This article presents a meta-analysis of program effectiveness research on

The authors argue that English language learner (ELL) language assessment policy and poor language tests partly account for ELLs' disproportionate representation in special education. Previous research indicates that many states routinely assess ELLs' first language (L1) at initial enrollment and that ELLs identified as limited in both languages have relatively high rates of identification in special education. Two common tests, the Language Assessment Scales-Oral (LAS-O) Español and the Idea Proficiency Test I-Oral (IPT) Spanish, are shown to identify 74% and 90%, respectively, Spanish-background ELLs (N 5 145) as limited L1 students, whereas a natural language measure found only 2% of participants to have unexpectedly high morphological error rates. Correlations are provided. The authors recommend changes in language testing policies and practices for ELLs.English language learners (ELLs) are overrepresented in special education programs, a problem that has persisted since its earliest documentation in the 1960s (Artiles & Trent, 1994;Artiles, Trent & Palmer, 2004). In a study of within-group diversity of disproportionate representation of ELL students in special education, Artiles, Rueda, Salazar, and Higareda (2005) found that ELLs identified by districts as having limited proficiency in both their native language (L1) and English (L2) showed the highest rates of identification in the special education categories investigated, were consistently overrepresented in learning disabilities and language and speech disabilities classes, and had greater chances of being placed in special

This article reviews the current policy context in the state of Arizona for program options for English language learners and produces a meta-analysis of studies on the effectiveness of bilingual education that have been conducted in the state in or after 1985. The study presents an analysis of a sample of evaluation studies (N = 4), which demonstrates a positive effect for bilingual education on all measures, both in English and the native language of English language learners, when compared to English-only instructional alternatives. We conclude that current state policy is at odds with the best synthesis of the empirical evidence, and we recommend that current policy mandating English-only and forbidding bilingual education be abandoned in favor of program choices made at the level of the local community.

This article reports the existence of a large group of students identified as "non-nons," Spanish-background school-age children living in the United States who are reported to be non-verbal in both English and Spanish, andbrings the validity of the "non-non" construct into question. In particular, the authors assess the validity of the PreLanguage Assessment Scales Espanol (Pre-LAS Espanol), an oral language assessment that purports to measure oral native language ability in children ages 4 to 6. A dataset of3 8,887 students who took the Pre-LAS Espanol in a large urban school district in 1997 is examined, and questions are raised from internal and external evidence regarding the test's validity. The authors conclude that there are serious concerns regarding the validity of the test, characterize the "non-non" label as an artifact of poor assessment, and recommend that districts and states reconsider current policy requiring or recommending routine oral native language assessment of language minority students.

We empirically evaluated three theoretical models—the threshold hypothesis, transfer theory, and time-on-task theory—for educating English language learners (ELLs), with a focus on the role of language factors in explaining achievement differences among ELLs. Participants were 196 sixth graders with Spanish language backgrounds who started learning English in kindergarten and then were continuously enrolled in a U.S. school. Structural equation modeling was used to estimate the extent to which Spanish and English language and literacy—skills that are emphasized differentially in competing theories for educating ELLs—predict academic achievement assessed in English. Results indicated that Spanish literacy, over and above English language proficiency, was substantially predictive of academic achievement, consistent with the transfer theory. This model was a more focused version of the threshold hypothesis, in that the weaker predictor of Spanish oral language proficiency was excluded. Time-on task theory was not supported.