英语学习者英语水平与ACT考试成绩的关系探讨

2026-04 Exploring Relationships BetweenEnglish Proficiency and ACT®TestPerformance of English Learners State 1 JOANN L. MOORE AND JOYCE Z. SCHNIEDERS Conclusions This report contains the findings from State 1 of a two-state study investigating relationshipsbetween English proficiency and the performance of English learners (ELs) on the ACT®test.For both states, we found that the English proficiency level of ELs was a significant predictor ofperformance on the ACT, such that students with lower levels of English proficiency tended tohave lower ACT scores and students with higher levels of English proficiency tended to havehigher ACT scores. Additional analyses from State 2 suggest that the scores of students scoringat the lowest English proficiency levels may reflect some amount of construct-irrelevant variancedue to limited English proficiency. The results of this study indicate that English proficiencylevels of ELs should be taken into consideration when interpreting the ACT scores of ELs; inparticular, caution should be exercised when drawing conclusions about the knowledge andskills of ELs with the lowest levels of English proficiency. So What? It is important that users of test scores consider not only the knowledge and skills that are beingmeasured by the test but also other contextual information that may be relevant wheninterpreting scores. For English learners, limited English proficiency can impact students’ abilityto adequately access the test content and accurately respond to the test items, leading toconstruct-irrelevant variance and resulting in scores that may not fully represent what they knowand can do. This study provides evidence that English proficiency is indeed strongly related toperformance on the ACT, and caution should be exercised when interpreting the scores ofstudents at the lowest levels of English proficiency. Now What? Future research should replicate these findings with other testing programs and in other statesto further build up evidence of how well we are measuring the knowledge and skills of Englishlearners when the test content is in English, especially for students with the lowest levels ofEnglish proficiency. Acknowledgements About the Authors Joann L. Moore, PhD The authors would like to thank Jill McVey and HeatherBuzick for their comments on earlier drafts of this report. Joann L. Moore is a lead research scientist inAcademic Research at ACT. Her researchfocuses on prediction of secondary andpostsecondary outcomes from academic andbehavioral factors. Joyce Z. Schieders, PhD Joyce Z. Schneiders is a research scientist inSkills Research & Development at ACT. Herresearch interests includeK–Postsecondary students’ learningexperiences and education/career navigationexperiences. Abstract This study examined relationships between English proficiency and the performance of Englishlearners (ELs) on the ACT®test. Using a sample of students from a U.S. state who took bothWIDA ACCESS English proficiency assessments and the ACT in Grade 11 during the 2017–18to 2023–24 school years (except for the 2019–20 school year, which was disrupted by theCOVID-19 pandemic), we found that ACCESS Reading scores had a strong relationship withperformance on the ACT across all test sections and the Composite score. Students with lowerlevels of English proficiency as measured by ACCESS Reading tended to have lower ACTscores, and as reading proficiency increased, performance on the ACT increased. This study,along with a companion study from a second state, suggests that caution should be exercisedwhen interpreting the ACT scores of students at the lowest levels of English proficiency. Introduction This report contains the findings from State 1 of a two-state study investigating relationshipsbetween English proficiency and performance of English learners (ELs) on the ACT test. Bothparticipating states have been administering the ACT to all Grade 11 students for multiple years,and both states have been members of the WIDA consortium for multiple years. Both statesprovided data files containing student-level demographic information, and WIDA ACCESS datawere obtained either from the state or from WIDA, with the state’s permission. Parallel analyseswere conducted across the two states where possible, and Grade 11 high school transcript dataprovided by State 2 allowed for additional analyses related to grades earned, credit hoursearned, and coursework taken. Additional details about the State 1 data samples are providedbelow, and the State 2 findings can be found in a separate report (Moore, Schnieders, Li, & Qiu,2026). ACT began offering testing supports (also referred to as language supports or accommodations)to ELs in the fall of 2017. These supports include (a) extended time (one and one-half, singleday), (b) translated test instructions that ACT provides, and (c) use of an approved word-to-wordbilingual dictionary without definitions. ACT has conducted research investigating ACT