Test-based Accountability Systems: Concerns for Indiana’s Multilingual Learners and Their Teachers

Indiana’s current test-based accountability system grew, in part, out of decades of federal-level educational reform initiatives. This article reviews the history of Indiana’s test-based accountability system for schools and details how the system calculates evaluative ratings for Indiana teachers and schools. Additionally, the article analyzes how the Indiana accountability system contradicts what is known about appropriate measurement of English language learners and lists psychometric and validity concerns such as valid assessment, non-random assignment, norming groups, and ceiling/bottom effects. This article calls for a system in which multiple assessments offer rich data for school and teacher evaluations.