ABSTRACT
This chapter contains an overview of validation efforts undertaken for English language proficiency assessments over the past decade. Test developers and state agencies have made remarkable progress in some areas of this field in response to federal government regulatory guidance stipulating the kinds of validation efforts required. Significant challenges remain, however, notably in the definition of the academic language construct across grade levels, inclusion of English learners with disabilities, task development for young learners, and other areas. This chapter uses federal peer review guidance documents, state and test development consortia technical reports, and published research to describe both the progress that has been made in this challenging area and the major issues that urgently need to be addressed.
