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Running head: Week 6 Assignment-Final Essay

Week 6 Assignment-Final Essay

Nina Godette

Assessment of English Learners: EDUC X 426.2

February 15, 2024

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Week 6 Assignment-Final Essay

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?

I currently teach a second-grade class of 24 students from various backgrounds and

cultures. Of the 24 students I have 4 students identified as EL and 7 who are recently reclassified

(but are still learning the English language in many ways). Problems I have noticed throughout

our ELA program are that students do not understand everyday vocabulary words. More so

within our reading foundational block, where we are learning spelling/sound patterns, applying

them to words, and then using those words in context. Just yesterday we were segmenting,

blending, and writing words with the /oe/ sound. One word was below and the other word was

bellow. Students were very familiar with below and all students could apply it in a sentence

correctly. Next came the word bellow, we segmented, blended, and wrote the word. Students

still wanted to read the word as below and we had a discussion about open and closed syllables,

but only one student knew the meaning of bellow. My current ELA curriculum assumes that

students know many of these words, but they don’t, and it isn’t just my EL students. For this

reason, we have to take extra time out of the lesson to explain what the word means, use it in

context, and show pictures to support the meaning. When unfamiliar words come up in our

lessons, I have trained students to acknowledge “I don’t know what that means” and bring the

classes attention to the word so we can learn it’s meaning. Learners who are more proficient in

English often times explain the word for the class, use it in a sentence, and help their peers use it

in a sentence as well. We implement think-pair-share with vocabulary words often, so EL and

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other students can practice hearing their peers using vocabulary correctly. Many times, my EL

students are able to hear their peers as well as myself using the word correctly and are able to

also use the word correctly, however there are times when they just can’t make a connection to

the word and they have the option to use a sentence they have already heard either from myself

or their peers. I encourage and stress to not only my EL students, but all my students that it is ok

to not know, but trying even if we fail will help us learn. A safe and encouraging environment

where risk taking and making mistakes are ok is vital for students to know!

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?

English Language Learners should be assessed to gather a range on data to help with

instruction in whole group and in small group. In an ideal world I would love to have data on

how proficient a student is in their primary language. I have read research that if students are

proficient in their primary language, it helps when learning a new language. However, what I

have observed more so the last two years is that students are not proficient in their primary

language, nor do they speak it or understand it when it is spoken to them. Their households are

pushing an English only environment, but their students are still performing well below grade

level for multiple years. I stress to my parents that research supports that it is best for students to

be immersed in their native language as well as English. Parents are not always receptive to this

and think that English only is best. It is often times hard to decide whether it is a language issue

that is holding a student back or if a special education referral needs to be completed. I would

like to have data from a cognitive test to better understand their strengths and weaknesses. As it

relates to classroom data EL students should be assessed on grade level standards like the rest of
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the class to analyze where their gaps are and if they are due to language. All data I collect from

assessments inform mastery of grade level standards and what standards need to be retaught in

small group.

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?

At my current school we have a strong ELA curriculum that also has a supporting

language program that connects directly to the whole group material. This language portion is

designed specifically for EL students of all levels and is intended to be provided in small group.

I feel like my current school has a strong MTSS in place when in regards to providing support to

students not meeting grade level expectations. We have three specialists who service our tier 3

students in reading and math. These students are pulled for interventions three times a week for

20 to 30 minutes. All teachers, kindergarten through sixth grade give reading assessments that

align to our curriculum and ELA Common Core Standards. These assessments are used to

support students’ mastery of grade level standards. Students in grades kindergarten through sixth

grade also take the NWEA Map test in both reading and math. Data from these assessments are

shared with families and teachers use this data to inform small group instruction and analyze if

there is any grade level material that should be retaught. Finally, students in third through sixth

grade take the CAASPP. CAASPP is used to analyze how many students are showing
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proficiency and subgroups are broken down to analyze if our systems in place are servicing our

Els, students of economic disadvantage, and SPED students. Once a year usually in February

professional development days are held to analyze winter MAP scores district wide. During

these days teachers gather as grade levels to analyze results, commonalities in strengths, and

commonalities in weaknesses. Teachers discuss whether these common weaknesses are due to

curriculum and how can we supplement or support these weaknesses. New teachers in the

district are assigned a mentor unless they have 5 or more years of experience. I am currently

serving as a mentor to a new second grade teacher on my team. Every Monday and Wednesday

our grade level meets to plan, look at upcoming assessments, and norm our grading procedures.

In an ideal world I would also love to use this time to analyze data more closely and talk about

what we can do in small groups as a grade level to address weaknesses we see in our data. Doing

common things in small group provides equity across the board and gives teachers a chance to

share what is working for ELs and students who are low achieving.
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References

Echevarría, Jana, (2000). Making content comprehensible for English language learners : the

SIOP model. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon