Success with ELLs: Authentic Assessment for ELLs in the ELA Classroom

Author(s): Margo DelliCarpini

Source: The English Journal, Vol. 98, No. 5 (May, 2009), pp. 116-119
Published by: National Council of Teachers of English
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AuthenticAssessment
for ELLs in the ELA
Classroom
The World of Educational
Assessments
For manyschools,it's thattimeof
yearagain: the time when teach-
ers, administrators, and students
are focusedon end-of-year assess-
ments. Similar to the way that
retail outlets place Halloween
decorationson the shelvesbefore
Labor Day, the K- 12 education
worldstartspreparingforend-of-
year assessmentsearlierand ear-
lier.My high school-agestudents
were given their state English
exam in Januaryof their junior
yearso thatthedistrictcouldfocus
on studentswho failedor received
a grade that is considered"too
low." The hope is that through
thisfocus,thesestudentswill pass
or do better during the June
administration oftheexam.
Those of us who inhabit the
worldof educationknow thatwe
live in an assessment-drivenfield.
The educational landscape is
becomingpacked with standard-
ized, external assessments,and
somestatestestchildreneveryyear
fromkindergarten on. This focus
on standardizedassessmentsis a
double-edgedsword:On the one
hand, stakeholders, students,and
teachersneed to understandhow
116 EnglishJournal98.5 (2009): 116-119
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Margo DelliCarpini,Editor
SuccesswithELLs
studentsaredoing,whattheirlevel increased accountabilityin termsof
of masteryis, and what improve- teachingELLs, contentprograms
ments can be made in termsof are oftenstill developedwithout
programsand instructionalser- properconsideration oftheneedsof
vices. On the otherhand, high- ELLs.Thiscreatesa situation where
stakes standardized assessments theexamsmaynotbe givingaccu-
haveservedto narrowthecurricu- rateinformation about the perfor-
lum (teachto thetest)and remove manceofELLs.
much of the creativitythat has
been a hallmarkofgood teaching.
We also know that some people
Challenges ELLs Face on
Standardized Assessments
aregood testtakers,and othersare
not. In a case like this,the assess- Englishlanguagelearnersfacethe
mentresultstell us about the test challengeof simultaneoussecond-
taker'sskillsas a testtakerrather languageacquisitionand content-
thananythingabout theircontent knowledgedevelopment.Are the
knowledgeand skills.And whatif resultsofELLs' examsinforming us
the studentgets the rightanswer about their content knowledgeor
forthewrongreason(a guesson a Englishlanguageability?Are lan-
multiple-choice exam) or the guage assessments providinginfor-
wronganswerforthe rightreason mation about the students'past
(a question that is subjectiveor educational preparationor about
createsa dissonancebetweena stu- theiractual languageproficiency?
dent'sknowledgeoftheworldand Is a wronganswera resultofunfa-
whatthetestmanufacturer believes miliaritywith the test formator
to be theone rightanswer)? troubleunderstanding a word in
And what about ELLs? In the thedirections? Unfamiliar sentence
past,manystatesprovidedexempt structures or interpretationsofspe-
status from high-stakescontent cificstructures can cause misinter-
assessments forELLs who had been pretation, suchas reflexivepronouns
in schoolin the United Statesfor orrelative clausestructuresorinter-
lessthanthreeyearsandhadnotyet pretations that students'
native lan-
achieveda determined levelofpro- guage does not have.Consider the
ficiencyin English.However,after following sentenceas an example:
NCLB, most states exempt ELLs Someonepushedthemother ofthe
fromcontentassessmentsforone
girli[whoj]wasonthebalcony.
cycleatmost,andELLsareincluded
in a district's
AnnualYearlyProg- Native speakersof Englishpre-
ress(AYP) report.While this has fertheinterpretation wherethegirl
 Success with ELLs

wason thebalcony.This is a prefer- Background knowledge and The assumptionsimplicit in

enceforattachingtherelativepro- past educationalexperiencesalso this question are that (1) these
noun[who]to thenounphrasethat play a role in how ELLs perform studentsgo to a schoolthatoffers
appears lower in the structure. on standardizedassessments.For these activitiesand (2) the ELL
However,nativespeakersof Span- example, on a 2007 New York has or has had access to these
ish, German,Dutch, French,and State Testing Program eighth- activities.This is morea question
gradeELA assessment,thefollow- of students'past experienceswith
Are the results of ELLs' exams ing questionpromptappeared: particularschool-basedpractices
informingus about their than an accurate assessmentof
Readthissentence from thestory.
content knowledge or English English proficiency;a student
Likepiecesofa puzzle,thepattern withless
language ability? Are language
experiencewiththe pic-
clickedintoplace. tured activities will be graded
assessments providing
The sentenceassumesthatstu- lowerthana studentwhohasmore
informationabout the students'
dents have had experienceswith experiencewith such activities.
past educational preparation or Yet these studentsmay have the
jigsaw or other manipulative
about their actual language samelanguageability.
puzzles, which may not be the
proficiency? case forall ELLs. While formany Standardized assessmentsare
who grew up in middle-class not the only type of assessment
Russianhavebeenshownto prefer America,puzzles mayseem to be thatcan conflate issuesoflanguage
attaching the relative pronoun a givenpartofoursharedcultural proficiency and content knowl-
[who] to the noun phrase that knowledge,this can be an unfa- edge.Traditionalclassroomassess-
appearshigherin the structure, in miliar mentsmaypose manyofthesame
topic forELLs. How many
thiscase themother.Such structural of us would be familiarwith the challengesdiscussed above: they
ambiguityis somethingthatmost popular children'sgame Chigora are highlylanguagedependantin
assessments don'tplan for,but the Danda, which is played in Zim- waysthatmayexceedthe current
meaning the sentenceis differ- babwe but may have roots in proficiency
of level of the students;
ent,dependingonwithwhichnoun India? they may give an assessmentof
therelativepronounis co-indexed. Anotherexampleof a question language proficiency ratherthan
Challenges on assessments can thatmaydetermine moreaboutan content knowledge; and theymay
also arisefromunfamiliar vocabu- ELLs priorexperiences thanhis or provide cultural connections and
laryuse. If ELLs learnedEnglish her actual knowledgecomes from contexts that ELLs are unfamiliar
as a foreignlanguage in their the 2005 New York StateAssess- or uncomfortable with.
nativecountrybeforetheirmove ment sampler for ESL students These issuesmakestandardized
to theUnitedStates,thevarietyof (NYSESLAT; see http://www.emsc assessmentof ELLs a challenge
Englishtaughtcan affectusage of .nysed.gov/osa/nyseslat/samplers and the information providedby
words; for example, these assessments unreliable.
particular .htm). There is a picture show-
British, American, and Indian However, as educators, we do need
ing students in a school band
Englishes use words differently:and studentsin a schoolindustrial to know how students are doing,
the noun dresscan referto cloths arts classroom.The promptis as whatgainstheyaremaking,where
formen,women,and childrenin follows: gaps in theirunderstanding exist,
IndianEnglish;bangermeanssau- and what types of instructional
Lookat thepictures below.There and topics need to be
sage in BritishEnglish. Within aredifferentactivities can do strategies
you introducedto facilitatelearning.
theselargerlanguagevarietiesare
at school.Look at the pictures.
dialectal differences that can be Assessing ELLs in mainstream
How aretheythesame?How are
class governed,regionally deter- classrooms can be a chal-
theydifferent?Whywoulda per- English
mined(e.g., bubbler meansa water son like one of thesebetterthan lenge, but there are ways that
fountainin parts of the United theother? Giveas manyreasons as Englishteacherscan movetoward
States),genderspecific, or based you can. Write aboutthe pictures a more accurateway of learning
on groupidentity. on of
page15 your booklet. about theirELLs.

English Journal 117

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 Authentic Assessment for ELLs in the ELA Classroom

Toward More Authentic The keyto successful performance-embeddedopportunities forthem

Assessment Procedures based assessmentlies in Gottlieb's to show what theyknow in ways
forELLs extendedmetaphor ofa bridgethat thatmatchtheircurrentlinguistic
connectsclassroomactivitieswith developmentin English.In addi-
The mostaccurateand valid infor-
real-worldactivitiesand language tion,performance-based assessment
mationabout all studentprogress
tocontent. Performance-based asses- includesvisible criteria.In other
comes fromassessmentsthat are
mentgivesEnglishteachersa vari- words,teachers sharewithstudents
designedby teachersand are con- of sources from which to obtain the criteria that theywill be evalu-
nected to the actual instruction ety
information about theirELL stu- ated on, their expectationsfor
thatis occurringin theclassroom.
dentsand can providea complete studentwork,examplesofstudent-
However,a largenumberofteach-
ers reportthattheyfeelthatthey picture
ofwhatthesestudents know, generated productsthatfallintoall
howtheyinterpret thematerial, and levelsof thegradingrange,as well
are unprepared to assess ELLs
whattheyarecapableofdoing.This as scoringrubrics, checklists (to be
(Fraddand Lee). This is problem- sure all elements are
picture is much richer than tradi- necessary
atic; as we havediscussedin prior measures. Accord- included),and questionsthat ask
tionalassessment
columns,the ELL populationis a
ing to Lorraine Valdez Pierce, studentsto reflecton the project.
rapidly growing group, and effective and well-developed perfor- Askingstudentsto assesstheirper-
English classroomswithoutELLs mance-basedassessmentsaccom- formance reflective
through writing
will be the exceptionratherthan
the
plish following: or discussion is also an ele-
essential
thenormin thecomingyears.
mentof performance-based assess-
There are ways that English use meaningful, naturalistic,
context-embedded tasks ments.Peer feedbackcan also be
teacherscan assess theirlanguage
learnerstudentsin the classroom throughhands-onor collabora- includedin theassessment process.
tiveactivities When managedwell (clearground
Assessing ELLs in mainstream showwhatstudentsknowand rules,specific guidelines), peerfeed-
can do a of back can motivate learners andpro-
English classrooms can be a through variety
assessmenttasks vide extended opportunitiesfor
challenger but there are ways
supportthelanguageand cog- ELLs to engagein discussionusing
that English teachers can move the academiclanguageessentialto
nitiveneedsofELLs
toward a more accurate way of allow forflexibility success in the English classroom,
in meeting
learning about their ELLs. individualneeds therefore buildingcriticalcognitive
use criterion-referenced academiclanguagein an authentic
assess-
thatwill providevaluableinforma- mentfor The ELLs' motivationcan
judgingstudentwork setting.
tion about what these students be enhanced,theirself-confidence
providefeedbackto students andtheirsenseofconnec-
know,whattheirinterests andmoti-
on strengths and weaknesses increased,
vationsare,whattheyarecapableof tion to their mainstreampeers
generatedescriptiveinforma-
doing,and what typesof instruc- developed through well-constructed
tionthatcan guide instruction
tionalstrategies and contentmust peer-feedback opportunities.
provideinformation forteach-
be integrated to ensurethattheyare TheseexplicittermsallowELLs
ing and learningthatresults to makesenseoftheproject,seefin-
"gettingit."To thisend,one thing in improvedstudentperfor-
thatEnglishteachers canfocuson is ished productsto use as models,
mance(2)
performance-based measures of ELLs and reflect on theirperformance on
on authentictasksthatoffer a vari- Traditional classroom assess- a givenassignment, whichprovides
etyofwaysthatELLscanshowthey ments,like standardized tests,are valuable information forteachers.
aremastering thecontent.In recent dependanton language and may RichardJ. Stigginsdiscusseshow
workon assessment forELLs,Gott- providelittleto no information on such clear statementsof expecta-
lieb discusses how performance-ELLs' understanding of concepts. tions on the part of teachersand
based assessmentscan provide ELLs do wellwhenevaluatedusing how sharingall criteriaand exam-
teacherswith information about a variety ofinnovativeperformance-ples of past studentworkincrease
bothlanguageand contentmastery. basedassessments becausethereare thelikelihoodofstudentsuccess.

118 May2009

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 Success with ELLs

AuthenticAssessment Teachersgainaccurateand nuanced assessmentsforELLs as a supple-

of ELLs in Practice
Perhapsoneofthemostmotivating ties.ELLs
thingsEnglishteacherscan do for about themselvesas learnersand teachersto
theirELLs is to provideopportuni-
tiesforthemto see theimmediate
connections betweentheirlivesand
thecurriculum, an important com-
ponentforsuccess.Authentic activi-
ties can include a variety of
presentationformats thatconnecta
workofliterature, a poem,a quote,
a pieceof art,or songlyricsto the
students'lives,eithertheirlivesin ety
theUnitedStatesortheirpastexpe-
riencesin their native countries.
These presentationformatscan
include traditionaltools such as
PowerPoint butcanbe expandedto munity
includea videopostedto YouTube,
a website,a blog,thecreationof a
musicvideo,writingandactingout
an episodeofa favoriteshowdealing
withthethemesoftheworkunder
investigation,or Web animation. ing
These real-worldtasks can also
include traditionaland electronic
letter writing and project-based lowingsuggestions:
tasksthat are meaningful to stu-
dentsoutsidetheschoolandin their
communities.
These formatsnot only allow
teachersto see what their ELLs
knowin waysthatgo beyondtradi-
tionalassessments, theyalso allow
ELLs to developthe necessary and
currenttechnological skillsneeded
forsuccessin theirnewsociety.
Assessmentof ELLs in main-
stream English classrooms,like
planningfor instruction, requires
additionaltime and collaboration ties.(Lenskiet al. 29)
on thepartofteachers, buttheben-
efitsthatstudentsand teachers reap
from such work are numerous: performance-based,
understandingsof their ELLs' ment to the traditionalassess-
understanding, interest, and abili- ments, a clearer picture of the
valuable information ELLs emergesand allows English
gain
developlearningexpe-
their understandingof concepts riences that meet their diverse
underinvestigation becomesdeeper needs.In addition,ELLs are more
and lastingsinceit is connectedto likely to develop real knowledge
theirskills,interests,abilities,and surrounding the topics under
livesoutsidetheclassroom. In addi- investigation in theEnglishclass-
tion,theirconfidence and language roomthroughtheuse ofauthentic
abilitiesaregreatlyenhanced. Main- assessments.This has a recursive
streamstudentsbenefit froma vari- effect:theirincreasedknowledge
ofassessment measuresas well, and confidencewill enhancetheir
and these form a differentiatedperformance on the necessarytra-
assessment protocolthat enrichesall ditional assessments. It is a win-
students' experiences in all
andinterest win situationfor involved.()
the curriculum.Finally,the com-
thatis formedin theclass- Works Cited
room throughthe completionof Fradd, Sandra H., and Okhee Lee.
"Needed:A Framework forIntegrat-
collaborativeprojects,peer feed-
ing Standardization and Informal
back,andincreased, authentic inter- Assessment forStudentsDeveloping
actionis valuableforall involved. AcademicLanguageProficiency in
In a recentarticlein TheRead- English." LiteracyAssessment ofSecond
LanguageLearners.Ed. Sandra Rollins
Teacher,researchersdiscuss
Hurleyand Josefina Villa-milTina-
ways thatmainstream teacherscan jero.Boston: Allyn, 2001. 130-48.
assess ELLs and include the fol- Gottlieb, Margo. AssessingEnglishLan-
guageLearners:BridgesfromLanguage
Proficiencyto Academic Achievement.
Involve students in perfor- Thousand Oaks: Corwin,2006.
mance assessment tasks. Lenski, SusanDavis,FabiolaEhlers-Zav-
ala, MayraC. Daniel, and Xiaoqin
Offerstudentsopportunities to Sun-Irminger."Assessing English
showand practiceknowledge Language Learnersin Mainstream
in nonlanguage-dependent Classrooms."TheReadingTeacher 60.1
(2006): 24-34.
waysthroughVenndiagrams, New York State
Testing Program.
charts,drawings,mindmaps,
or PowerPointslides.
"EnglishLanguageArtsTest:Book
1: Grade 8." Monterey:McGraw-
Promoteparticipation in non- Hill, LLC, 2007. 17 Dec. 2008
<http://www.nysedregents.org/
threatening situationsthat
testing/elaei/07exams/gr8bkl .pdf>.
encourageexperimentation Pierce,LorraineValdez. "Performance-
withthetargetlanguageof BasedAssessment: Promoting Achieve-
study.Assesslanguagelearn- mentforEnglishLanguageLearners."
ing in theparticipation activi- ERIC/CLLNewsBulletin 26.1 (2002):
1-3.
Stiggins,RichardJ. "Assessment Crisis:
The Absence of Assessmentfor
When Englishteachersinclude Learning."Phi Delta Kappan83.10
nontraditional (2002): 758-65.

Margo DelliCarpini earned her PhD in Linguisticsat Stony BrookUniversityand is assistantprofessorand programcoordina-
tor of TESOL at Lehman College, CUNY, where she works with ESOL certificationcandidates. She has taught ESL at the ele-
mentary,secondary,adult, and highereducation levels. Email her at MARGO.DELLICARPINK^Iehman.cuny.edu.

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