Optimal Solutiuons Group is welcomed to have Ebony Walton present on "Using Retired NAEP Variables to Improve ELL Identification" as part of it's Bown Bag Series. Ms. Walton will give a presentation beginning at noon on June 30, 2010.

At the American Education Research Association’s (AERA’s) Annual Meeting in Denver on May 1, Ebony L. Walton presented her research on how the language used at home and length of residence in the U.S. relate to the identification of English Language Learners (ELL) status and student performance on NAEP mathematics, reading, and science.

Walton’s paper, coauthored with Optimal Solutions Group’s colleagues from the NAEP Education Statistics Services Institute and Dr. Salvador Rivas of the American Institutes for Research, was entitled “Looking to the Past to Help the Future: Using Retired NAEP Variables to Improve ELL Identification.” The paper was part of a four-paper symposium, Understanding the Dynamics of the ELL Student Population and their Academic Achievement Using NAEP Data. The larger scope of the symposium will inform NCES researchers about the validity of their background questionnaire pertaining to ELL students.