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 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, 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. 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. |
