Alternate ACCESS for ELLs™

The Alternate ACCESS for ELLs assessment is designed to be a valid, reliable, and equitable way to assess the English language proficiency (ELP) of English language learners (ELLs) with significant disabilities.

The Alternate ACCESS is designed to:

(a) meet the accountability requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004,

(b) meet the technical requirements of the Standards for Educational Psychological Testing (American Educational Research Association (AERA), American Psychological Association (APA), & National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME), 1999),

(c) facilitate the involvement of ELLs in participating states' accountability systems,

(d) provide a method for monitoring the ELP growth of ELLs with significant disabilities, and

(e) provide guidance to individualized education program (IEP) teams with developing appropriate ELP IEP goals and objectives.

The project Development of the Alternate English Language Proficiency Assessment Procedures for English Language Learners with Significant Disabilities is partially supported by a United States Department of Education Enhanced Assessment Instruments Grant (CFDA No. 84.368A). The grant was awarded to the District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education and subcontracted to the Wisconsin Center for Education Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The contents of this website were partially developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal government.