ENG 382-Teaching ELLs'-Chapter 6-"Assessment"

Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for Colleges & Careers (PARCC)

"A group of states working together to develop a set of assessments that measure whether students are on track to be successful in college and careers." -Pearson.com.

American Education Research Association

"A professional organization representing education researchers in the United States and around the world." -Wiki.

ACT

"A standardized test used for college admissions in the United States. It was first introduced in November 1959 by University of Iowa professor Everett Franklin Lindquist as a competitor to the Scholastic Aptitude Test."

SAT

"A standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States." -College Readiness.

TerraNova

"An achievement test commonly given to students in grades K-12 that measures achievement in reading, language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, vocabulary, spelling, and other areas." -Testing Mom.

Joint Standards

"The basis of an objective evaluation process that can help health care organizations measure, assess and improve performance." -Joint Commission.

Assessment (according to Gottlieb)

"The systematic, iterative process of planning, collecting, analyzing, & using student data from a variety of sources over time."

Single snapshot assessment

"Uses questions from the quick quizzes within each unit as a pretest." -Help.Classworks.

Welsher Intelligence Scale for Children

"is an IQ test used to measure cognitive ability and identify learning disabilities in children aged 6-16." -Welsher IQ Test.

National Council on Measurement of Education

-"An organization serving assessment professionals, -"These professionals work in evaluation, testing, program evaluation, and, more generally, educational and psychological measurement, -"Members come from universities, test development organizations, & industry." -Wiki.

Authentic assessment (according to Herrera, Cabral, & Murry):

-Are generally developed directly from classroom instruction, group work, & related classroom activities & provide an alternative to traditional assessments, -Can be considered valid & reliable in that they genuinely & consistently assess a student's classroom performance, -Facilitate the student's participation in the evaluation process, -Include measurements & evaluations relevant to both the teacher & the student, -Emphasize real-world problems, tasks, or applications that're relevant to the student & his/her community.

Metropolitan Achievement Test

-Assesses subject areas in school, -Has the option for open-ended questions.

Assessment data

-Can help educational leaders evaluate programs to determine whether they're meeting the needs of their students, -Can also help educators identify ways that they can improve their programs & practices to better serve those students.

Threats to Valid Interpretations of ELLs' Test Scores

-If the test is timed, the student may not have enough time to finish the test because the thought process for translation requires extra time, -The English reading comprehension level of the test may be too difficult, so the test becomes a measure of English reading comprehension rather than a measure of achievement, -The ed program of a transplanted student is not likely to be very strong & therefore can result in lower achievement & lower test scores, -The teaching quality may be inferior, especially if a bilingual teacher's needed but not available, -If teaching is done in English & the student's English language proficiency isn't good, the student is failing to learn English & not keeping up in other areas of study, -If these students attend schools in school districts with limited services, they're less likely to receive the special attention that more affluent schools districts provide. *Underfunded schools tend to have underfunded programs for the neediest students. -If these students live in social/cultural isolation, they're more likely to underachieve.

3 types of reliability

-Internal, -Stability, -Alternative forms.

Home language tests are appropriate only for ELLs who are:

-Literate in their home language, -Have received home language instruction in the subjects being tested.

Assessment involves:

-Planning what, how, & when to assess, with attention to the varied purposes of different constituents/stakeholders, including students, parents, teachers, & local & state administers; -Collecting appropriate data from a variety of sources, ranging from informal observations of students in class to a more formal scoring of student performances on specific tasks using common rubrics; -Analyzing student performance data, looking for strengths to build on, & identifying areas in need of further instruction & assistance; -Reporting student strengths & needs in ways that are beneficial to students, teachers, & the school; -Using student performance data to identify what a student must learn in order to proceed to the next level.

Summative assessment

-Provides a summary of what a student knows & can do, -Given at the end of a unit/at the end of the school year.

Tests use objective formats:

-Questions are true/false/multiple choice, -Questions call for one correct answer, one truth, & one interpretation.

Most commonly tested subject areas on large-scale content-area assessments:

-Reading/language arts, -Math, -Science.

"Next generation" assessments

-Refers to content and English language proficiency assessments developed in response to federal requirements for ESEA Flexibility, -These assessments are designed to measure required college & career readiness standards and corresponding English Language proficiency standards.

Next-generation assessments

-Refers to content and English language proficiency assessments developed in response to federal requirements for ESEA Flexibility, -These assessments are designed to measure required college and career readiness standards and corresponding English Language proficiency standards.

Reliability (according to Popham, 2014)

-Refers to the consistence with which a test measures whatever it's measuring, -The extent to which student's scores on tests are free from errors of measurement.

Examples of norm-referenced tests

-Stanford Achievement Test, -10th edition (SAT-10), -The TerraNova, -The Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS), -The Metropolitan Achievement Test (MAT), -Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTB), -Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, -College entrance exams.

Examples of IQ tests

-Stanford-Binet, -Welsher Intelligence Test for Children, -SAT, -ACT, -GRE.

Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives (AMAOs)

-Targets set by each state, as required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, -These indicate the percentage of students at each grade level expected to pass each state test under Title I, and the percentage of ELLs expected to make progress in learning English and attain English proficiency under Title III.

Tests rely on documentation:

-Test takers are redefined & describable, analyzable objects, -Results are recorded, & could be used for possible sanctions against the test takers.

Power of Tests

-Tests are administered by powerful institutions, -Test takers have little power, -Institutions have non-negotiable control over knowledge.

Tests use the language of science.

-That language is statistical, objective, & empirical, -It grants authority, status, & power.

These major national professional organizations have developed a set of standards for educational & psychological testing:

-The American Education Research Association, -The American Psychological Association, -National Council on Measurement of Education.

Tests use written forms of communication.

-The written exam is a 1-way act of communication, -It allows no consideration of a test takers' views & interpretations.

Examples of accommodations

-To the extent practicable, -Assessments in the language & form most likely to yield accurate data on what such students know & can do in academic content areas, until such students have achieved English language proficiency.

Norm-referenced test

-Used to compare a student's score to those of other students, -Test results are usually reported as percentile rankings. *Used to represent how a student's score compares with the scores of students in the test's norming population. -Also used to compare the performances of classrooms, schools, districts, & even states.

Ages to obtain fluency in a second language

4-7.

Portfolio assessment

A collection of work that shows a learner's growth in proficiency, long-term achievement, & significant accomplishments in a given academic area.

Norming population

A group of students--"norming group"--that has already taken the same test.

Test

A single instrument designed to systematically measure a sample of student's ability at one particular time.

Graduate Record Exam (GRE)

A standardized admission test required by most psychology graduate schools.

Limited English Proficient (LEP)

A student who possesses limited mastery of the English language affecting instruction and learning.

Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS)

A survey battery achievement test that measures skills to satisfactorily progress through school.

Criterion-related evidence

A type of evidence of validity that exists when scores on a test are related to scores from another measure of an associated trait.

Value-added assessment

A way of analyzing test data that makes it possible to predict student growth.

Reliability

Ability of a test to yield very similar scores for the same individual over repeated testings.

Accommodation

Adapting one's current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information.

Equal Education Opportunities Act of 1974

All children receive equal education regardless of income, race, color, sex, or origin.

Construct-related evidence

All information collected to examine the validity of an assessment.

Self-assessment

An evaluation of your strengths & weaknesses.

Holistic assessment

Analysis based on the overall quality of a performance/product.

Peer assessment

Assessment by students of their classmates' products/performances.

Performance assessment

Assessment in which students demonstrate their knowledge and skills in a non-written fashion.

Authentic assessment

Assessment of students' knowledge and skills in a "real-life" context.

Most of the tests designed by teachers for classroom use are

Criterion-referenced tests.

Standards-based assessment

Criterion-referenced/norm-referenced test that measures progress toward meeting goals/standards (formal assessment).

Cut scores

Decision points for dividing test scores into pass/fail groupings.

Criterion-referenced test

Determines how much a student has learned by tallying how many questions are answered correctly.

Multiple measures

Different forms of formal and informal formative & summative assessments used together to provide accurate measures of what a student knows and can do.

Example of evaluation

Final grades.

Stanford Achievement Test

Focuses on competency for children.

Stability

How consistent the results are of a test across different a different testing occasions?

Student worksheet question

How many does he have left?

Key issue for next-generation assessments

How they'll be used for ELLs.

Internal reliability

How well all of the test items measure the same thing.

Example of students who attend schools with limited services

In poverty-stricken areas.

Standard error of measurement (SEM)

Indicates what the individual would score if he takes the same test again.

"Plain English"

Linguistically simplified.

American Psychological Association

Professional organization representing psychologists in the U.S.

Formative assessment

Provides information to a teacher about how a student's doing & what modifications may be needed in instruction.

Validity

Refers to the accuracy with which a test/assessment measures what it purports to measure.

Testing

Refers to the administration of tests.

Bias in testing & assessment

Refers to the qualities of an assessment instrument that penalize a group of students because of their gender, religion, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or any other characteristics that defines them as a group.

Evaluation

Refers to the use of evidence gathered through assessment to make a judgement about the effectiveness of student's learning, of the techer's teaching, or of the educational programs provided to the students.

Bubble kids

Students who "just barely" missed passing the test by a few points.

One of the major weaknesses of high-stakes tests

Success is defined as students' meeting/exceeding a predetermined bar.

Teacher assessment

Teachers facilitate the learning & monitoring of particular items.

TESOL

Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages-organization that puts out a journal, national/international conferences, and sets language learning standards for English learners.

Best accommodation for ELLs

Tests in their home language.

Predetermined bar

The cut score that students must meet/exceed to be deemed as passing.

Assessment

The evaluation/estimation of the nature, quality, or ability of someone/something.

Content-related evidence

The extent to which the assessment is representative of the domain of interest.

Fluent English Proficient (FEP)

The official designation for former ELLs who have attained sufficient English proficiency to meet their state's criteria for redesignation.

Consequential validity

The way in which the implementation of a test can affect the interpret-ability of test scores; the practical consequences of the introduction of a test.

Alternative forms

Two "parallel" test measuring same concept given at 2 different times.

Nons-nons

Used in some schools to refer to Latino ELLs officially designated as non-English/non-Spanish speaking.

State math test question

What information is needed to find the approximate number of sheets of paper Juan had left after the school year was over?

Construct-irrelevant variance

When the test measures characteristics other than what we want to measure.