English language proficiency assessments for young learners provides both theoretical and empirical information about assessing the english language proficiency of young learners. Over a 10year period between the 19941995 and 20042005 school years, the enrollment of ell students grew over 60%, while the total k12 growth was just over 2% office of english language acquisition oela, n. Piloted in 200607 with english language learners in edmonton catholic schools. Pierce, swain, and hart 1993 reported on a study of 500 eighthgrade students, suggesting that selfassessment was a valid and reliable measure of language proficiency.
Fair and square assessments for ells educational leadership. Assessment reform, equity, and english language learners. Students practice appropriate and stateapproved assessment accommodations during instructional time so students are well acquainted with these accommodations. Worldclass instructional design and assessment the english language learner can do booklet grades 68 includes. Larry ferlazzo assessing english language learners. Improving content assessment for english language learners. In an excerpt from their upcoming book, larry ferlazzo and katie hull sypnieski highlight student reflection as an important tool in assessing the progress of english language learners. Guidelines for the assessment of english language learners.
English language learners can process or produce the language associated with the stated language functions. In this module we will explore why assessing young learners might be challenging and offer some practical suggestions. Authentic assessment for english language learners youtube. Considerations for assessing english language learner. In fact, average scores for ells on the 20 reading and math national assessment of educational progress naep in grades 4, 8, and 12 were significantly lower than average scores for native speakers of english, and the gap in scores widened with increases in grade level office of english language acquisition, 2015. This course will offer tools and suggestions for authentic assessment that will help both students and teachers to identify key areas of focus for instruction. Iv28 assessing adult english language learners language and literacy use at home and at work, what they believe they do well, and what they want to learn. In an excerpt from their upcoming book, larry ferlazzo and katie hull sypnieski highlight student reflection as an important tool in assessing the progress of englishlanguage learners. Plus, get practice tests, quizzes, and personalized coaching to help you succeed. Performancebased assessments for english language learners 3. These resources connect to contentarea vocabulary and specific. No english language learners aged 8 were administered this nonverbal assessment during the pilot year.
Writing assessment, portfolio assessment, and classroom assessment were shown to be valid approaches to the type of authentic assessment called for within the profession. Worldclass instructional design and assessment the english. Lorraine valdez pierce and a great selection of similar new, used and collectible books available now at great prices. To do a good job assessing young english language learners whose home language is not english requires skill, sensitivity, and knowledge, especially of a childs culture and language. The booklet complements the wida english language proficiency standards and provides a valuable set of resources aligned to the performance definitions for the levels of english language proficiency. English language learners ells are often unable to demonstrate their learning using traditional assessment methods. Worldclass instructional design and assessment the english language learner can do booklet grades 35 includes. Authentic assessment for english language learners book.
These objectives should be clearly stated and shared with. Speaking and writing rubrics document how english language learners process and use language in the domain of speaking or writing for each level of language proficiency based on three criteria. It measures a students english proficiency in 4 areas. Screening and assessment of young english language. Authentic assessment examples for english language learners.
The text, assessment and esl, is a comprehensive guide to assessment of english language learners. Assessment results shape teachers beliefs about student abilities and the quality of instruction offered to them. Assessment of english language learners 3 01gottlieb4822. Lorraine valdez pierce, discussing effective classroom strategies for assessing english language learners. It is also a reality that more and more schools are facing. Worldclass instructional design and assessment the english language learner can do booklet grades 912 includes. As a member, youll also get unlimited access to over 79,000 lessons in math, english, science, history, and more. What assessment practices can we use that might be relatively objective and useful to everyone. Authentic assessment examples for english language. In partnership with eleven states, the elpa21 consortium will develop a new english language proficiency assessment system for our english language learners that corresponds to states new rigorous college and career readiness standards. Its usually based on language proficiency and academic progression through work such as presentations, written assignments and reading activities. Validity of assessments for english language learning students in a national international context this paper provides a summary of research that shows a substantial performance gap between native and nonnative speakers of assessment language.
Portfolios, or collections of individuals work, can. The azella, published by pearson, is the current english language test adopted by the state of arizona. The wida english language learner can do booklet is a very important contribution to meeting these goals. Assessing english language learners is an important contribution to the field for the many educators who believe that assessment for second language learners is important, but only if it is valid. Once students are identified as english language learners and assigned to a classroom, teachers need to collaborate to create a coordinated assessment and instructional plan. For a variety of reasons, including a language barrier, the assessments end up. Apr 01, 2015 part 1 assessment of english language learners.
Informal assessments for english language learners video. Validity of assessments for english language learning. The siop model and other effective instructional models for english learners advocate for both content and language objectives in lessons. Teaching englishlanguage learners is a complex endeavor that requires skill and patience. Ell assessments english language learners reading az. Authentic assessment for english language learners. Measuring the progress of english language learners ells1 robin a. Essay about assessment ell 951 words 4 pages assessments ell krystine m. English language learners ells are the fastest growing subgroup in the nation. Linguistic complexity, vocabulary usage, and language control. Additionally she has authored, coauthored, and coedited 11 books this past decade. Preparing english language learners for assessments 3 incorrect choices, using educated guessing, estimating, and working problems backwards. Assessment principles and guidelines for ells with.
Comprehensive assessment for english learners els begins with identifying the characteristics of the student population and matching them to the systematic planning, collection, analysis, and interpretation of data for both language proficiency and academic achievement. Considerations for assessing english language learner students. English language learners ells now represent a substantial proportion of students in many districts, and this paper describes their history in the assessment system, as well as the connections between content and english language proficiency elp assessments. Preparing english language learners for assessments. The english learner formative assessment elfa is a fouryear research project that began in 2010. Ernstslavit, 2014, a foundational book for the series promoting content and language learning a. Using largescale standardized english language proficiency assessments developed for international or u. Using rubrics and performance criteria is a great way to assess a variety of student work. The azella is used for placement and reassessment purposes for students who are identified as a second language learner. However, assessment practices were not designed with the diversity of todays population of english language learners in mind.
This project is funded by the institute of education sciences at the u. To do so, the language tapped by the language assessment is compared, from an academic language perspective, to the language used on the content assessment, and concurrent student performance data on the two tests are examined. The improving the validity of assessment results for english language. Assessing our english language learner students can be a minefield, especially in the face of potential outsideofclass pressures from administrators, school and district mandates and, in some cases, parent pressure. Assessments at all grade ranges give teachers indepth information about students language development across the domains of speaking, writing, reading, and listening. A new assessment system for english language learners. Ells are students who are still developing proficiency in english.
Ell assessments are designed for tracking students language skills progress at key points in the school year. Assessment according to alberta learning, the purpose of esl assessment is to identify strengths and weaknesses of individual students, adjust instruction to build on students strengths and alleviate weaknesses. Assessment principles and guidelines for ells with disabilities. English language proficiency assessments for young learners.
Such a performance gap increases with the level of language demand of the test items. Assessing young learners teachingenglish british council. These kinds of assessments also are used to place learners in classes. The materials in this toolkit were developed as part of a british council funded research project which explored teacher attitudes to assessment and their training needs. Practical approaches for teachers 9780201591514 by j. Worldclass instructional design and assessment the english language learner can do booklet grades prekindergartenkindergarten.
The arizona english language learner assessment azella is a standards based assessment that measures students english language proficiency based on the arizona english language proficiency standards. It has been administered mostly on young children aged 47 years and in only a few cases on older students aged 18 years. Authentic assessment for english language learners by j. Teaching english language learners is a complex endeavor that requires skill and patience.
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