ABSTRACT
Mathematics test items assess more than just ‘the math’; they include both construct-relevant and construct-irrelevant language demands that interact with students’ mathematical knowledge and expertise. New College and Career Ready Standards in the field of mathematics provide innovative ways to reconceive large-scale assessment used for accountability purposes. New test items will need to take account of how students are being asked to learn and display their mathematics skills and knowledge as it is integrated with language abilities and different academic language registers. Teachers of mathematics need to prepare their students for the discipline-specific language demands of mathematics, and policy makers need to understand the limitations on the validity of inferences based on summative tests for English learners.]
