About the Book
`With all the offerings that Margo Gottlieb provides in this book, she makes us yearn to not only cross the bridge of assessment, but also to feel confident when we get to the other side.′
-From the Foreword by Else Hamayan
Illinois Resource Center
`This book is long overdue! Appropriate assessment and placement of ELLs is the most basic of all instructional processes. Without this, we cannot be sure we can measure student progress or address individual instructional needs.′
-Margarita Calderón, Research Scientist
Center for Data-Driven Reform, Johns Hopkins University
`Here, finally, we have a text that empowers teachers by giving them practical strategies for harnessing assessments of language and content in ways that benefit their teaching and their students′ learning.′
-Timothy Boals, WIDA Consortium Director, Wisconsin Dept. of Public Instruction
`Assessing English Language Learners includes a multitude of evaluation instruments that readers can use as they assess their students. Margo Gottlieb helps teachers adjust assessment to different language proficiency levels and then evaluate language proficiency and content learning appropriately.′
-David E. Freeman, Yvonne S. Freeman, Professors, Curriculum and Instruction, University of Texas, Brownsville
Discover how to bridge the gap between equitably assessing linguistic and academic performance!
Student assessment is the cornerstone of standards-based education. For the growing population of English Language Learners, however, measuring their acquisition and learning is a multifaceted process. This well-documented text examines the unique needs of English Language Learners and describes strategies for implementing instructional assessment of language and content.
With both depth and breadth, this practical resource covers how to equitably and comprehensively assess the language proficiency and academic achievement of English Language Learners. Both practicing and aspiring educators will benefit from
Rubrics, charts, checklists, surveys, and other ready-to-use tools
Professional development activities
An integrated approach to teaching standards, language, and content
Guidance on how best to address standardized testing and grading
Use this timely text to advance the academic language proficiency of English Language Learners through enhanced teaching and assessment techniques.
Table of Contents:
Foreword by Else Hamayan
Preface
About the Author
1. Assessment of English Language Learners: The Bridge to Educational Equity
2. Standards and Assessment: The Bridge From Language Proficiency to Academic Achievement
3. Assessing Oral Language and Literacy Development: The Bridge From Social Language Proficiency to Academic Language Proficiency
4. Assessing Academic Language Proficiency and Academic Achievement: The Bridge to Accountability
5. Classroom Assessment: The Bridge to Educational Parity
6. Documenting Performance Assessment: The Bridge From Teachers to Classrooms
7. Supports for Student, Classroom, and Large-Scale Assessment: The Bridge to Student Understanding
8. Standardized Testing and Reporting: The Bridge to Fair and Valid Assessment
9. Grading Systems: The Bridge to the Future
Glossary
References
Index
About the Author :
Margo Gottlieb, Ph.D., has been a bilingual teacher, coordinator, facilitator, consultant, and mentor across K-20 settings. Having worked with universities, organizations, governments, states, school districts, networks, and schools, Margo has co-constructed linguistic and culturally sustainable curriculum and reconceptualized classroom assessment, policy, and practice. As co-founder and lead developer of WIDA at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2003, Margo has helped design and contributed to all the editions of WIDA’s English and Spanish language development standards frameworks and their derivative products. She has been appointed to national and state advisory boards, served as a Fulbright Senior Scholar, and was honored by the TESOL International Association in 2016 for her significant contribution to the field. An avid traveler, Margo has enjoyed keynoting and presenting across the United States, territories, and 25 countries. Having authored, co-authored, or co-edited over 100 publications, including 22 books, Margo′s 3rd edition of Assessing Multilingual Learners: Bridges to Empowerment (2024) and Collaborative Assessment for Multilingual Learners and Teachers: Pathways to Partnerships (with A. Honigsfeld, 2025) are the latest additions to her Corwin compendium.
In 2025, Margo was inducted into the Multilingual Education Hall of Fame.
Review :
"This book is long overdue! Appropriate assessment and placement of ELLs is the most basic of all instructional processes. Without this, we cannot be sure we can measure student progress or address individual instructional needs."
"Assessing English Language Learners includes a multitude of evaluation instruments that readers can use as they assess their students, and helps educators understand the pros and cons of different types of assessment measures so that they can make informed decisions about how to use the results of various assessment instruments. The author helps teachers adjust assessment to different language proficiency levels and then evaluate language proficiency and content learning appropriately."
"Assessing English Language Learners is a must for the library of any educator working with English language learners. It is a resource that district level educators, school administrators, resource specialists, as well as classroom teachers will find indispensible. This book helps educators see how excellent assessment can lead to excellent instruction and improved student learning."
"The assessment landscape for teachers working with English language learners has become considerably more complex since the inception of the standards-based era and subsequent NCLB legislation. Here, finally, we have a text that not only bridges over to this new paradigm but also empowers teachers by giving them practical strategies for harnessing assessments of language and content in ways that benefit their teaching and their students′ learning."
With all the offerings that Margo Gottlieb provides in this book, she makes us yearn to not only cross the bridge of assessment, but to feel confident when we get to the other side."
"Dr. Gottlieb has taken the extremely complex topic of assessing English language learners (ELLs) and made it comprehensible. She walks the reader through a multitude of interrelated components - explaining each along the way - and shows us how they fit together to form a framework for the assessment of both language proficiency and academic achievement for ELLs. This is an essential guide for anyone and everyone working with ELLs."
"Gottlieb provides a comprehensive research base to the topic and a practical framework for more equitable and effectively assessing English Language Learners. The book establishes a reliable assessment system that bridges content and academic achievement with language development."
"A valuable contribution to the book is the inclusion of tools to assist in producing, interpreting and reporting reliable and valid data for educational decision making. This book is a great resource for educators to assist them in the design and implementation of instructional assessment activities, tasks, and projects. Strongly recommended for all levels of school and academic libraries."
