Language and Content-Area Assessment Chapter 7 Kelly Mitchell PPS 6010 February 3, 2011

What is Assessment? Assessment is a process for determining the current level of a learner’s performance or knowledge

Results of Assessment: Are used to modify or improve the learner’s performance or knowledge Inform educators about the strengths and needs of language learners so students are properly placed and appropriately instructed Are used to inform school authorities, parents, or other concerned parties of students progress Compare student achievement against national goals and standards

What are Educational Standards ? The educational standards movement is an attempt on the part of educators and others to specify exactly what students are expected to learn in each content area and at each grade level

How are Educational Standards Measured? Achievement of educational standards is measured on statewide achievement tests as mandated by the 2001 federal NCLB law

Advantages of Standards-Based Instruction for English Learners: By using these standards, teachers can focus on what students NEED to know The use of standards avoids the use in ELD materials and practices designed for younger students or for special education students Every student is expected to learn a specific, predetermined “amount” of knowledge and that learning is measured by evidence of attainment of that knowledge Protects students from being neglected, or from learning something that only one individual teacher believes is important.

Achievement Testing and No Child Left Behind: Requires that all students be “proficient” in reading and mathematics by the school year EL must be assessed in a valid and reasonable manner that includes reasonable accommodations and to the extent practical testing in the primary language Students who have completed thirty months of schooling must be tested in English reading States must establish baseline proficiency goals to which yearly progress is compared Status of EL cannot be hidden among the averages but must be specifically disaggregated

Disadvantages of Standards-Based Instruction for English Learners: The emphasis on testing leaves little time for teachers to focus on teaching, the academic subjects and the language that EL need to acquire to perform well on high stakes tests School failure is assigned to the individual rather than the systematic denial of equal educational opportunity by unequal school funding resulting in poor schools and lack of resources

Linking Assessment to Progress for EL: Placement tests that align with standards, which align with daily instruction provide a seamless system that helps teachers to track student’s continuous progress toward mainstream instruction

The English Language Development (ELD) Framework: Takes place in five stages –Beginning –Early Intermediate – Intermediate –Early Advanced –Advanced The ELD standards describe expected proficiency on the part of the EL in six key domains of language –Listening and Speaking –Reading/Word Analysis –Reading Fluency and Systematic Vocabulary Development –Reading Comprehension –Reading Literary Response and Analysis –Writing Strategies and Application

Linking Placement Tests to Language Development: Several States have developed or use commercially available language-development tests California uses the CELDT to identify new students who are EL in kindergarten through 12 th grade The CELDT determines their level of English proficiency, and assess their progress annually toward becoming fluent-English proficient A student’s score corresponds to a student’s skill level Because ELD and ELA standards are closely related, the expectation is that EL will make a smooth transition from one set of standards to the other

Linking Standards-Based Classroom Instruction to Assessment: In standards-based instruction, assessment is linked to instruction in two fundamental ways Instruction is designed with assessment in mind Assessment and instruction are linked through standardized testing

Formative vs. Summative Assessment: Summative – End measurement used for final “sum-up” of student performance Formative – Takes place through five means: teacher questioning, offering feedback through grading, peer assessment, self-assessment, and the formative use of summative tests

Proficiency, Diagnostic and Placement Tests: Proficiency Tests –Measures a test taker’s overall ability in English with emphasis in communicative competence Diagnostic Tests and Placement Tests –Administered to determine specific aspects of a student’s proficiency in a second language Placement Tests –Determine the academic level or the grade level into which student’s need to be placed

Achievement Tests: Measures a student’s success in learning specific instructional content, whether language or another subject A curriculum –based achievement test is given after instruction has taken place and contains only material that was actually taught

Methods of Assessment: Standardized Tests –Tests –Checklists –Observations –rating scales –Questionnaires –structured interviews Less Standardized Tests –Students work samples –Journals –Games –Debates –Storytelling –anecdotal reports –behavioral notes

Cautions about Testing: Does the test correspond to the task that it measures? Does the score approximate the student’s ability? How can the score be supplemented with other information? Does the test drive the curriculum? Is the test a fair sample of the students’ skills and behaviors? Is the test being used unfairly to compare students and school with one another? Are tests that involve minimum standards being used to make critical decisions regarding classification of students?

Identification, Assessment, and Placement of EL in the Schools: Students are first evaluated Then if identified as needing ELD services, they are placed in suitable programs, if available Once in a program students are then periodically reevaluated for purposes of reclassification

Limitations of Assessment: Anxiety Time Limitations Rapport Cultural Differences

Problematic Test Content: Equivalent First and Second-Language Versions Linguistic Bias –Geographic –Dialectical –language-specific Cultural Bias

Technical Concepts: Validity Reliability Practicality

Testing must be an integral part of a learning environment that encourages students to acquire a second language as a means to fulfill personal and academic goals