Both theory and research suggest that students, especially English language learner (EL) students, could be constrained in showing what they know and can do in mathematics if the test items used to assess their achievement are measuring factors other than their math-related knowledge and skills (Abedi, Hofstetter, & Lord 2004; Butler & Stevens 2001). This interference from construct-irrelevant factors has been found to be most pronounced for students with limited English proficiency, such as EL students and non-EL students who fail to achieve proficiency on state English language arts (ELA) assessments (Abedi 2001). Research has shown that math test items can be linguistically modified to reduce the complexity of the language used, without altering the construct (for example, math understanding) being assessed, thereby enabling student access to the tested content (Abedi & Lord 2001; Abedi, Courtney, & Leon 2003).
