ABSTRACT
One of the fastest-growing segments of U.S. public schools is students who are culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD; National Center for Education Statistics, 2011). These students come from racial and cultural backgrounds that are different from what is considered the mainstream. Oftentimes, English is not spoken at home, or another language is spoken in addition to English. More than 4 million English learners (ELs) reside in the United States, a majority of whom speak Spanish as their native language (Kindler, 2002). As a whole, EL students start significantly behind their non-EL peers on school entry (Rumberger & Gandara, 2004). According to a survey of 41 states, less than 20% of ELs meet state-established criteria for reading comprehension (Kindler, 2002). Due to the fact that CLD students represent a significant at-risk population, it is important for schools to use valid assessment tools in order to accurately measure their performance and to make appropriate educational decisions based on assessment data.
