English Language Learners: MCAS Accommodations

ELL students are permitted to use bilingual dictionaries and specialized glossaries during MCAS testing.

The authorized list of bilingual dictionaries for use on MCAS tests by students with Limited English Proficiency can be found at: www.doe.mass.edu/mcas.

Glossaries can be found at https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/metrocenter/language-rbern/education/glossaries-ells-mlls-accommodations. The glossaries are also useful for instruction purposes and aid students in accessing content areas more quickly. A clean copy must be provided for the MCAS test.

Please contact the ELL teacher at your school if you require assistance obtaining dictionaries and/or glossaries.

Principals may assign testing groups and spaces for ELL students other than regular classrooms, as long as other conditions and staffing requirements are met.

If an ELL student does not seem to be responding to any test questions, the test administrator may ask the student if he/she is finished. If the student is finished, the administrator should collect the test materials and ask the student to sit quietly or read a book.

Melissa J. Fay

Director of Student Services