Whew Chile....These Assessments
Imagine this.....you've just turned 5 years old and your mother excitedly tells you, "You get to go to school now!" You're so excited to go somewhere where you'll learn why the sky is blue and learn bigger numbers than 10...if that's even possible. Your mom takes you along to a thing called Meet the Teacher Night and you're so excited to meet the person who will teach you everything you could ever possibly want to know. You get there and are just bumbling in your seat ready to explode at any minute....the teacher walks in and says, "Are you guys ready to embark on this wonderful journey of taking approximately 112 mandatory standardized tests up until the day you graduate?!?!?!"
Now you didn't really understand anything else this lady said, but you definitely heard her say 112.... you think Wow that sounds like a-lot. While your mother thinks huh???? Why so many?
What would you guys think if you were told that on the first day?
On top of that imagine if you couldn't even read in the English language these tests were in?
This was my same reaction after reading Chapter 9 in Educating Emergent Bilinguals. Specifically this one sentence, "In 2015, the Council of the Great City Schools estimated that the average student in large city school systems will take approximately 112 mandatory standardized tests between prekindergarten and high school." (pg. 151)
This chapter titled Assessments dove into all things testing, which I know is everyone's favorite part of teaching. It talks a lot about where we are going wrong as a society in testing our Emergent Bilingual students. The book points out 6 theoretical constructs that we must consider in order to even have fair and equitable assessments for each and every student.
1. The Power of Assessments
2. Language Proficiency and Content Proficiency
3. The Discrepancy between General Linguistic Performance and Language-Specific Performance
4. Validity and Reliability for Emergent Bilinguals
5. Fit of Tests to Population
6. Matching the Language of the Test to Language Practices
Too often America has used assessments not to know where students are and how to help them, but as a way to allocate funds to the "best" schools. Since our assessments require students to know the English language we are testing language proficiency rather than content proficiency. We ask emergent bilinguals to become masters of the English language and demand that they perform well on these tests. We design assessments with the White, middle-class monolingual student in mind as the "norm" so when all other students who don't fit into that ideal see the questions they have to answer they have no idea what they're looking at. What messages are our school environments sending to these students?
Going to a school where I was 1 of the 25 black students in the entire school I already felt a since of otherness and like an outsider. I can only imagine going to a school where I didn't understand the language or culture then constantly receiving the message that where I come from, my culture, etc. does not matter as much as my White classmates. And then on top of that you're expected to take 112 of these standardized tests in English, a language you don't speak and are just now starting to learn through these "sink or swim" programs many schools still use.
So when our emergent bilinguals test poorly educators look around at each other like, "Why aren't they scoring well?" "They're surrounded by English all day?" "What could possibly be wrong?"
After reading all the bad about assessments and how we are failing our emergent bilingual students, I'll be honest I felt overwhelmed with how little old me could change something that is so big and has years and years of wrongdoing behind it. I then began to wonder how different everything could look if people were comfortable with being uncomfortable. If people were more willing to speak out against injustices that may not affect them, but affect the world and ones around them. I found this Ted-talk video by Luvvie Ajayi that really inspired me and I hope inspires you all as well.
**How can we be that domino in our communities/ schools that set off a chain reaction for justice and equitable practices in the classroom?
Good news the reading didn't just leave us high and dry with the bad of our assessments today, but it offered up ways for us to provide alternative assessment practices and do better for our students who deserve it. It provided 7 different ways for us as teachers to help our Emergent Bilingual students through these mandated assessments.
1. Observing Closely
2. Assessing Dynamically and with Performance Assessments
3. Enabling Testing Accommodations
4. Disentangling Language and Content
5. Assessing Students in their Home Language
6. Assessing Bilingually
7. Translanguaging in Assessment
***Which one of these do you guys think you could implement in your classrooms as a way of assessment?
I think I could do number 1, Observing Closely because it is specific and puts the ball in our court as teachers. "It is when a teacher can see this process, the child in motion, the child engaged in activities meaningful to her, that it is possible for the teacher to gain the insights needed to adjust her or his own approaches to the child accordingly." (pg. 153) It takes up extra time in the classrooms, but I think it is a great way for us to see on what the student is strong in and what the student may be still developing in and plan accordingly to meet them where they are, not where you think they should be.
Here are also some resources I found that not only back up the readings recommendations of more fair assessment practices, but also offer up more ways:
Questions:
- What is a feasible first step for you as a teacher to take in your own classroom to create more equitable assessments?
- What could be the possible difficulties of trying to implement any of these alternatives to assessment in schools? Nationwide?
- Can you come up with any other ways you think could work as a way of assessment for emergent bilingual students?
- Feel free to answer any of the other questions I posed throughout the blog as well! 😁
This blog is very interesting to me since I just did my linguistic observation in a classroom of 18 girls and 15 boys all (with the exception of 3) English learners, with Spanish as their first/home language. When you said they are surrounded by English all day. What could possible be wrong? I know you were being sarcastic, but this is an such insane and widely believed thought process. The teachers in the room I observed neither one spoke Spanish, and I was literally watching these students get "left behind". I was actually told by the teacher it's the best way for them to learn and I think she truly believes that. I stayed through all of morning work and these students were clearly NOT learning. I don't think these teachers could have implemented any of the alternative assessment practices in chapter 9, because they don't have any real knowledge of their students language or culture which are necessary even to just Observe closely. From my observation I think enabling testing accommodations would be beneficial for these students, but only with a teacher who also bilingual. I asked the teacher while I was there how difficult she felt standardized tests were for her students (1st graders) and she basically admitted to gaming the system and "helping" her students with questions they didn't understand. I know there are fantastic programs that are nothing like this classroom but I also know there are a lot more just the same. We are absolutely ignoring those students that need the most help and I think we are going to need A LOT of "dominos" to push for more intensive and appropriate teaching practices, where assessment isn't the only form of measuring achievement for English learners.
ReplyDeleteWow, thank you for sharing about your observation. Yes I agree Amanda that we are so ingrained and comfortable with the way things are that there will need to be lots of "dominos" to make changes to this system. What do you think could be a feasible first step for teachers in classrooms like the one you observed?
DeleteI posted a reply on Sunday, but it must not have posted. That is a crazy observation, but I believe it. I have heard multiple times that "Students learn English better when they are totally immersed." Which throughout all our readings, it reiterates that is not the best way to learn a new language.
DeleteAlso, 112 standardized tests are unreal and the blog brought up a great point. These tests are not testing what the students know well or what the teacher can do to improve; in most cases they are solely being used for schools to get a good grade. These tests need to be reconsidered for all students, but really pose a problem for English language learners.
Amanda, you and I had a similar observation experience. Majority of the students in my 2nd grade class were Hispanic. The teachers are suppose to include ELL strategies into the classroom and promote their culture but I didn't see any of that. I was told once I came in that they had small groups going on for the more advanced students, and then a large group for those who needed help. All but two students in that large group were Hispanic. My guess was they needed help for more understanding of the content or help with reading, but I still saw nothing to support those students (culture, strategies) It made me wonder if I came in at the wrong time or if this is just how their class is.
DeleteGoing off of what Amanda said, I think the concept of teachers thinking that sticking their non-English speaking students in with all day English speaking comes from the fact that it is widely known that if you are placed somewhere long enough you pick up on how to talk and/or how to act like those around you. I agree that is this a poor practice and it really doesn't help with learning English, especially if the student has no idea how to speak it. I had a professor who told a story about how she only spoke English with the exception of high school Spanish classes. She ended up marrying a man from Honduras and moving there with him. She shared how it took her five years to become a fluent Spanish speaker but she also had the help of her husband to help her learn plus what she learned in high school. She told us that even after five years of being in a place where Spanish was the main language, she still struggles with saying certain things and she shared how her Spanish is no where close to being considered proper or completely correct. Applying the story to non-English speaking students, they will never really learn if teachers continue with surrounding them with only English. When you think of all the small little details that go into English like nouns vs adjectives, punctuation, capitalization, etc. it becomes very difficult to grasp. These students need guidance with their own language first before they can be able to understand a new one.
ReplyDeleteGreat point Torri! I didn't even think about how people say the best way to learn a new language is to immerse yourself in an environment where it is used, but that is so true. But I think everything changes when your'e trying to use that same thinking, but in this education system it does not work. And with the idea of translanguaging that we've talked about in the book, strengthening their home/ native language helps them when it comes to learning a new language!
DeleteGreat post Alexis!
ReplyDeleteI think it is important to make sure that as teachers, we use our better judgement especially when it comes to testing (and over-testing our students). This is especially the case when it comes to our emergent bilingual students. Teaching Third grade this year for the first time has really opened my eyes on assessments. I never realized how much testing takes place especially when students reach Third grade. When I taught Kindergarten and First, there weren't a lot of tests that we took. Personally I think standardized testing is a waste of time, energy, and money. So much is lost in judging our students based on their ability to pass a test. These tests also don't reflect what the teacher is educating the students on in the classroom.
With that being said, you asked, "Which one of these do you guys think you could implement in your classrooms as a way of assessment?" I would think they are all equally as important. But I also think enabling testing accommodations is more important. Yes, I can monitor and observe, but when it comes to actually testing, enabling those accommodations can help aid an emergent bilingual student. Accommodations can be as simple as allowing extra testing time or, depending on the test, translating the test.
Yes I think teachers have a unique perspective in knowing what works and does not work for their students, that's why I wrote that in terms of alternatives for teachers to do when it comes to assessments I think I could do Observing Closely because it focuses on more of the progress you're seeing in your student from the beginning of the year till now and you can keep documented their strengths and what they're still emerging in to help tailor lessons in your classrooms for their benefit, not scores on a test.
DeleteHere is an interesting article that addresses the worth of these tests:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/11/17/12gallagher_ep.h30.html
In it, Gallagher, the author asks several valid questions as can be seen below:
"I also find it odd that while many states have raised their test scores over the past few years, we as a country continue to fall in international comparisons of academic achievement. How can this be? If we are getting “better,” why are we declining internationally?
In an attempt to answer these questions, Linda Darling-Hammond of Stanford University studied high-achieving countries from around the world. Her findings? School systems in high-achieving countries value higher-order thinking. They parse their standards to make them lean. They use very little, if any, multiple-choice assessments to monitor student progress. They require students to research, to inquire, to write—to think critically. They give students time to reflect upon their learning. They emphasize the skills graduates will need to be college- or career-ready in a globally competitive marketplace. They surround their students with interesting books. Because their assessments demand critical thinking, their students are moving ahead. Because our assessments demand shallow thinking, our students are falling behind."
With respect to ELLs, their thinking is not what is being tested, as we have discussed at length. Enabling accommodations, as Aleshia suggested, is an important step in assessing the skills that will help them succeed: their critical thinking skills.
Thank your sharing that resource! That is very interesting and it makes you think even more why America values testing so much. We're competitive in all other aspects you think people would try and mirror other countries education system since their academic achievement is much higher than ours. What we're doing is obviously not working, especially when we consider ELL's. This made me think that America is such a unique place because of our "melting pot" community that if we took the time and resources and put in the work to help our ELL's with bilingualism, which we've read about the countless benefits of, instead of English-only we could really have something special that other countries may not have. Besides enabling accommodations what else do you think is an important step in assessing ELL students skills? Observing closely? Assessing bilingually?
DeleteI am still in shock about this statistic: "...the average student in large city school systems will take approximately 112 mandatory standardized tests between prekindergarten and high school." (p. 151). I cannot imagine how many hours were spent and how much money it took to prepare students and educators, administer the tests, and then assess them. Imagine what educators could have done with those resources!
ReplyDeleteYes that quote shocked me as well, because I knew I took a lot of tests K-12 but didn't realize it was that many! Definitely makes you wonder where America's priorities are in educating the future?
DeleteAlexis, I really enjoyed this blog. I too was shocked to learn the number of assessments that are taken until students graduate. It is truly outrageous. Especially when inequities, including those that impact emergent bilinguals, are taken into account. To your question:
ReplyDeleteWhat could be the possible difficulties of trying to implement any of these alternatives to assessment in schools? Nationwide? I think ignorance can be one of the biggest barriers. Some people, even teachers, are not aware of the inequities that are taking place. That is one reason I love the urban ed program at IUPUI, because it really keeps it real. Or, even worse, there are teachers and people that do know but don't care because they don't feel it directly impacts them. When someone tries to be that domino and jump off the plane, I think it could be a challenge in spaces where those ignorant people are present. They may experience push-back. However, it is certainly not impossible and needs to be done. If they do not give up and continue to speak out and advocate for more equitable education for all students, it will have an impact.
Great thought provoking post! Funding based on standardized test results has definitely benefitted a handful of school districts and left even more high and dry. It is interesting to compare the coaching world to the academic world. As a coach, it is a very real issue to avoid "overtraining" your athletes. Coaches must design training methods that promote optimal growth and recovery in between workouts. However, this mindset does not exist in the academic world. It seems that "overtesting" is not something that has been taken into account to promote growth with our students.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, I think the best way for a teacher to make assessments in the classroom more equitable is to use good "old fashioned" differentiation. The more ways you can give students the opportunity to show what they know the better. In terms of summative assessments, it could be giving them a choice among the following: exam, presentation, interview, paper, etc. These can be tailored even further depending on the particular students language capabilities. Overall, it requires a lot of frontloading to make rubrics and instructions for the choices, however, the payoff can be huge if it provides a student with a more equitable assessment.
I agree with you on using the "old fashion" differentiation. In my high school english class, whenever we had a project our teacher would let us do it many different forms so that we could do it a way that made sense to us. I thought this was great because everyone always did well because it was about them, and not just pen and paper from memory. We got to use our books and either turn in our work or present in in front of class. I do also agree it would take more time to grade or make rubrics, but doing this for the students can be a great way for students to always be involved in their work.
DeleteI loved your blog!
ReplyDeleteWhen reading your first paragraph I was shocked about taking 112 tests! I didn't even feel like it was that many for me until I sat and thought about how many I actually have taken. I feel like most of these tests are not even realistic honestly. I think that it'd be even harder on a student who doesn't read english very well to begin with. I feel that in order to make a change in my classroom, I could teach more stuff that is required on the test. Focusing more on that sometimes so that everyone can understand it also. I feel that school wide it would need to be set up in a meeting to discuss other options or to discuss how we can teach this in our classrooms, especially to those specific students who don't read English as well. I think that any chance the teachers get to switch up their tests by making it into a project that can show what they've learned by doing it in a way that interests them,need to be taken advantage of. By doing this you get to know your students more, see where they stand in that unit, and be able to grade the fairly enough.
Great blog Alexis!! When I was reading about the alternative assessment practices, "observing closely" stuck with me. As an early childhood educator I know the importance of observation. I once student taught for a Reggio Emilia toddler & preschool classroom and part of the teachers role is to be an observer. I thought it was difficult at first when we know that collaboration is important as well. But I think being a more advanced observer was so beneficial after the experience. Really all the information you need comes from the children or students you are working with. And instead of focusing on what they can't do, find out what they can. On page 152, "Rather than labeling emergent bilinguals as “limited,” “at risk,” or “deficient,” these kinds of assessments provide avenues for understanding the capacities and strengths of emergent bilinguals". I think to find out a lot of those strengths you have to let students just be instead of forcing evaluate/assessment on them.
ReplyDelete