robinson patrick bai strengthening k-16 articulation

Strengthening K-16 Articulation through

Assessment and Placement

Jianhua Bai, Ph.D., Kenyon College, [email protected]

Paula Patrick, Language Coordinator, Fairfax Co, VA. [email protected]

Deborah W. Robinson, Ph.D., NCCSFL President and World Languages Consultant, Ohio Department of Education

[email protected]

Articulation and Credit Flexibility

• Debbie Robinson, President, National Council of State Supervisors for Languages and Ohio Department of Education World Languages Consultant

What is Articulation?

• For Students: Seamless progress through language learning experiences

• For Teachers: Consensus within language departments and across schools/levels on what learning looks like

Why is Articulation Critical?

“We want students to transition from class to class, grade to grade, and institution to institution without the deadening duplication of coursework and the drain on motivation that it often implies.”

(C. Gascoigne The Language Educator, October, 2007, p. 57)

Is language learning…?

• Mastery of material covered

Or

• Progress from no control through emerging control to eventual full control

(M. Met, The Language Educator, October, 2007, p. 54)

Our shared belief

• “We are preparing students to use their new language in real-world applications.”

• “…Use structures and vocabulary as a means toward the larger goal of building proficiency in the interpersonal, interpretive and presentational modes.”

(P. Sandrock, The Language Educator, October, 2007, p. 55)

• “Trying to improve articulation by dictating a grammatical sequence or set of vocabulary word fails to take into consideration how students really learn.

• We need to understand what students can do … rather than confronting them with a list of what they can’t do.”

• Articulation is recognizing the steps a student has taken toward proficiency through prior instruction [or experience].”

(P. Sandrock, The Language Educator, October, 2007, p. 55)

To demonstrate learning we need…

• Clearer operational definitions of – what learning is– what evidence we will accept of

learning

and

• How we will know learning when we see it

(M. Met, The Language Educator, October, 2007, p. 54)

The Answers

• Specific performance targets for each unit or course (benchmarks, Can-Do’s)

• Common performance assessments

• Clear, agreed-upon descriptions of desired student performance (proficiency descriptors > rubrics)

Concept of Assessment

From: A static, final product To: Ongoing, evolving process

“…assessment as a continuum and a process that feeds and informs the language learning endeavor, rather than a summative measure … to provide a grade.”

(C. Gascoigne The Language Educator, October, 2007, p. 57)

Assessments

• Common end-of-course, performance assessment exams

• Standardized, local assessments based on unit performance outcomes

• LinguaFolio

• National Assessments, such as ELLOPA, SOPA, COPE, NOELLA, STAMP, OPI (OPIc), WPT

“Point totals from a rubric offer a better way to advance learners through the language sequence than a grade on a report card, the number of chapters covered in a textbook, or hours of seat time accumulated.”

(L. Sessler, The Language Educator, October, 2007, p. 58)

AP

• Targeted at the Intermediate-Mid range of instruction

• Helps set upper-performance target for a long sequence of instruction

• Plan backward from there

AP Credit and Placement

• Disconnect between AP results and amount of credit given (from one to five courses)

• Placement not always consistent with results– Students should place somewhere in intermediate language

sequence or above, but HEIs place lower)

Marcia Wilbur (November, 2008)

What do you do with gifted freshman language learners?

• Have the language skills to enter junior level courses, but may lack the academic development and intellectual maturity so become discouraged and abandon language studies

• Need courses that accommodate incoming freshmen with strong language skills.

(D. Morris, The Language Educator, October, 2007, p. 58)

So…

“Once we have a clear idea of what our students are able to do, we must be accountable to them to help them to take the next step up on the proficiency ladder.”

H. Curtain (The Language Educator, October, 2007, p. 56)

Credit Flexibility Plans

• Carnegie Units (120-180 hours in a seat) = current currency for measuring learning

• The value of student seat time as an accurate measure of student learning is limited.

• 19 States have/propose credit flexibility plans

Credit Flexibility Plans

Enable students to earn units of high

school credit “based on a demonstration

of subject area competency, instead of or

in combination with completing hours of

classroom instruction.”

Ohio’s Plan for Credit Flexibility (March, 2009)

Credit Flexibility Plans Allow Students to:

Show what they know and move on to content they’re ready to learn; and

Learn subject matter for credit in ways not limited solely to seat time or the walls of a school building.

Ohio’s Plan for Credit Flexibility (2009)

Students may earn credits by:

• Completing coursework;• Testing out of or demonstrating mastery of course

content; or• Pursuing one or more “educational options”

– distance learning – educational travel – independent study – an internship – after-school/ tutorial program – community service or engagement project and– extracurricular activities, such as music, arts and/or sports).

Ohio’s Plan for Credit Flexibility (2009)

Outcome Statements for Chinese

• Jianhua Bai, Kenyon and Middlebury Colleges

The Standard-based K-16 articulation project for Chinese

• Introduction to the articulation project

• Clear, agreed-upon descriptions of desired student performance across different levels

• How can these descriptions of desired learning outcomes be used for effective assessment and placement?

Interpersonal Communication: descriptions of desired student performance K-4

From Lucy Lee and Jianhua Bai and the team of Standardbased K-16 articulation project for Chinese:• Students give and follow simple instructions to participate

in age-appropriate classroom and/or Chinese cultural activities.

• Students ask and answer simple questions about topics such as family, school, daily routine, and activities, e.g. 你叫什麼名字？你今年幾歲？你住在哪裏？

• Students share likes and dislikes regarding various common objects and everyday activities, e.g. 你喜歡什麼？你喜不喜歡看電視？

• Students exchange descriptions of people and common objects with each other.

• Students exchange essential information such as greetings and leave-takings with each other.


• Students follow and give directions for participating in age-appropriate Chinese cultural activities. They ask and respond to questions for clarification.

• Students exchange information about personal events, memorable experiences, and school subjects with peers and/or Chinese speakers e.g. 寒假你到哪兒去了？做什么了

• Students express opinions and preferences about people, events, and everyday activities.

• Students use Chinese to acquire goods, services, or information through developmentally appropriate oral communication, writing, or the Internet.


• Students initiate, sustain, and close a conversation in a variety of real-life situations that reflect social amenities such as making introductions, expressing gratitude and regret, stating complaints, apologizing, and communicating preferences.

• Students discuss and support their personal feelings and ideas with peers and/or speakers of the Chinese language, e.g. 學生表達對升大學的看法。升大學的看法。

• Students share their personal reactions to selected level appropriate reading passages or texts, e.g. 學生交換讀書心得

• Students exchange their opinions and discuss individual perspectives on a variety of topics including school or community related issues, or current and past events in Chinese culture.


• Students discuss the best solution to issues and problems that are of concern to Chinese communities.

• Students exchange, support, and discuss their opinions and individual perspectives with peers and/or Chinese speakers on a variety of topics dealing with contemporary and historical issues, e.g. 交換有關選舉的意見

• Students exchange opinions on information on topic of interests gathered through a variety of sources such as surveys, interviews, videos, written documents, e.g.谈论少年喜愛的流行音樂

• Students discuss, orally or in writing, events and issues that are of significance in Chinese society or that are being studied in another subject.

• Students discuss their personal reactions to and critical understanding of authentic texts with peers and/or native speakers of Chinese, e.g. 談論電影


• Students discuss breaking news or current events in China and propose solutions to social issues and problems.

• Students exchange their substantiated analyses with peers and Chinese speakers.

• Students exchange personal reactions to expository and literary texts with peers and/native speakers of Chinese.


• Similar descriptions for Interpretive and Presentational communication and the other four C areas are available.

Using Assessment to Award Credit and Facilitate Articulation

• Paula Patrick, Fairfax Co. Virginia World Languages Coordinator

Fairfax County Public SchoolsWorld Languages Credit Exam

• This program is designed to assess students' native language proficiency so that they earn credit toward fulfilling the Virginia foreign language requirement for the Advanced Studies Diploma.

• The exam is for students in grades 7-12 who have experience outside of school with a language other than English. Also, students must not already have two or more credits in that language on their transcript (from another country or from the U.S.).

What Level of Language Proficiency is

Expected? • Students must demonstrate in writing that they

have reached the intermediate-low range of proficiency as described by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) K-12 Performance Guidelines. This means that students can write about personal experiences using complete sentences in cohesive paragraphs on a variety of topics.

• Students who participate in the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program during grades 7-12 may also apply two units of credit towards fulfillment of requirement for the Advanced Studies Diploma.

Scoring the Assessments

• Language Assessors are hired and trained to score the credit exams.

• The assessors look for a level of writing that can consistently and accurately describe and narrate in the past, present and future using complete sentences to form coherent paragraphs. The assessors evaluate the writing in six domains: task completion, comprehensibility, level of discourse (degree of sophistication), vocabulary, language control (grammar) and mechanics (spelling and punctuation). A sample scoring rubric is available online at http://www.fcps.edu/DIS/OHSICS/forlang/creditexam/pdf/WritingRubric2008.pdf

http://www.fcps.edu/DIS/OHSICS/forlang/creditexam/pdf/WritingRubric2008.pdf

http://www.fcps.edu/DIS/OHSICS/forlang/creditexam/pdf/WritingRubric2008.pdf

Credit Exam RubricScore 18-24 = Pass (Student receives two high school credits)

4 3 2 1

Task Completion Superior completion of the task; content appropriate; complies with all requirements; ideas well developed and organized.

Task is complete; content appropriate; complies with all requirements; ideas adequately developed.

Partial completion of task; content mostly appropriate; complies with some requirements; ideas underdeveloped.

Minimal completion of task; content frequently inadequate but legible.

Comprehensibility Text readily comprehensible, requiring no interpretation on the part of the reader.

Text comprehensible, requiring minimal interpretation on the part of the reader.

Text mostly comprehensible, requiring interpretation of spelling and/or syntax on the part of the reader.

Text barely comprehensible.

Level of Discourse Uses a variety of simple and complex sentences; well developed paragraphs with creative ideas; and appropriate use of various cohesive devices.

Uses a variety of simple, complex, and creative sentences; partially developed paragraphs; and appropriate use of cohesive devices.

Uses simple and complex sentences with little repetition; few cohesive devices.

Predominate use of simple and complex yet repetitive sentences; few cohesive devices.

Vocabulary Command of an extensive variety of vocabulary on several topics; idiomatic expressions used appropriately.

Adequate and accurate use of vocabulary.

Adequate use of basic vocabulary with some errors.

Inadequate and/or inaccurate use of vocabulary.

Language Control Control of basic and complex language structures.

Emerging control of basic language and complex structures.

Emerging use of basic and complex language structures.

Inadequate and/or inaccurate use of basic and complex language structures.

Mechanics Few or no errors in spelling; use of diacritical marks, punctuation, and capitalization is appropriate.

Mostly accurate spelling; use of diacritical marks, punctuation, and capitalization is correct to a large extent.

Inaccurate spelling at times; use of diacritical marks, punctuation, and/or capitalization is sometimes incorrect.

Inaccurate spelling; lacking accents, diacritical marks, punctuation, and/or capitalization.

Sample Task(Directions and prompts are written in the target

language.)• Read and respond to EACH prompt below. Write TWO (2)

compositions (one for each prompt). Each composition must be well-developed and include, at a minimum, three (3) paragraphs. However, you should write as much as you can to show the assessor how well you can write in your language. Attach any additional sheets to this exam copy.

– Every culture is proud of many aspects of its heritage—music,

dance, food, art. Choose one aspect of your culture of which you are the most proud and explain why you feel it is the best aspect of your culture.

– Students always enjoy vacations and time away from school. Think back to when you were younger. Describe a memorable day you spent either on vacation with your family or away from school.

Results from 2008Number of Exams per Language and Pass Rates 2008

• Spanish 363 (181 passed—50%)• Korean 189 (159 passed—84%)• Chinese 46 (34 passed—74%)• Vietnamese 50 (37 passed—74%)• Arabic 34 (11 passed—32%)• Amharic 23 (11 passed—49%)• Urdu 31 (13 passed—42%)• Farsi 17 (9 passed—53%)• Tagalog 20 (10 passed—50%)• Russian 14 (11 passed—79%) • French 10 (5 passed—50%)• Hindi 14 (4 passed—29%)• Somali 9 (7 passed—78%)• Punjabi 3 (2 passed—50%)• Bengali 7 (3 passed—43%)• Twi 14 (11 passed—86%) • Total 844 (509 passed—60%)

Results (continued)

• By Grade– 7 191 (85 passed—45%)– 8 204 (103 passed—50%)

MS 395 (188 passed—48%)

– 9 138 (96 passed—70%)– 10 134 (94 passed—70%)– 11 125 (93 passed—74%)– 12 52 (38 passed—73%)

HS 449 (321 passed—71%)

• By Gender– Males 397 (221 passed—56%)– Females 447 (288 passed—64%)

Options After Receiving 2 Credits from the Credit Exam

• Students are able to continue language study at the appropriate level (Level 3 – AP or IB) in the following languages:– Arabic– Chinese– French– Japanese– Russian– Spanish

Benefits

• Students are granted credit for their language ability.

• Students feel that the study of L1 has been validated.

• In most cases, students wishing to continue the study of L1 are placed at the appropriate level and are challenged.

• Students are encouraged to refine their L1 performance skills, making them more marketable to employers.

Questions to Ponder

• How can we improve our current practices to strengthen K-16 articulation through assessment and placement?

• What are the current practices of assessment and placement? Do they reflect the descriptions of desired student performance discussed above?

• Are we using assessments that reflect the standard-based instructional goals?