1. Creating Assessments with English Language Learners in Mind In this module we will examine: Who are English Language Learners (ELL) and how are they identified? What are the needs of English Language Learners? How can we most effectively and responsibly address the unique needs they bring to assessment? ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education

2. Who are English Language Learners? English Language Learners are students... –who know little or no English –Who are beginning to know English –Who are fairly proficient in English –Who are language minority students who use a language other than English at home ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 2

3. ELL Students Need... Instructional support in contexts both Academic Social ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 3

4. How are ELL Students Identified? Through intake interviews at school Through results of standardized tests such as the LAS Through state tests such as the Kansas English Language Proficiency Assessment (KELPA) By teacher observation in an instructional setting ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 4-5

5. Activity One How do I evaluate an ELL student’s English Language Proficiency in listening, speaking, writing and reading? ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 1 6

6. Issues Surrounding Identification and Inclusion States are not consistent with deciding which ELL students should be included in large-scale assessments or instructional programs The tests that are used to identify or group ELL students may not have included any ELL students in the original norming sample and thus may be completely inappropriate when used to describe ELL groups ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 7

7. Issues Surrounding Identification and Inclusion Even if ELL students were included in the test norming, if ELL performance is low, we may not know whether the cause is due to limited language skills, low content knowledge, or a combination of both Wide range of students included within the ELL category ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 8

8. Schools Serving ELL Students Face Challenges 1. Inconsistency in ELL classification across and within states ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 9

9. Schools Serving ELL Students Face Challenges 2. Sparse ELL population ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 10

10. Schools Serving ELL Students Face Challenges 3. Lack of ELL subgroup stability ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 11

11. Schools Serving ELL Students Face Challenges 4. instruments for ELL students ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 12

12. Schools Serving ELL Students Face Challenges 5. Disparity between ELL baseline scores and AYP targets 6. Disparity between ELL cutoff points for Reading and Math ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 13

13. Teachers of ELL Students Need... “Because of the way this distinctive group of students is tested and taught has an impact on a school in its entirety, all teachers need to know about ELL students and how to assessment them appropriately.” – W. James Popham ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 14

14. Language Becomes a Matter of Access Linguistic complexity of test items not related to the content of the assessment may increase the measurement error and reduce the reliability of the test for ELL students Language becomes a barrier to accessing content For the ELL student, tests measure both achievement and language ability ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 15

15. “Reduce” Language Complexity The principle of “universal test design” states that all tests should prefer the use of simple and more direct linguistic structures to more complex ways of expressing test items and answer choices Let’s look at an example… ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 16a

16. An example Complex and Less Direct Linguistic Structure Which of the following mathematical expressions is not the equivalent of “x = 6/15”? a.X = 40% b.X =.4 c.X = 3/5 d. X = 12/30 Simple and More Direct Linguistic Structure. Which one has the same value as “x = 6/15”? a. x = 2/3 b. x = 6 *15 c. x =.04 d. x = 40% ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 16b

17. Simple vs. Complex Language CRESST research demonstrates that reducing the complexity of language on tests improves the performance of ELL students by as much as 10% to 20% without reducing the rigor of the test ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 17

18. Cultural Differences within ELL Populations “For both the ELL students and the general student group, students with a Chinese- speaking background had significantly higher performance on science and reading tests than students with a Spanish-speaking background.” --Abedi, J. and Doetal, R. (2004). Challenges in the No Child Left Behind Act for English-Language Learners. Phi Delta Kappan June 2004, pp. 782-785. ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 18

19. Other Variables that Affect the Test Performance of ELL Students Parents’ education Socio-economic status Length of time in the United States Overall grades Student mobility ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 20

20. Ways to Improve Academic Performance of ELL Students 1. Focus on Reading – CRESST research confirms that ELL students who are better readers, as measured on separate reading tests, perform at higher levels on NCLB testing ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 23

21. Ways to Improve Academic Performance of ELL Students 2. Closely Track the Performance of ELL Students by using multiple measures – to identify patterns of improvement or lack of improvement, – to assess the student’s grasp of academic, not just conversational, English – to identify successful teaching practices, and – to determine appropriate accommodations ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 24

22. Activity Two How do I establish performance goals for ELL Learners? ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 2 25

23. Ways to Improve Academic Performance of ELL Students--2 3.Following the principles of universal test design, reduce the language load on tests ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 26

24. Ways to Improve Academic Performance of ELL Students--2 4. Provide accommodations, and evaluate their validity and effectiveness ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 27

25. Activity Three What accommodations am I able to provide my students on state assessments ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 3 28-31

26. ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education Choosing Accommodations Existing Data: What data already exist to help teachers decide the extent to which an accommodation, such as read-aloud, should be provided? Validity: Does provision of accommodation alter the construct of the assessment? Effectiveness: What accommodation strategies would be the most effective in reducing performance gaps between ELL students and non-ELL students that are due to language factors? 32

27. ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education Choosing Accommodations Differential impact: Which student background characteristics impact accommodated assessment? Feasibility: Which accommodation(s) are more feasible, particularly in large-scale assessments? 33-34

28. Activity Four While reading aloud items to students, how do I read the item so as not to clue the student to the correct answer? ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 4 36

29. Know How to Administer the Accommodation Administer the accommodation during instruction on a regular basis ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 37

30. Know How to Administer the Accommodation Concepts should be tested in the same way they were taught ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 38

31. Know How to Administer the Accommodation Use “translating dictionaries” where permitted ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 39

32. Know How to Administer the Accommodation Content area teachers should focus primarily on the ESL student’s meaning and content, not on his or her language or grammar ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 40

33. Content and Language When necessary to focus on grammar and language be careful not to overload the student by including content with the instruction in language. Separate the two. Focus on language in some activities and content in other activities. (Be sure that students know, in advance, what is being graded.) ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 41-42

34. Grading–Criteria Establish grading criteria for when the focus is on language (e.g., punctuation, capitalization, appropriate title and organization, etc.) ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 43

35. Do not Overload the Student Choose the priorities, according to the student’s language proficiency level, when grading for language; the LEP student cannot focus on everything at once ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 44

36. Do Not Overload the Student-2 Not advisable to give two separate grades – one for content and one for correctness of language – because that is asking the student to focus on too many things at once ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 45

37. Separate Process from Product On Different Assignments Grade process in some activities (e.g., brainstorming, organizing, editing, etc.) Grade product in other activities (e.g., the final product, in accordance with criteria established ahead of time) ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 46

38. Other Sources of Strategies for ELL Students “Center for Applied Linguistics” State Departments of Education “National Assessment for Educational Progress” National Center for Research in Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) ERIC Digests “ESL/ELL Students in the Classroom” www.nssd112.org/elmplace/documents/Eslstrat.doc November 30, 2010. ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 47

39. Activity Five What Instructional Strategies should I use will ELL students? ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education 5 48

40. Conclusion ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education Remember the value of alternate ways to access student learning