Supporting English Learner Students With Disabilities: 10 Best Practices for Culturally Sensitive Assessments 

July 17, 2024

As school and district administrators and practitioners work to support English learners with disabilities, they must navigate the complexities of assessment and instruction with cultural and linguistic responsiveness.

WestEd’s Silvia DeRuvo, an expert in teaching English Learner students with disabilities, recognizes the need for policies and practices that drive instruction and ensure that all students are allowed to master grade-level content within an environment that recognizes English language development needs and learning differences related to disability.

In this blog post, DeRuvo shares 10 best practices that practitioners can use to ensure unbiased assessments and inclusive instruction. Schools and districts can adapt the practices to fit local contexts, enhance the accuracy and fairness of assessments, improve the effectiveness of Individualized Education Program (IEP) development, and enhance the overall quality of instructional strategies for English Learner students with disabilities.

The following tips inspire a culture of inclusivity and opportunity that can resonate throughout every classroom.

1. When developing a student’s assessment plan, use multiple data sources to ensure a whole-child picture of the student’s strengths and needs.
2. Ensure that multidisciplinary team members include the family, an expert in English language development, and other federally required members.
3. Use culturally and linguistically sensitive assessment practices that address native language assessment using tools and resources normed for English learners.
4. Utilize multiple measures of student progress in the special education evaluation, including curriculum-based measures; interview data from students, teachers, and families; and quantitative and qualitative data from all practitioners working with the student, including the English language development teacher.
5. Determine how family and student partnerships in IEP development ensure an asset-based approach to developing culturally aligned IEPs.
6. Examine the role of exclusionary factors on eligibility determinations to ensure that English learners are not identified with a disability when these factors may impact their academic progress and behavior.
7. Identify the required IEP components for an English Learner, including the English language supports, linguistically appropriate goals, Least Restrictive Environment, and accommodations that support English Learner with disabilities in the classroom and statewide assessments.
8. Understand the process steps for developing linguistically appropriate goals and objectives that support language development, content knowledge, and skills to meet grade-level standards.
9. Understand the role of high-leverage practices for students with disabilities in instruction for English learners identified with a disability.
10. Explore the benefits of collaborative co-teaching to support students with IEPs in their English language development and specially designed instruction.