Think Tank Gives Guidance on how to Measure COVID Slide Learning Loss for EL Students
June 17, 2020
A new policy brief from the Migration Policy Institute “explores the policy and practical questions for states considering implementing native-language assessments,” which may more effectively measure student knowledge and allow educators to identify gaps in English-language instruction. The brief comes at a time when many educators and advocates are expressing concern that the “COVID slide” maybe “especially troublesome” for the more than 5 million students learning English in K-12 schools. More often English language learners face multiple challenges in accessing educational opportunities, including “limited access to the internet and the language support services they often receive in school.” ESSA urges states to “make every effort” to develop their state assessments in students’ first languages, but the law “stops short of requiring” native-language assessments.