Study Questions California Kindergarten ELL Classifications

The San Jose Mercury News (10/24, Jones) reports, "In 2010, more than 1,200 kindergartners in Pajaro Valley schools were tested for their skills in English. Nearly all were classified English learners. A new study by UC Berkeley researchers calls the results into question." The piece notes that researchers say the state language test "is so challenging, researchers say, that too many California children are being labeled as English learners more because of a lack of maturity than language skills."