After six years of low scores for students learning English, Texas educators say it’s the test’s fault

English learners' scores in a test designed to assess their handling of the language saw a sharp drop six years ago and have remained low. The drop coincided with the state's redesign of the test, which included the adoption of an automated system to score responses. (Credit: Greta Díaz González Vázquez for The Texas Tribune)

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English-learning students’ scores on a state test designed to measure their mastery of the language fell sharply and have stayed low since 2018 — a drop that bilingual educators say might have less to do with students’ skills and more with sweeping design changes and the automated computer scoring system that were introduced that year.