UCPS LinguaFolio Training #3: Assessing Language Performance

by Teryn B. Odom

(Adapted from Linguafolio Training Modules at http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/linguafolio)

Webinar Agenda• Recap & questions from last webinar• Evaluating your assessments• Purpose of assessment• Formative assessment• Summative assessment• Performance assessment vs. traditional assessment• Integrated performance assessment• Student self-assessment• Creating appropriate assessments• ACTFL proficiency guideline • NEW NC world language essential standards

Purpose of Assessment• Assessment should provide multiple measures and

opportunities for students to create and demonstrate what they can do with a language.

• We should strive to create a balance between formative and summative assessment.

• Assessments should be authentic and include alternative and integrated performance-based assessments.

• We should use assessments as diagnostic tools, feedback for guiding instruction, evidence of progress, and evaluation of teaching or curriculum.

Comprehensive Balanced System

Formative Assessment• Formative assessments are:

• on-going• frequent &/or continuous• usually brief• informal• not graded

• Their purpose is:• to provide student feedback • to help monitor progress• to gather data/information • focus on practice• inform the teacher (to modify/adjust curriculum and/or plans)• guide/improve instruction & learning

• What are some examples of formative assessment? • (can/should be included in the LinguaFolio)

Summative Assessment• A summative assessment is:

• a check of what has been learned at a specific point in time (such as at the end of a lesson, unit, or course)

• based on cumulative learning experiences• evaluative of student performance• rigorous • focused on the result or product.• made up of performance tasks, oral interviews, written reports,

projects, and external examinations (depending on level & purpose)

• What are some examples of summative assessments?• (can/should be included in the LinguaFolio)

Performance Assessment vs. Traditional Assessment

Traditional assessments are “tests” taken with paper and pencil that are usually true/false, matching, or multiple choice. These assessments are easy to grade, but only test isolated application, facts, or memorized data at lower-level thinking skills. Traditional assessment provides little evidence of what a language learner actually can do with the language.

Performance assessments include authentic assessments, alternative assessments, and integrated performance assessments. In order to evaluate what a language learner can do with the language, a student must be evaluated using various performance tasks and assessments. Learners must use more complex, higher-order thinking skills. They must reason, problem-solve, or collaborate with others to produce individual responses. Rubrics, provided ahead of time so learners know their expectations, are used to evaluate students on multiple competency levels.

Performance Assessment vs. Traditional Assessment

• Alternative assessments focus on the students’ strengths — what they can do — allowing the teacher to choose an appropriate assessment for students with different learning styles, maturity levels, learning disabilities, physical disabilities, and other characteristics that could affect language performance. While one student may choose to write a response, another student may perform better in a role-play situation. In a balanced assessment program, a variety of assessment techniques should be incorporated into daily instruction.

Performance Assessment vs. Traditional Assessment

• Authentic assessments combine the traditional academic content with the knowledge and skills needed to function appropriately in the real world. The context, purpose, audience, and focus should connect to real-world situations and problems.

• Performance-based assessments require the learner to perform in realistic situations. Students participate in specific tasks, interviews, or performances that are appropriate to the audience and setting.

Integrated Performance Assessment

• An integrated performance assessment includes all three modes of communications — interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational — as a task in which students use a variety of skills appropriately in a realistic, real-world situation.

• What are examples of integrated performance assessments?

Student Self-Assessment• Students can/should assess their own language proficiency. • Students should learn to use checklists and rubrics to help

evaluate their performance learn to take responsibility for their own learning. Then, they understand how they learn and can identify their strengths and difficulties in the learning process.

• The LinguaFolio self-assessment tool is a critical piece of evidence used to provide a complete picture of a person’s language abilities. It includes:• performance checklists • evidence of formative and summative assessments• reflective journaling • overall description of language performance (including

communication and cultural competence)

Engaging in Conversation• Students and teachers may also conduct ongoing interviews

and informal conferences or conversations that allow learners to speak easily about their accomplishments and frustrations.

• Building a comfortable rapport between the teacher and student creates an environment conducive to learning and to self-reflection. This opportunity facilitates monitoring student progress, providing feedback, and discussing the next steps in goal setting. Teachers may want to begin a conversation with specific questions to guide discussion, such as “What did you do to prepare for this assessment and what would you do differently next time?”

• When interviews and conversations are conducted regularly throughout the year, instead of only when difficulties arise, students feel more comfortable talking about what works for them and where they seem to have difficulties.

Creating Appropriate Assessments

• The teacher and language learner need to identify goals, objectives, and expected results before beginning to plan a lesson or activity.

• Once learning goals and objectives are set, the teacher and language learner must determine what type of evidence will show how well those goals have been met.

• The assessments should reflect student progress and should move from simple to more complex tasks.

• After the objectives and the type of evidence to document success are determined, then the teacher and language learner can begin to develop activities that will guide and prepare the learner with the knowledge and skills to master those objectives.

Steps in Assessment Planning• Plan. Determine what to assess, how to assess, and when

to assess. Choose purpose and audience.• Collect. Gather information through formal, informal,

traditional, and authentic assessments. • Organize. Organize the information collected through

various assessments to facilitate reporting.• Evaluate. Evaluate the student’s progress toward reaching

the stated goals.• Report. Report the information gathered to the target

audiences, such as students, parents, or administrators.

Developing Assessments: What to Consider

• What to assess. Determine purpose, audience, content, and task.

• How to assess. Determine the most effective tool.• When to assess. Determine if assessment is ongoing

(formative) or an end-result (summative).• How to organize information. Determine how to gather

data and organize information to make it easily accessible for reporting to particular audiences.

• How to report information. Determine the format for reporting data depending on type of audience with whom the information is shared. Reporting to students and parents will be different from reporting to administrators and researchers.

ACTFL Proficiency Guideline

What it looks like in Linguafolio

(NEW) NC World Language Essential Standards

• http://seclang.ncwiseowl.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_4507529/File/WorldLanguageEssentialStandards.pdf

Questions/Conversation• Questions?• Conversation?• Plus/Delta