assess without distress: authentic assessment for ells in the classroom

Copyright Morita‐Mullaney, T. & Adams, S.R. (TESOL, 2011)

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


Identities concealed to protect the guilty


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 Assessment (SAT, GRE,) Students are compared to the performance of peers. There is no passing or failing.

Think Bell Curve. Think percentiles.


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 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


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.

http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/108117880/Flickr


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


1) ESL teachers discussing standardsConsider knowledge base of ESL teachers’understanding of standards

2) Content area teacherNaming & Connecting: Significant for transformation & change

3) ESL teacherContent and English

4) Student workProduct: What do students show and how do they understand it?


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.


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?


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.


What content knowledge or skill does this ELL student demonstrate?

How do you know?


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.


CONTENT KNOWLEDGE OR SKILLS

ABILITY TO COMMUNICATEIN ENGLISH

Test Question: Explain how to use a microscope properly. Include details such as the process of creating, inserting and examining slides correctly.


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?


TRADITIONAL TEST RESULTS

ESL TEACHER EVIDENCE OF MEETING CONTENT AREA STANDARDS


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 thefirst 9 weeks of high school are much more likely to drop out ofhigh school.

What the research says about immigrant youth and dropping out of high school:“Dropouts' school grades were lower than those of continuing students, andthose that were ever held back in school had higher dropout rates.” p. 866

“Each one‐letter improvement in GPA in middle school lowered the chancesof dropping out in freshman or sophomore year by almost half. Having beenheld back a grade prior to high school was associated with a much higher riskof 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


Create instruction that enhances content area mastery WHILE students acquire academic EnglishCollect convincing evidence of student skills and conceptual understandings.Cooperatewith mainstream teachers to support innovative alternative assessments.Collaboratewith 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.


Trish Morita [email protected]

Susan R. [email protected]

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assess without distress: authentic assessment for ells in the classroom

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