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Considerations for Assessing Language Proficiency - Coggle Diagram
Considerations for Assessing Language Proficiency
Assessment must recognize the diversity of learners and allow for differences in styles and learning.
What are some important factors that may impact student learning and knowledge?
• proficiency and student achievement in first language
• prior schooling experience
• trauma due to war or other factors
• health, physical and other characteristics that may impact learning
Developmentally appropriate assessment
provides opportunities for students to show what they know in an environment in which it is safe to take risks associated with learning.
Latency Effect
Some English language learners who have had prior English instruction may not perform to their true potential on initial assessments for various reasons, such as a difference in dialect or rate of speech.
Age-appropriate Content and Graphics
Consider: • high-interest, low-vocabulary books and nonfiction texts may be options for reading assessments
• when using picture prompts for speaking and writing ensure images are age-appropriate
• when using written prompts ensure topics and supporting images are age-appropriate.
Transfer of First Language Literacy and Skills
English language learners with prior schooling in their first language have many skills, such as decoding, comprehension strategies, copying, writing, representing understanding through images, graphing, charting, and working in cooperative groups. These skills are transferable across languages and will assist students in acquiring language.
Differences between Receptive and Productive Language Skills
Some English language learners may face a difference between their oral and literacy skills in English depending upon their educational and cultural background. Understanding these differences might help teachers to make decisions on instructional supports.
Differences between Social and Academic Language
Teachers might know the type of language their students use to get their message across. Students may be assessed above their actual language level as the social language competency may mask the academic language competency.
Addressing Cultural Bias
Cultural bias can occur when language, images or content reflect a particular context that is unfamiliar to a student.
Home Language Assessment
Assessment of an English language learner’s proficiency in their home language can provide teachers with an understanding of how their home language can be used to support English language development.
Assessment Tools Developed for Native English Speakers
It is recommended, where possible, to use assessments developed for student populations that include English language learners.
Language Aquisition Charts for ELLs
Entering:
single words
Emerging:
phrases, short sentences
Transitioning:
complete thoughts and conversation
Expanding:
advanced skills in cognitive academic language
Commanding:
linguistic demands necessary to demonstrate English language proficiency
Chapter 6: Assessment (Wright)
ELLs are required to take: - Federal and state tests
Language proficiency tests every year
District-level and school-level tests
Classroom-based tests
Critical Look at Testing Requirements for ELLs
1. Joint Standards for Educational Testing recognize that lack of English proficiency is a source of construct irrelevance. They declare that test norms based on the scores of "native" speakers of English should not used with students whose first language is not English.
Content-Area Testing.- its main purpose is to determine how well students are performing in a particular subject area.
Language Prificiency Testing.- Its purpose is to identify students with a primary home language other than English.language tests serve several purposes: identification, program placement,monitoring of progress, reposting for accountability pursposes, redesignation, and program evaluation.
Consequential Validity.- validity should be concerned with the consequences associated with the interpretation and use of test scores.
Alternative Authentic Assessments for ELLs
1. Observation 2. Performance Asssessments
Self-assessment and Peer-assessment
Portofolio Assessments
Need for Multiple Measures
- Teachers need to use sevaral alternative and authentic
assessments throughout the year.
Multiple measures enable teachers to track the student's progress and growth during the school year.
Authentic assessments provide substantial evidence that students work hard and make more progress than most students make in a singualr school year.
Alternative assessments provide a more fair and accurate measure of the progress of students than did the state test.
Proper assessment is essential for identifying students' strengths and areas in need of improvement in heir language proficiency and academic development.
Assessment Basics
A
test
can collect ONLY a "sample" of a student's knowledge anda ability.
An
assessment
involves planning, collecting appropriate data from a variety of sources, analyzing student performance data, reporting student strengths and needs, and using student perdormance data ti identify what a student must learn in order to progress to the next level.
Evaluation
is used to make a judgement about the effectiveness of students' learning, of the teacher's teaching, or of the educational programs provided to the students.
*Norm-Referenced
is used to compare a student's score to those of other students in classrooms, schools,districts, and states.
Criterion-Referenced Tests**
are used to determine howmuch a student has learned by tallyng how many questions are answered correctly. Both tests are problematic for ELLs because they lack proficiency in the language of the test
Reliability
refers to the extent to which an assessment method or instrument measures consistently the performance of the student. Assessments are usually expected to produce comparable outcomes, with consistent standards over time and between different learners and examiners. Types of reliability evidence:
Internal reliability: How consistently do the test items function?
Stability: How consisntent are the results of a test accorss different testing locations?
Alternative forms: How consistent are two or more dofferent forms of a test?V
Validity
refers to the accuracy of an assessment -- whether or not it measures what it is supposed to measure. Even if a test is reliable, it may not provide a valid measure. Sources of validity evidencce by Popham (2017):
Test content
Internal structure
Relations to other variables
Bias
in testing and assessment refers to the qualities of an assessment instrument that penalize a gropup of students because of their gender, religion, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or any other characteristic that defines them as a group.
Sample Completed Language Proficiency Profiles
English Language Learner Profile: Alonzo is a 5th grade, 11 years old student. He has no prior schooling because he was brought to USA when he was 1 year old (10 years ago). His home language is Spanish. His Home Language Literacy has a base in a bilingual educational program when he lived in New York. He was able to develop his writing and reading literacy skills in Spanish.
Writing Assessment
.- Alonzo was able to write two considerably lengthy pieces. He did a good job organizing details cohesively and he was able to stay on topic from the start to the end of the compositions. He has a good grasp of modals, conditional sentences, subject-verb agreement. In addition, he has a good command of present, past and future tenses, he understands that capital letters go at the beginning of a sentence and that a period can be used to end a sentence. His biggest weakness was his spelling mistakes.
Writing activities beneficial for Alonzo:
He would benefit from varying the sentence structures he uses when writing.
Create a list of the most commonly confused homonyms and a list of the words that he forgets to add endings to would also be a helpful strategy.
Alonzo could also benefit from referring to word wall charts so he can successfully use new vocabulary to expand his ideas and sentences.
Alonzo should be encouraged to write daily in a dialogue journal where his teacher provides commentary and modeling of correct spelling, grammar, and expanding the word choice in his responses.
He will also benefit from Writer's Workshop, with the opportunity to take a draft like this and revise and edit it and take it to the publication stage.
Alonzo’s overall NYS ENL Level is Expanding because:
Alonzo’s reading level might be Commanding. His word solving is strong and he comprehends what he is reading.
His speaking level is Expanding. He is able to comprehend the interviewer’s questions and respond quickly and accurately. Alonzo would benefit from reviewing how verbs are conjugated in the present and past.
His writing level is Expanding. He is able to write in sequence, has some sentence structure variety and acceptable vocabulary choice
Therefore, when considering where Alonzo is across these three language skills, Alonzo might be Expanding, but getting very close to Commanding.
....
Reading Assessment:
The given text "Life in the Colonies" was easy for Alonzo. Per the running record, he made 5 errors (1 meaning, 1 syntax, 3 visual), putting his accuracy at 95%. None of these mistakes took any meaning away from the text. Alonzo’s word solving skills are strong and he is often able to self-correct his mistakes. Alonso also answered all of the comprehension questions correctly, which means that in addition to being able to read this level text, he also understands what he is reading.
Reading activities beneficial for Alonzo
Read more challenging texts to see how he does.
Encourage him to read with expression.
Read sentences with different types of voices to practice intonation (e.g. loud, whisper, villain etc.).
Speaking Assessment:
Alonzo is a very strong speaker. He can comprehend what is being said, and is able to respond quickly and accurately. He uses many details in his responses to expand on the meaning, frequently using proper grammar, word choice, and word order. At times he repeats short phrases, struggling to find the exact words he wants to say, and he uses improper grammar.
Oral language development activities beneficial for Alonzo:
Alonzo can continue to expand his vocabulary from lots of reading.
He may need time to have meaningful interaction with his peers and engage in co-operative learning.
He will benefit from having many opportunities to talk.
