For English language learners (ELLs) with disabilities, Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams make the decision about which state assessment individual students take. If the IEP team decides that an ELL with a significant cognitive disability cannot take the general English language proficiency (ELP) assessment, with or without accommodations, that student would take an alternate ELP assessment.

Alternate assessments of ELP, similar to other assessments, could take different formats including paper-pencil tests or technology-based tests. Regardless of the format, the assessment must be aligned with state or consortia ELP standards, and support valid and reliable inferences about a student’s progress in attaining English language proficiency.