[Edling] USA - More States Are Offering Assessment Accommodation for English Learner Students, Yet Gaps Remain

Tue Mar 10 15:33:24 UTC 2026

New fact sheet maps states' use of native language assessments and
definition of significant
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*PRESS RELEASE*
March 10, 2026
Contact: Michelle Mittelstadt
202-266-1910
mmittelstadt at migrationpolicy.org
<https://default.salsalabs.org/T15bcd64d-7a25-41d8-9fec-b8ccaba9d808/de23ad10-d517-4318-a24f-0bf79a397855>

*More States Are Offering Native Language Assessments for English Learner
Students, Yet Gaps Remain*

WASHINGTON, DC — A new analysis finds that while a growing number of states
now offer assessments of academic knowledge in public school students’ home
languages, English Learners (ELs) in 15 states still have no access to
native language assessments in core subjects, complicating efforts to
accurately gauge what they know and can do. Further, in many states, the
languages identified as present to a significant extent do not align with
the languages in which assessments are available, a new fact sheet
<https://default.salsalabs.org/T4273b104-5e46-41cb-b4af-3c2fef84227b/de23ad10-d517-4318-a24f-0bf79a397855>
from the Migration Policy Institute’s National Center on Immigrant
Integration Policy shows.

Educators and policymakers rely on standardized test scores to track how
well school systems are educating students, including those from
traditionally underserved populations such as socioeconomically
disadvantaged students and ELs, and to target resources to low-performing
schools. Yet test scores for the nation’s 5.3 million EL students may not
fully reflect how much they have learned if they cannot demonstrate their
knowledge in a language they are not yet fluent in. For this reason, the
federal government since 2001 has allowed (but not required) states to
offer tests in students’ home languages.

The fact sheet, *Native Language Assessments for K-12 English Learners: A
2025 State-Level Snapshot
<https://default.salsalabs.org/T86411ccd-ec2f-4979-a1d0-ce55fbea070f/de23ad10-d517-4318-a24f-0bf79a397855>*
, documents the rise in states offering these assessments: 35 states and
the District of Columbia as of 2025, an increase of four states since 2020.
Native language assessments can take various forms, including written
translations of English tests, oral translations or assessments designed
from the outset in a language other than English.

Drawing on the most recent state plans under the federal Every Student
Succeeds Act (ESSA) and other documents, the fact sheet maps how all 50
states and the District of Columbia define “significant” non-English
languages and where native language assessments are available.

The analysis shows that most states now have formal criteria, typically
percentage thresholds, to identify which languages are present “to a
significant extent” in their states, but many do not yet provide tests in
all languages deemed significant. In 2025, 28 states and the District of
Columbia offered native language assessments in all languages they
identified as significant, while others either tested in only some of those
languages or in none.

The fact sheet also details the subjects and languages covered by native
language assessments, from math and science to social studies and
reading/language arts, and in languages including Spanish, Arabic, Chinese,
Haitian Creole, Somali and Vietnamese. Spanish is offered in at least one
native language assessment across all states providing them, except for
Hawaii, which offers assessments only in the Hawaiian language. The
analysis notes that Colorado is the only state to offer native language
assessments across all four core academic subjects.

Beyond mapping current policies, the fact sheet raises questions for state
and district leaders about how native language assessments fit into
accountability systems and how inclusive language definitions can better
reflect changing student populations. It underscores that well-designed
assessments in students’ home languages can generate more accurate data on
ELs’ academic knowledge, supporting efforts to close achievement gaps and
ensure that all students can succeed and reach their full potential.

The fact sheet, with information for each state and the District of
Columbia, is available here:
www.migrationpolicy.org/research/native-language-assessments-k12
<https://default.salsalabs.org/T82b97a26-c520-49e1-8e7e-5b0e410e2df6/de23ad10-d517-4318-a24f-0bf79a397855>.

For the Center’s collection of work on English Learners and the federal
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), visit:
www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/nciip-english-learners-and-every-student-succeeds-act-essa
<https://default.salsalabs.org/T28f7ee96-393a-4feb-aa5d-4b6c324ed806/de23ad10-d517-4318-a24f-0bf79a397855>.

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