Alli Loy
CIED 5953
Bibliographic Information
Maxwell, L.A., Shah, N. (2012) Evaluating ELLs for special needs as a challenge. Education Week,
32(2), 1-12.
Central Theme
The authors encourage teachers to investigate an English language learner more thoroughly and offer
other intervening aid before referring the student to special education.
Main Ideas
 It’s very easy to mistake a language barrier for a learning disability.
 The number of ELLs in special ed classes used to be a gross overrepresentation of overall school
demographics.
 Special ed evaluations are conducted in English, and without taking into consideration other
factors in a student’s life that might lead to poor academic performance, such as home life or
previous educational experience.
 Response to intervention, or RTI, is a kind of scaffolding technique that aids ELLs in a regular
classroom.
 RTI is used to gauge the student’s progress before a special ed referral is made, to determine if
the student can benefit in ways other than special education.
Author’s Conclusion
The author’s goal is to inform educators that English language learners should be more carefully
evaluated before being placed in a special ed classroom. Since a language barrier exists, ELLs can appear
to exhibit the same level of comprehension as a student with a learning disability, and this leads to a
disproportionate number of ELLs being mistakenly placed in special ed. The author offers a number of
alternate evaluations and methods to aid an ELL student before a special ed referral is made. These
methods, most notably RTI, prevent mistaken placements in special ed, but still make efforts to help those
ELLs who need additional resources.
Self-Reflection
This article reflects the importance of culturally responsive teaching, especially with English
language learners. A language barrier can easily lead a teacher to believe that a student has a learning
disability or is otherwise in need of special education classes. Instead of sticking to previous assumptions,
we as educators must be mindful of how an ELL student will understand at a different rate and may need
extra help—but doesn’t need to be placed in special ed. This idea can also be connected to the idea of
equity, discussed in Gottlieb’s book Assessing English Language Learners.
The article also highlights the tendency of educators to automatically—but mostly
unconsciously—view ELL students as less skilled academically. This could not be further from the truth,
but many schools and teachers lack the resources they would need to connect with ELLs and help them
achieve their full potential. The article touches on the fact that special ed evaluations are conducted in
English, and that they don’t consider any factors other than academic that might affect a student’s
performance. This Anglo-centric view of ELLs can be harmful to their future academic success.
I can also connect this article to multiple Danielson domains, including 1 and 3. Demonstrating
specific knowledge of students is essential to properly educating ELLs without simply referring them to
special ed. Demonstrating flexibility in teaching methods is another essential factor in teaching ELLs.
This includes utilizing resources such as alternative instructions, the use of an aide, or simply pacing the
lessons differently. Teachers must always be mindful of what all their students need, and work hard to
give them just that—instead of shunting the difficult students off to special ed.