language Questions in ACS, for United States (in percentage),

 

56

3-1

 

English Language Proficiency Assessments, by State, 2009-2010 School Year,

 

65

3-2

 

Tests Reviewed by the Panel,

 

66

4-1

 

Tests Used by the States for Initial Classification of English Language Learners for the 2009-2010 School Year,

 

83

4-2

 

Numbers and Shares of All ELL Students by State: School Years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, and 2008-2009,

 

93

4-3

 

Rates of All ELL Students by State: School Years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, and 2008-2009,

 

95

4-4

 

Numbers and Shares of ELL Students Reported Tested, Not Proficient for 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 School Years,

 

97

4-5

 

Rates of Tested, Not Proficient Students by State, 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 School Years (in percentage),

 

99

5-1

 

Differences Between the ACS Estimates and State-Provided Counts of ELL Students,

 

104

5-2

 

Shares of ELL Students Based on ACS and State-Provided Counts (in percentage),

 

106

5-3

 

Ratio of State Shares Based on ACS Estimate to Shares Based on State-Provided Counts,

 

109

5-4

 

Total Absolute Difference Between Shares Based on ACS Estimates and Shares Based on State-Provided Counts,

 

111

5-5

 

Rate of ELL Students by State Based on ACS Estimates and State-Provided Counts (in percentage),

 

112

5-6

 

Ratio of Rates Based on ACS Estimates to Rates Based on State-Provided Counts,

 

114

5-7

 

Analysis of Using ACS 3-Year Estimate and Other Variables to Predict State-Provided Rate of All ELL Students,

 

120

5-8

 

Analysis of Using ACS 3-Year Estimate and Other Variables to Predict State-Provided Rate of Tested, Not Proficient ELL Students,

 

122

5-9

 

Descriptive Summaries of LEA-Level Data on Rate of ELL Students, by State,

 

125

5-10

 

Results of Within-State Regressions,

 

127

5-11

 

Comparison of Volatility in ACS Estimates and State-Provided Counts (in percentage),

 

130

6-1

 

Allocation Rates for Nonresponse on Immigrant Items in the ACS, 2005-2008 (in percentage),

 

136

6-2

 

Number of Immigrant Children and Youth Aged 3-21, by State,

 

137

Page xvii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×

6-3

 

Average Number of Immigrant Children and Youth Aged 3-21, by State,

 

139

6-4

 

Share of Immigrant Children and Youth Aged 3-21, by State (in percentage),

 

141

6-5

 

Standard Errors of Shares of Immigrant Children and Youth Aged 3-21, by State (in percentage),

 

142

6-6

 

Ratio of Immigrant Children Aged 5-18 Enrolled in Public School to All Children Aged 5-18 Enrolled in Public School (in percentage),

 

143

6-7

 

Difference in the Percentage Share of Immigrants Aged 3-21 of States by Age Group, Enrollment Status, and Type of School,

 

144

6-8

 

Absolute Difference and Absolute Relative Difference in Ratio of Immigrant Children and Youth (in percentage),

 

146

6-9

 

Key Features of ACS and State-Collected Data on Immigrant Children and Youth,

 

150

6-10

 

Comparison of State Student Immigrant Counts and American Community Survey Estimates of Recent Immigrant Students,

 

151

6-11

 

Comparison of Volatility in ACS Estimates of Youth Aged 5-18 and Enrolled in Public School and State Counts of Recent Immigrants (in percentage),

 

153

6-12

 

Rates of Immigrant Children by Eligible School District,

 

155

6-13

 

Relationship at the School District Level Between ACS Estimates and State-Provided Estimates of the Rate of Immigrant Children Among Public School Enrollees, in Eligible Districts as Described in Text, for States with at Least 10 Eligible Districts,

 

157

7-1

 

Comparison of ACS and State-Provided Data on Desired Characteristics for an Allocation Formula,

 

165

A-1

 

English Language Proficiency Tests Reviewed and the States That Use Them,

 

182

FIGURES

4-1

 

ELL classification and reclassification procedures,

 

78

4-2

 

Number of criteria used by states for ELL reclassification,

 

87

5-1

 

Comparison of ACS 3-year rate and state-provided rate of all ELL students for the 2008-2009 school year,

 

117

5-2

 

Comparison of ACS 3-year rate and state-provided rate of tested, not proficient students for the 2008-2009 school year,

 

118

6-1

 

Rules for determining immigrant education program student in Illinois, 2009-2010 school year,

 

149

Page xviii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×

6-2

 

Immigrant ratio from state counts (2007-2008 academic year) and ACS 3-year estimates (2006-2008),

 

152

BOXES

1-1

 

Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Student: Definition,

 

6

1-2

 

State Allotments,

 

9

1-3

 

Legislative Mandate for Estimating the Number of LEP Students,

 

10

2-1

 

Question on Language Use from the ACS,

 

30

2-2

 

History of the Census Language Questions,

 

31

2-3

 

Item Nonresponse Rate Comparisons: 2000 Census, 2000 C2SS, and 2005 ACS (in percentage),

 

34

6-1

 

ACS Questions on Birth, Citizenship, and Year of Entry into the United States,

 

135

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×

Acronyms and Abbreviations

ACCESS Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State to State

ACS American Community Survey

AERA American Educational Research Association

AIR American Institutes for Research

AMAO annual measurable achievement objective

APA American Psychological Association

AYP adequate yearly progress

AZELLA Arizona English Language Learner Assessment

BOTA Board on Testing and Assessment

C2SS Census 2000 Supplementary Survey

CAPI computer-assisted personal interviewing

CATI computer-assisted telephone interviewing

CCD Common Core of Data

CCSSO Council of Chief State School Officers

CDE California Department of Education

CELA Colorado English Language Assessment

CELDT California English Language Development Test

CELLA Comprehensive English Language Learning Assessment

CMA for ELA California Modified Assessment for English-Language Arts

CNSTAT Committee on National Statistics

CRESST National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×

CSAP Colorado Student Assessment Program

C-SAVE Center for the Study of Assessment Validity and Evaluation

CSPR Consolidated State Performance Report

CST for ELA California Standards Test for English-Language Arts

CV coefficients of variation

DoEd U.S. Department of Education

EDEN Education Data Exchange Network

ELDA English Language Development Assessment

ELL English language learner

ELP English language proficiency

ELPAS English Language Proficiency Assessment Standards

ELPS English Language Proficiency Survey

EPAS English Proficiency for All Students

ESEA Elementary and Secondary School Act

ESL English as a second language

ESOL English for speakers of other languages

ESS EDEN Submission System

ETS Educational Testing Service

GAO U.S. Government Accountability Office

HLS home language survey

IELA Idaho English Language Assessment

IEP Immigrant Education Program

IPT IDEA Proficiency Test

KELPA Kansas English Language Proficiency Assessment

LAB-R Language Assessment Battery-Revised

LAS Language Assessment Scales

LAS Links Language Assessment Scales Links

LEA local education agency

LEP limited English proficiency

LEP-SCASS Limited English Proficient State Collaborative on Assessment and Student Standards

LIEP Language Instruction Educational Program

LPTS Language Proficiency Test Series

MAC II Maculaitis Assessment of Competencies Test of Language Proficiency

MAD mean absolute difference

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×

MAF master address file

MARD mean absolute relative difference

MELA-O Massachusetts English Language Assessment-Oral

MEPA-R/W Massachusetts English Proficiency Assessment-Reading and Writing

MI-ELPA Michigan English Language Proficiency Assessment

MN-SOLOM Minnesota Modified Student Oral Language Observation Matrix

MontCAS Montana Comprehensive Assessment System

MWAC Mountain West Assessment Consortium

NCELA National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition

NCES National Center for Education Statistics

NCLB No Child Left Behind Act

NCME National Council on Measurement in Education

NGA Center National Governors Association’s Center for Best Practices

NRC National Research Council

NV-ELPA Nevada State English Language Proficiency Assessment

NYSED New York State Education Department

NYSESLAT New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test

OCR Office of Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education

OELA Office of English Language Acquisition, U.S. Department of Education

OR-ELPA Oregon English Language Proficiency Assessment

OTELA Ohio Test of English Language Acquisition

PEP Population Estimates Program

PUMA public-use microdata area

PUMS public-use microdata samples

RFEP reclassified as fluent English proficient

RMSE root mean square residual error

RPTE Reading Proficiency Tests in English

SAIPE Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates Program

SEA state education agency

SELP Stanford English Language Proficiency Test

TEA Texas Education Agency

TEAE Test of Emerging Academic English

TELPA Tennessee English Language Placement Assessment

TELPAS Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment Systems

TESOL Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages

Page xxii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×

UALPA Utah Academic Language Proficiency Assessment

WESTELL West Virginia Test for English Language Learners

WIDA World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment

WLPT-II Washington Language Proficiency Test II

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×
Page R1
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×
Page R2
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×
Page R3
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×
Page R4
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×
Page R5
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×
Page R6
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×
Page R7
Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×
Page R8
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×
Page R9
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×
Page R10
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×
Page R11
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×
Page R12
Page xiii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×
Page R13
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×
Page R14
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×
Page R15
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×
Page R16
Page xvii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×
Page R17
Page xviii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×
Page R18
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×
Page R19
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×
Page R20
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×
Page R21
Page xxii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2011. Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13090.
×
Page R22
Next: Summary »
Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners Get This Book
×
Buy Paperback | $35.00 Buy Ebook | $28.99
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

As the United States continues to be a nation of immigrants and their children, the nation's school systems face increased enrollments of students whose primary language is not English. With the 2001 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the allocation of federal funds for programs to assist these students to be proficient in English became formula-based: 80 percent on the basis of the population of children with limited English proficiency1 and 20 percent on the basis of the population of recently immigrated children and youth.

Title III of NCLB directs the U.S. Department of Education to allocate funds on the basis of the more accurate of two allowable data sources: the number of students reported to the federal government by each state education agency or data from the American Community Survey (ACS). The department determined that the ACS estimates are more accurate, and since 2005, those data have been basis for the federal distribution of Title III funds.

Subsequently, analyses of the two data sources have raised concerns about that decision, especially because the two allowable data sources would allocate quite different amounts to the states. In addition, while shortcomings were noted in the data provided by the states, the ACS estimates were shown to fluctuate between years, causing concern among the states about the unpredictability and unevenness of program funding.

In this context, the U.S. Department of Education commissioned the National Research Council to address the accuracy of the estimates from the two data sources and the factors that influence the estimates. The resulting book also considers means of increasing the accuracy of the data sources or alternative data sources that could be used for allocation purposes.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  9. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!