The English Language Learner (ELL) Assessment Process Essay example

The research proposal will answer the research question: Are high-stakes test an effective way to test ELLs in content areas? This research proposal will inform educators of their teaching ELLs over the course of a year. Educators will participate in professional development (PD) throughout the course of the year on a biweekly basis. During this PD, educators will reflect on best practices in teaching ELLs, analyze data, and observe other master educators in their field. The data collection process will occur intermittently over the school year. In addition to teacher data, the study will also collect pre, mid, and post assessment scores in reading, writing, and math. The results of this study will demonstrate the effectiveness of high-stakes testing on ELLs.

2. GIVING FEEDBACK = Verbal feedback, Written Feedback.{Try to be positive, Don’t be negative candidates find this demoralising}

Ell proficiency tests guide data-driven decision-making, A group of educators for each stage ( stage I-IV AZELLA, speaking assessment and KG placement test screener) observe all of the data that have been collected for their stage. During the process they will determine what items to keep, what items need to be changed and what items need to be out altogether. The proper use of data collection from these tests can help educator make wiser decision when planning. In addition, all the data from ELL proficiency test most of decision making will be beneficial for ELL students during testing and classroom activities.

For a student who’s second language is English would have extreme difficulties taking any test that is written all in English, much less a high stakes test that is going to decide if they are allowed to move forward in their education. ELL students need special accommodations to meet their needs and designing a test that is in their first language should be an option that is available to these students and all school should be required to have them on hand without question. ELL students cannot be expected to score well or even remotely the same on this test as their peers might or a student whose first language is English and can read the written text on the test. “If students with limited English skills are to be tested in English their test scores should be interpreted in light of their limited English skills” (CREATE, pg. 1). If high stakes testing is going to be a requirement for all students enrolled in school, then accommodations should be made for not only students with disabilities but also for students who have English as their second language. This is not only necessary but also the only fair way to achieve accurate test scores for all

Research suggests that ELs’ score on summative academic content assessments in English are not always representative of these students’ content skills and knowledge (p. 173).

Each LEA determines who may give language proficiency tests. It is strongly recommended that LEAs develop and provide training for all test administrators. Most often, the test administrator must be ESL certified or endorsed teacher with ESL experience Administrators should ensure that assessments take place in an appropriate testing environment and that all testing materials be kept secure. The speaking portion of many of the exams is given one-on-one. Procedures for administration and scoring are included in the administration manuals for each test. However, it is highly recommended that the test be given individually. During the assessment ELL students are expected to be relaxed,

ELLs in all grade levels are assessed annually, even students whose parents have declined ESL or bilingual services (Making the ELPS, 2015, p. 5-6). They set detailed learning goals for ELLs, that parents to be informed of their childs’ progress in English development, and help monitor exit program making decisions. The TELPAS have ratings for each language domain which also includes an overall composite rating from beginner through advanced high. The language domains are listening, reading, writing, and speaking, which are also rated from beginner to advanced high (Making the ELPS, 2015, p. 8). According to the TEA, the TELPAS use two approaches to assess students. One is an online multiple choice test that assess second though twelfth grade reading. The other is a holistic process to determine listening, speaking, and writing in kinder through twelfth grade (Making the ELPS, 2015, p. 9) The ELPS and the TELPAS go hand in hand, because the TELPAS measures how well the EPLS were taught. The results from the TELPAS should align with the ELPS proficiency level standards (Making the ELPS, 2015, p.

MODEL, Measure of Developing English Language, is a series of tests given to grade-school students to assess determine progress as ELL students receive services. MODEL evaluates ELL students’ academic English language proficiency in the four language domains of speaking, listening, reading, and writing. All items and tasks in those sections are aligned to the WIDA ELP Standards. The speaking section consists of constructed-response tasks that target progressively higher proficiency levels. The listening section in MODEL has multiple-choice items. The reading section in MODEL is also multiple-choice. The writing section in has two parts: Part A, which asks students to respond to open-ended questions that require only short answers; and Part

In 2002 there were “more than 4.4 million LEP children in public schools in the United States - twice the number of a decade ago, and nearly 10 percent of total enrollment.” 1 Many educators will tell you there are not enough resources or guidance to offer these students the education they deserve and that is mandated by law. Some schools extend the period where the test scores of ELL students do not need to be counted towards total scores and other schools put english tests in front of students who have only been in the US for a year. Practices like this where a student is taking a test in a language they do not understand is very possibly unlawful. Paul Weckstein of the Center for Law and Education in Washington, D.C stated in the article “Leaving English Learners Behind”, "Such practices may violate ESEA itself, and might also run afoul of civil rights laws." 1 The law states that tests should be valid and reliable however how can this be the case if students are being measured academically in a language they do not yet fully comprehend or speak. Even students who appear fluent to a teacher and seem ready to test in English are at a disadvantage because it can take up to 7 years before students are considered to be grade level in the second language. Unfortunately the law states that ELL students scores should be counted after only 3 years.

When the ELPs are integrated with assessment in the classroom this ensures that the assessment is just right. ELs have a hard time with the language in tests and often answer wrong because of the way the assessment was written. When they are intertwined with assessment this increases ELs chances of performing well on the assessment. Educators have a hard time aligning expectation for ELs across content areas. They are aligned with Common Core Standards for reading, writing, speaking and listening. This will help instruction by knowing what is expected from your level three for an opinion writing piece who could be kindergarten. The standards were created to have teachers to align them with Common Core. The ELP and Common Core align with one another and are supposed to make instruction simpler for non-native English

The two programs also incorporate standard 3.a., Planning for Standards-Based ESL and Content Instruction. This standard is utilized in the I-BEST program as, the instructors ensure that the Els are able to understand the standard English necessary to search for and obtain a job. The programs incorporate standard 4.b., Language Proficiency Assessment. This standard is utilized to assess what English level a learner may be on so that he or she can receive the information at his or her own pace.

Siegel et. al begin the article by detailing some of the barriers that middle school educators and ELLs face as they interact and attempt to make modified assessments. One obstacle that is presented is

The school has a ENL coordinator position where they keep track of the progress of each ENL student, and create different services for ENL’s in the school. As of August 25th, 2017, they did not have an ENL coordinator present. On October 13th, 2017, it was informed to me that there are 5 ENL teachers working in the high school. From what Ms. Chilankis mentioned, the students are tested in room 228 to test proficiency (Ms. Chilankis, personal conversation, October, 2017). Depending on their score, they are sent to one of the five designated ELD classrooms.

Finding ways to for English as a Second Language (ESL) learners to improve their communication has been the focus of many research studies. The research study, An Investigation of Communicative Competence of ESL Students Using Electronic Discussion Boards, researched by Shenghua Zha, Paul Kelly, MeeAeng Ko Par, and Gail Fitzgerald of the University of Missouri-Columbia, investigates if communication of ESL students improves through a social and technologically interactive mode of communication. This research study is based on beliefs of educational theorists such as Vygotsky, Piaget and Krashen, and the idea that students learn through their social environment and peer interactions in the acquisition of appropriate language skills (Zha, Kelly, Park, & Fitzgerald, 2006, p. 350). Through the use of electronic discussion boards, the researchers study if this technology helps to improve the ESL students’ communication skills. This study employs the students’ use of computers to access electronic discussion boards to both communicate with and collaborate with other students through different activities. The researchers look for any changes, loses or gains, in the students’ proficiency of communication within this environment.

English as a medium of instruction has developed as a global trend for a range of reasons. Nowadays EMI is truly a global phenomenon. In this literature review, I look at the historical backgrounds of EMI in three periods prior to a global phenomenon. What is more, I reflect upon the current developments of EMI at tertiary education focusing on the spread of EMI into the global universities, EMI in European universities, EMI in Asian universities and EMI in Thai universities. In each section, I link the current literature review to my initial research at the end of the sections in order to form my research grounds.