Assessment


 * “ESL students usually require at least 5 years of exposure to academic English to catch up to native-speaker norms. In addition to internalizing increasingly complex academic language, ESL students must catch up to a moving target… ESL students must make 15 months’ gain in every 10-month school year."(Collier and Thomas 1999) **

Before beginning any activity and lesson you must know where your students are coming from and where they are. In order to find this out it is essential that we not only research our student's backgrounds, talk to families and prior teachers, but we must give our students a [|pre-assessment]. Their pior knowledge or what they already know will help them to make connections to what they will learn. The assessment will also open the window for the teacher to know what vocabulary the students may or may not be familiar with, what gaps in learning the students may have, and their level of English proficiency.

Teachers can assess prior knowledge before any lessons by incorporating various [|graphic organizers]or other strategies that access prior knowledge into the beginning of the lesson. Teachers should give students time to complete assessments in a pressure free environment. They should also give students a variety of ways to be assessed that are not necessarily oral and written. Students should be given manipulatives, calculators, etc. that they can use. Teachers should also determine a way to check for understanding from their students. Students should be given explicit directions and ahould be taught how to check for understanding themselves. Our assessment should be authentic and give students multiple opportunities for the ELL student to show their knowledge of the concept. We should also make sure that we use familiar contexts of our students and that it is developmentally appropriate for the student. "The following types of [|mathematical activities]allow for development of both mathematics and language:
 * Computing
 * Recalling facts
 * Manipulating
 * Using manipulatives and technology
 * Exploring
 * Hypothesizing
 * Inferring/concluding
 * Revising/revisiting/reviewing/reflecting
 * Making convincing arguments, explanations, and justifications
 * Using mathematical language, symbols, forms, and conventions
 * Explaining
 * Integrating narrative and mathematical forms
 * Interpreting mathematical instructions, charts, drawings, graphs
 * Representing a situation mathematically
 * Selecting and sequencing procedures

Hill, Little, and Sims (2004) recommend using varied assessment techniques that are developmentally appropriate and set in contexts familiar to the English language learner. Chamot and O’Malley (1993) describe alternative assessments for English language learners as follows:

__ Authentic __ __ Varied __ __ Process as well as product-oriented __ __ Continuous __ __ Interactive with instruction __
 * reflecting actual classroom tasks in content areas and revealing information about academic language;
 * looking at student performance from multiple perspectives rather than relying on only one assessment approach so that all aspects of content and academic knowledge are assessed;
 * showing progress with respect to both work products and the
 * processes and learning strategies used to complete the work;
 * providing information about student performance that shows growth throughout the entire school year;
 * used to adjust instruction for student needs and provide feedback on
 * instructionally valued tasks;
 * collaborative
 * planned and conducted by teachers interactively in order to share and gain independent
 * views of student performance

Teachers should rely more informal assessements to include differentiation and scaffloding techniques that lesson the anxiety included with learning a second language. The initial assessment can only give you a small idea of the student's abilities, but using frequent assessments can allow the teacher to see what their student needs, how they are performing, what they ar understanding, and what they need to learn next. These techniques can be used separately or simultaneously as needed according to colorincolorado.org.


 * Scaffolding assessments allow ELLs to demonstrate their content knowledge through exhibits or projects, drawings, and graphic organizers. Consider giving ELLs extra time to complete these tasks, or to give short responses.
 * Differentiated scoring scores content knowledge separately from language proficiency. To score content knowledge, look at how well ELLs understand key concepts, how accurate their responses are, and how well they demonstrate the processes they use to come up with responses.

** References: **

Chamot, A.U. and J.M. O’Malley (1993). //The CALLA Handbook: Implementing the Cognitive Academic Language Learning// Approach Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.

Collier, V.P., & Thomas, W.P. (1999a). Developmental bilingual education. In F. Genesee (Ed.), //Program alternatives for linguistically and culturally diverse students// (pp. 19-24). Santa Cruz, CA: Center for Research on Education, Diversity and Excellence.

Hill, J., C. Little, and J. Sims (2004). //Integrating English Language Learners in the Science Classroom//. Markham: Trifolium Books Inc.

O’Malley, J.M. and L.V. Pierce (1996). //Authentic Assessment for English Language Learners: Practical Approaches for Teachers// Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.


 * For more information on assessment see these websites: **

[|www.colorinincolorado.org/educators/assessment/informal]

[|www.edugains.ca/resourcesELL]

[|www.wida.us/assessments]