The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 served as a refueling agent for education reform. It added the mandate of Title I, which focuses on aid for disadvantaged students. NCLB mandates that states set high academic standards with quantifiable goals. This challenge has been highlighted for states because subpopulations, such as English Language Learners and students with special needs, have become focus groups in trying to bridge the achievement gap. The purpose of this correlation research study was to determine the correlation between the students’ English Language Proficiency level and their performance on the STAAR reading assessment. There was a strong positive correlation between the student’s English Language Proficiency level in reading and the student’s reading STAAR scores. ELL students with a higher English language proficiency level tend to score higher on the reading STAAR assessment
