Head Start Tests Neither 'Valid' nor 'Reliable,' Congressional Study Finds
The Bush Administration's program of testing 4- and 5-year-olds in Head Start programs, initiated in 2003, fails to meet "professional standards" and should not be used for accountability purposes, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The so-called National Reporting System (NRS) is a standardized test, designed for purposes of accountability and improvement of Head Start programs. Administered in English or Spanish or both, the NRS assesses children's oral language development, letter identification, basic math skills, and – for second-language learners – progress in speaking and understanding English. But in developing the NRS, the Head Start Bureau failed to follow rigorous scientific protocols to ensure the assessment is valid and reliable, the GAO found. Thus the NRS cannot be counted on to "provide reliable information on children's progress ... especially for Spanish-speaking children." In response, the U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee voted unanimously to prevent the NRS from being used for accountability purposes until questions about its validity and reliability can be resolved. This provision was included in the School Readiness Act of 2005 (HR 2123), a bill reauthorizing Head Start, which was passed and referred to the full House of Representatives on May 18. The Senate is working on similar legislation.

California Teachers Poorly Prepared to Teach ELLs
After Californians passed Proposition 227 in 1998, large numbers of bilingual programs were replaced by English-only "structured immersion" programs. Since that time, many nonbilingual teachers have experienced a sudden influx of ELLs into their classrooms. Yet for the most part, they have received "little or no professional development to help them teach these students," according to a study released May 16 by the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning. In a survey of 5,300 California teachers, more than half of those who had up to 50 percent ELLs in their classrooms had attended only one inservice training in bilingual or ESL methods – or none at all – over the past five years. The survey also found that the more preparation respondents had in serving ELLs, "the more likely they were to cite challenges involving shortcomings in instructional programs and resources for these students." Other sponsors of the study included Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) and the University of California's Linguistic Minority Research Institute (LMRI).

Arizona Governor Vetoes English Only Bill
Governor Janet Napolitano has blocked the Arizona legislature's latest assault on immigrant rights. On May 9, she vetoed Senate Bill 1167, which would have required the state to conduct all official business in English only. In her veto message, Napolitano said she agreed with the goal of encouraging immigrants to learn English. But she challenged the notion that restrictions on the use of other languages would promote that goal. The governor noted that the legislature has thus far refused to provide adequate funding to serve Arizona's English language learners, in defiance of a federal court order. "Consequently, under Senate Bill 1167, English is required as the official language," she said, "but funds are not available to help non-English speakers to learn to read, write or speak English. Under these circumstances, making English the only language for official action is contradictory at best." As a backup plan, some lawmakers had hoped to place an English Only amendment to the state constitution on next year's ballot. But that effort stalled and now appears to be dead. A similar measure passed in 1988 but was later struck down by the Arizona Supreme Court as a violation of the First Amendment Right to free speech.

Lawsuit To Test NCLB Provisions on Assessing ELLs
A California school district, with strong support from advocates for English language learners, plans to file litigation challenging that state's assessment practices under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The California State Board of Education insists on administering high-stakes tests exclusively in English for all students, regardless of their English proficiency. Plaintiffs in the case, including the Coachella Valley Unified School District and the California Association for Bilingual Education, plan to argue that NCLB prohibits this arbitrary and unfair policy. The law requires states to assess ELLs in "a valid and reliable manner," including "reasonable accommodations" to help students overcome leanguage barriers and, "to the extent practicable, assessments in the language and form most likely to yield accurate data on what such students know and can do in academic content areas until such students have achieved English language proficiency." If these NCLB provisions are ruled to be enforceable in court, the decision would have broad implications. Only a tiny percentage of ELLs nationwide now receive academic assessments in their native language. For these students, English-language achievement tests are neither valid nor reliable, even where accommodations are used, according to experts in assessment. Nevertheless, ELLs' scores on these tests are widely used for high-stakes purposes under NCLB.

NABE Returns to Traditional Mail-In Election
Because of computer security problems with this year's online election, NABE has decided to return to traditional procedures for electing members to the Executive Board. In early June, eligible voters will begin receiving paper ballots via U.S. mail, along with prepaid return envelopes.To be counted, ballots must be postmarked by June 17. In 2005, NABE members will vote for Regional Representatives, as specified by the NABE Bylaws. Click below to view candidate bios and statements by Region.

East Region: Heriberto Galarza, Carlo Mitton
Central Region: Bryan B. Charging Cloud, Pauline Chávez Dow, Angel Noe González, April Haulman, Roel V. Hinojosa, Elena Izquierdo, Sandra Liliana Pucci
West Region: David Briseño, Willard Sakiestewa Gilbert, Stephen Krashen, Barbara Medina, Leon Rattler

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