tesol 2011 assessment workshop morita mullaney and adams march 14 2011 version
DESCRIPTION
This is our power point from the TESOL 2011 K-12 Dream Day presentation by Trish Morita Mullaney and Susan R. Adams.TRANSCRIPT
Assess without Distress:
Authentic Assessment of ELLs in Classrooms
Trish Morita Mullaney, ABD, MSD Lawrence Township, Indianapolis, INSusan R. Adams, ABD, College of Education, Butler University, Indianapolis, IN
TESOL 2011New Orleans, LAMarch 16, 2011
What is assessment?
True Confessions…
Identities concealed to protect the guilty.
Assessment as a Second Language: We use these terms, but do we really know them?
Standards-based Assessment or Criterion-referenced Assessment
(e.g. state standardized assessments, ACT) Students demonstrate mastery of
explicit domains, often with a cut-score, dividing 2-digit numbers with 80% correct, no comparison)
In our state, students score Pass, Pass Plus or Did not Pass
Norm-referenced Assessments
Norm-referenced Assessment (SAT, GRE,) Students are compared to the performance of peers. There is no passing or failing.
Think Bell Curve. Think percentiles.
Ipsative Assessments
Ipsative Assessment (bonus points if you know this one!) (e.g. physical education, individual assessments, video games
Student is compared to his own previous performance and is encouraged to “beat” his own score to show improvement.
Teacher-created Assessment Terms Teacher-created AssessmentsQuizzes, tests, projects, assignments
Performance-based AssessmentsSkills tests, presentations, demonstrations
Portfolio AssessmentsExemplars of peak performance on a variety
of student work collected and displayed in a physical or digital site
Formative vs. Summative
When the cook tastes the soup,
that's formative. When the guests taste the soup,
that's summative*
This is frequently where educators are satisfied to stop, but for ELLs, assessment is much more complicated.
*Quote by Robert Stake in Scriven, M. (1991). Evaluation thesaurus. 4th ed. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Content or Language? What are we really assessing?
Our working definition of authentic assessment of ELL learning emerges from the root word,
assess:Assidēre (Latin) to sit beside someone.
This evolved into the idea of sitting beside a judge to help him in his deliberations
(especially in determining property values or calculating fines or taxes to be paid).
Source: Word-Origins.com
Our Essential Questions for Today:
What is authentic assessment of ELLs?
How are ELLs best assessed? Who assesses ELLs?What is the role of classroom
assessment in grade retention or course failure decisions?
What is the role of the ESL teacher and/or ESL Director in evaluation of ELLs for retention or course failure?
Who do you sit beside when you are assessing your students?
Examples from the field
1) ESL teachers discussing standards Consider knowledge base of ESL teachers’
understanding of standards2) Content area teacher
Naming & Connecting: Significant for transformation & change
3) ESL teacher Content and English
4) Student work Product: What do students show and how do
they understand it?
Tomlinson’s Framework
Content Curriculum offered to students
Process How content is instructed
Product What teachers ask students to produce
Distinguish between production and reproduction. When students produce, how do you know they really understand?
Tomlinson, C. (2001). How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Our BIG, Over-arching Question for Today:
How might ESL teachers use the notion of assidēre to develop
authentic assessment practices that distinguish
what ELLs know and can do from their ability to communicate their learning in English?
Turn to your neighbor…
Together, think of an example you have seen of a student’s content knowledge or skill
being assessed by her/his ability to demonstrate that knowledge or skill
in English.
Identify 10 countries in Asia
ChinaTerki
Rusha
Ja pan
Ceria
Irack
Sodi Aravia Pacistand
Mancolia
Shree Laanca
Geography Lesson Example
Did they fail geography or
English?
With your neighbor, look at the next slide…
What content knowledge or skill does this ELL student demonstrate?
How do you know?
What are we assessing?
CONTENT KNOWLEDGE OR SKILLS
ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE IN ENGLISH
I em playing basketball. I love to play basketball. I just shoot. I like to play ugest my bruthr.
Sum times I win. Sum times he plays ese. My bruthr tot me to play basketball he told me that
wen you stop grebling you cant start to grebling again.
I am playing basketball. I love to play basketball. I just shoot. I like to play against my
brother. Sometimes I win. Sometimes he plays easy. My brother taught me to play basketball.
He told me that when you stop dribbling you can’t start dribbling again.
What are we assessing?
CONTENT KNOWLEDGE OR SKILLS
ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE IN ENGLISH
Test Question: Explain how to use a microscope properly. Include details such as the process of creating, inserting and examining slides correctly.
Turn to your neighbor. What do you see? What does this student know?
Because ESL Teachers Teach Content and/or Push into Mainstream Classrooms…
What observational knowledge do we have of student mastery?
How might we document student mastery of content area standards?
How might we keep records of student learning and performance?
Under what conditions do ELLs show us what they know and can do?
What don’t mainstream teachers know about ELL content knowledge and skill mastery?
Student Name
Level and Grade
Subject Standard Indicator Task Observations
Mauricio Level 2Grade 7
English/Language Arts
Reading comprehension
ELP 7.2.4 Identify with simple oral sentences the main idea and some details of informational materials, literary works, and content-area textsALIGNED to state ELA standard
Teacher-facilitatedLiterature Circle book discussion group
Mauricio spoke 3 times, answered 2 questions correctly in simple English, listened attentively as others spoke, nodded in agreement with other opinions.
Huy Level 3Grade 10
English/LanguageArts
Reading Comprehension
ELP 10.2.12 Intermediate (Level 3): Identify and critique the author's asserted idea and its details to demonstrate impact on message of text
ALIGNED to state ELA standard
Independent writing: an analysis of a newspaper article
Huy correctly identified the author’s main idea, questioned the author’s perspective, noted 4 supporting details and identified 2 additional details the author did not mention.
Estela Level 1Grade 4
Science Scientific Thinking Science 4.2.5Write descriptions of investigations, using observations and other evidence as support for
explanations. (Core Standard) ELP 4.5.2 Beginner (Level 1): Read simple and illustratively supported literature and represent with pictures, charts, lists, tables, or simple words or phrases.
Students write lab reports following completion of experiment using conductors.
Estela completed the lab with an English-speaking partner, followed simplified directions and reported her procedures and findings using a graphic organizer and by drawing pictures, inserting target vocabulary she chose from the classroom word wall.
Sarangarel Level 1Grade 8
Math Problem Solving
Math 8.7.2 Make and justify mathematical conjectures based on a general description of a mathematical question or problem. ELP 8.5.3 Beginner (Level 1): Create simple compositions that assert a main idea and some details nonverbally (e.g., pictures, gestures, graphic organizers) and with simple sentences.
Students solve a story problem and explain the steps they used to solve the problem.
Sarangarel decoded a simplified version of the story problem narrative (with assistance), selected a mathematical approach, solved the equation correctly and used pictures and symbols to communicate her approach (independently).
Standards Mastery Record Date_______________ Teacher _____________________________
Maurico Level 2Grade 7
English/Language Arts
Reading comprehension
ELP 7.2.4 Identify with simple oral sentences the main idea and some details of informational materials, literary works, and content-area texts
Teacher-facilitatedLiterature Circle book discussion group
Mauricio spoke 3 times, answered 2 questions correctly in simple English, listened attentively as others spoke, nodded in agreement with other opinions.
Mauricio, close up
Huy Level 3Grade 10
English/LanguageArts
Reading Comprehension
ELP 10.2.12 Intermediate (Level 3): Identify and critique the author's asserted idea and its details to demonstrate impact on message of text
Independent writing: an analysis of a newspaper article
Huy correctly identified the author’s main idea, questioned the author’s perspective, noted 4 supporting details and identified 2 additional details the author did not mention.
Estela Level 1Grade 4
Science Scientific Thinking
Science 4.2.5Write descriptions of investigations, using observations and other evidence as support for explanations. (Core Standard) ELP 4.5.2 Beginner (Level 1): Read simple and illustratively supported literature and represent with pictures, charts, lists, tables, or simple words or phrases.
Students write lab reports following completion of experiment using conductors.
Estela completed the lab with an English-speaking partner, followed simplified directions and reported her procedures and findings using a graphic organizer and by drawing pictures, inserting target vocabulary she chose from the classroom word wall.
Sarangarel Level 1Grade 8
Math Problem Solving
Math 8.7.2 Make and justify mathematical conjectures based on a general description of a mathematical question or problemELP 8.5.3 Beginner (Level 1): Create simple compositions that assert a main idea and some details nonverbally (e.g., pictures, gestures, graphic organizers) and with simple sentences.
Students solve a story problem and explain the steps they used to solve the problem
Sarangarel decoded a simplified version of the story problem narrative (with assistance), selected a mathematical approach, solved the equation correctly and used pictures and symbols to communicate her approach (independently).
How does this compare with traditional quizzes and tests?
TRADITIONAL TEST RESULTS
ESL TEACHER EVIDENCE OF MEETING CONTENT AREA STANDARDS
What is the connection between authentic assessments and academic achievement?Success breeds success: students who get
acknowledgment of skills and knowledge are encouraged and are motivated to keep trying. Failure breeds dropout: students who receive an F in the first 9 weeks of high school are much more likely to drop out of high school.
What the research says about immigrant youth and dropping out of high school:
“Dropouts' school grades were lower than those of continuing students, and
those that were ever held back in school had higher dropout rates.” p. 866
“Each one-letter improvement in GPA in middle school lowered the chances
of dropping out in freshman or sophomore year by almost half. Having been
held back a grade prior to high school was associated with a much higher risk
of early dropout.” p. 869
“Risk of High School Dropout among Immigrant and Native Hispanic Youth,” Anne K. DriscollSource: International Migration Review, Vol. 33, No. 4 (Winter, 1999), pp. 857-875Published by: The Center for Migration Studies of New York, Inc.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2547355
ESL teachers and directors should:
Create instruction that enhances content area mastery WHILE students acquire academic English
Collect convincing evidence of student skills and conceptual understandings.
Cooperate with mainstream teachers to support innovative alternative assessments.
Collaborate with teachers and administrators to evaluate each child’s learning coherently from an asset-based perspective with a view to long-term success instead of short-term failure.
Discussion and Q&A
