Running head: WEEK 6 ASSIGNMENT: FINAL ESSAY

Week 6 Assignment: Final Essay

Casey Fichtner

UCLA Extension : Assessment of English Learners

8.25.19
2
WEEK 6 ASSIGNMENT: FINAL ESSAY

Supporting ELLs In The Classroom

Do you currently have ELLs in the classes you teach? If so, what problems do
they appear to have comprehending and learning the content? What strategies do you
use to make both language and content more accessible to them? How do you
encourage other students in your classes who are more proficient in English to play a
role?

In my 4th grade classroom there are two students who are English Language

Learners. One student (referred to as S1) immigrated to the United States from France

last year. The other student (referred to as S2) arrived in the United States from France

this school year.

S1 is able to understand and interpret grade level content. She constructs her

responses in French and then translates them into English. She does this in her head.

This results in a delayed response time that I try to support with wait time after asking a

question. She often reacts quickly to prompts, raising her hand but then struggling to put

her thinking into English. I use turn and talks as well as think pair shares as strategies

that enable her to translate and then practice her response before presenting her

thinking to the whole class. Other students play a role in these supports by contributing

to think pair shares, discussing ideas with her in both French and English. We have also

established a policy of placing thumbs on the chest when responding to a question. This

prevents the classroom from becoming a frenzy of hands racing to answer the question

first, allowing slower processors the time to develop their own responses in a low stress

environment.

S2 speaks little to no English and appears to still be in the silent phase of his

development. He communicates with S1 in French only. He struggles to understand

3
WEEK 6 ASSIGNMENT: FINAL ESSAY

abstract directions, but he is quick to notice patterns in sentence stems when they are

used by myself or other students. Because of this, I spend extra time restating each

direction, and I use hand signals, sentence stems, and visuals. I also ask questions and

model responses using sentence stems that I write on the board. S1 works with S2 in

French to help him think through his responses. This not only assists him in

comprehending the material, this supports S1 in working through language in French

first before expressing her own ideas in English. Additionally, S2 has a word bank in his

reading journal. This word bank compiles all of his newly mastered vocabulary, serving

as a reference for applying these vocabulary terms in his writing.

Both English Language Learners began learning at my school with little to no

English language background. This shared language identity has allowed these

students to operate as allies. I have placed them at the same table in order to

encourage the peer scaffolding that they provide each other. I have also placed a high

performing student at this table who is challenged by the opportunity to discuss lesson

content in French. As a group, they work together to extend each other’s bilingual

development. Through scaffolds and peer collaboration, both of English Language

Learners are better able to comprehend and express their ideas in English.

Assessment Of ELLs

For what purposes do you think English Language Learners should be tested in
your classes? For each purpose you mention what sorts of information would you want
to collect? In order to appropriately measure and assess learning, a test’s purpose
should be considered. This is crucial to creating appropriate assessments that measure
what they intend to measure for all students, especially ELLs.
4
WEEK 6 ASSIGNMENT: FINAL ESSAY

Many tests in the classroom measure content and conceptual understanding.

These tests should have modified language expectations to allow English Language

Learners to demonstrate mastery of content that is not language dependent: e.g.,

applying addition with regrouping, representing the lifecycle of a butterfly, etc. Altering

the language demands of curriculum-based tests can help English Language Learners

demonstrate their abilities. As English acquisition occurs and is assessed through

language development tests, modifications on curriculum-based test can be reduced. In

addition to curriculum content, English Language Learners should be tested in the

classroom in order to assess their language development.

The purpose of language development tests is to determine spelling level,

reading level, and vocabulary development. This means that tests should start with

where the student is rather than the grade level expectation. A spelling test for an

English Language Learner might begin with recognizing consonant onsets, eventually

developing to one syllable word spelling patterns, multi-syllable word spelling patterns,

etc.

Understanding a test’s purpose is key in creating effective assessments for

English Language Learners. Curriculum-based tests assess mastery of grade level

concepts. Language-based tests assess language development. The results of

language-based tests should influence the modifications of curriculum-based tests. This

means that assessment is not static because it develops as English Language Learners

acquire language.
5
WEEK 6 ASSIGNMENT: FINAL ESSAY

Support For Assessing ELLs

Analyze your school and or district’s assessment program in reading and

language arts. Are reading specialists available to help with the assessment and
instruction of students with reading problems? What happens to teachers’ district-
required literacy assessment results? Are professional development programs in place
to assist teachers and administrators in analyzing results? Are new teachers mentored
by older teachers? Do grade levels work together to create rubrics and assessments?

Where I teach, school and district assessments are used as summative

assessments of student learning. The district requires DIBELS and SBAC testing. My

school asks that I assess students with the TRC (running records). These assessments

occur at the beginning, middle, and end of the year, with the exception of the SBAC

which occurs at the end of the year only. Instruction is influenced by these assessment

results based on teacher discretion. In other schools that I have worked in,

assessments were used to generate data points and create RTI groups as well as guide

RTI instruction. In my opinion, mandated assessments that are not affecting instruction

and differentiation in the classroom are wasted opportunities.

If I could change my school’s approach to mandated assessments, I would

create planning teams that analyze student data, tracking progress throughout the year

and across grade levels. I would have teachers and specialists discuss student results

and student observations in order to plan the next steps for each child. SBAC scores

would be used to track equitable learning opportunities, focusing not just on how many

students passed, but average test scores. This would allow teachers to spot outliers in

the data. Knowing that most students passed while one student answered almost every

question wrong, is important. This information could allow teachers to identify students

with learning needs or students who might otherwise be overlooked and develop a plan
6
WEEK 6 ASSIGNMENT: FINAL ESSAY

of action. This also allows teachers to reflect on their own teaching so that they might

better support struggling students.

I use the TRC and DIBELS assessments to guide my own instruction and small

group lesson planning. This year, I will use my SBAC scores to analyze units and

curriculum for the following year. Though this is not required by my school, I believe that

all assessment should influence learning and teacher planning. Assessments should not

simply score student achievement, they should beg the question, “Where do we go from

here?”