Every summer, administrators and teachers sit down with stacks of state testing data, hoping to find clear answers about how to support their multilingual learners next year. But there’s a problem—these tests aren’t giving them the data they need. The results are vague, outdated, and often misleading. How can teachers plan targeted instruction when the only data available is five or six months old? Worse yet, the tests don’t break down which specific skills students need to d

Every year, school systems invest significant time and resources into summative assessments to evaluate how English learners (ELs) are performing. But if you’re leading a district multilingual program, you already know the truth: By the time the data arrives, it’s too late. The Problem: You’re Flying Blind for Most of the Year Here’s how the cycle typically unfolds: Students take a state language assessment (like TELPAS or ACCESS) in February or March. Scores are released

As summer approaches, we’ve heard the same question from English Language Teachers , instructional coaches, and school leaders alike:...