Assessment
Guides
Videos
- A new approach to assessment
- A new generation of accommodations: Example from Smarter Balanced
- Assessment
- Assessment
- Assessment
- Assessment & ELLs
- Assessment Accommodations for ELLs
- Assessment can take a variety of forms
- Assessment for ELLs in the Classroom
- Assessment of English Language Learners
- Authentic assessment
- Diane August - Assessments
- Dr. Cynthia Lundgren: Assessment and Accountability for ELLs
- ELL assessment and the Common Core
- ELL assessment validity
- ELLs and Assessment
- Having trouble with the way questions are worded
- How assessments vary among subject areas
- Informal assessment
- Jessica Panfil: Formative Assessment for ELLs
- Keeping track of accommodations for ELLs
- Lessons Learned: Classroom Assessments
- Preschool for ELLs: Language Learning and Assessment
- Quick ways to check understanding
- Reading assessment
- Supporting struggling readers in high school
- Why drawing conclusions is hard for ELLs
- Writing a paragraph with high school ELLs
Articles
- Assessment for Young ELLs: Strengths and Limitations in Current Practices
- Beware of the VAM: Valued-Added Measures for Teacher Accountability
- Creating an Effective Data Reporting System for ELLs
- Dual Immersion: Can It Survive 'Data-Driven Reform'?
- Education Policy and Our Perception of ELL Performance
- No Child Left Behind and the Assessment of English Language Learners
- Signposts: ELL Policy Recommendations for Policy Makers
- Standards That Impact English Language Learners
- Technology Review: Ellevation Software
- Using Informal Assessments for English Language Learners
The following articles provide perspectives meant to inform policy discussions around the assessment and accountability of English language learners (ELLs). They are written for a general audience and we encourage you to chime into the discussion in our comment boxes at the bottom of each article!
Assessment and Accountability for ELLs
This section addresses the critical questions of how to properly assess and place English language learners (ELLs) at the school-wide and classroom level.
Assessment for English Language Learners
Assessment plays a variety of roles in the instruction of English language learners (ELLs). One of the most important uses of assessment is informal, ongoing assessment throughout the school year (also called formative assessment) to monitor student learning and target areas of instruction. This can be as simple as asking students to show "thumbs up or thumbs down" to show their understanding or asking students to share one thing they learned on an exit slip at the end of class.
Using Informal Assessment in the Classroom
The assessments that are aligned to the Common Core State Standards not only include challenging tasks and items, but they require sophisticated computer skills. This section offers some ideas for supporting ELLs as they become more familiar with new test formats and routines.