By Frank Wells
Ten school districts have filed suit against the state over invalid testing of English language learners (ELL). The suit charges that the state is ignoring requirements under the No Child Left Behind Act that students not yet proficient in English be tested in a way that yields accurate data on what they know.
In contrast to 14 other states with large immigrant populations, California tests its ELL students in English, often to the detriment of schools or districts unfairly labeled as failures based on the resulting test scores.
The suit originated in Coachella Valley, where district officials and members of the Coachella Valley Teachers Association were frustrated by state testing requirements that labeled their schools as failing and subjected them to possible sanctions under NCLB. The suit was endorsed by the CVTA Rep Council. Efforts by district personnel and CVTA members, including CTA Language Acquisition Committee Chair Sylvia Gullingsrud, attracted the attention of other school districts, nine of which came on board, as did several pupils and parents and interested organizations, including the California Association of Bilingual Educators (CABE), the California League of United Latin American Citizens, and Californians Together. Recently, CTA's Board of Directors authorized the association to intervene as well.
The state has put schools and students in jeopardy even though kids are making real progress, says CVTA President Mike Rosenfeld. "Nearly everyone is enthusiastic about this suit. They know how unfair it is to the kids to test them in a language they don't understand, and they know how damaging those 'failing' labels are for schools and teachers that are truly doing a good job."
Coachella Valley Unified serves about 15,000 students, 82 percent of whom are English learners.
