State of Alaska LEP Accommodations

Here is a Power Point I found outlining the LEP Accommodations for the State of Alaska. It's kind of distorted but you can get the gist of it.

If you want to see it in its full glory go to: http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:0-KPdeieDGYJ:www.eed.state.ak.us/tls/assessment/presentations/Fall%252006/AlaskaLEPAccommodations.ppt+state+of+alaska+LEP&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&client=firefox-a

You could also Google "State of Alaska LEP Accommodations" to find the PowerPoint

What's going to happen?

Here is a list of discussion activities I am planning for class today. Everything should be ready to go.



So, here is a bulleted list of everything we are going to be doing in class today (at least during this discussion).


• Check-In

• Check out the synopsis on my blog

• Note activity/Discussion of Abedi's Six Issues with Assessment of English
* Each person will be assigned one issue
* They will then post at least 2-3 key ideas Abedi mentioned about that issues (please post
these in the comment section of the original post)
* As you post please be reading other people’s comments and add to them or comment
on what they wrote
* When everyone is done we will go back through and quickly discuss the main ideas of each
issue

• Lingering Questions/ Questions I still want to ask that may not have been covered in the activity

Abara Cad-abedi

Hey folks! I'm the discussion facilitator tomorrow and I was asked to provide a brief synopsis of the article. Here it is for all to see! I will be directing you back to this entry for one class activity tomorrow!

Synopsis of Article:

Within this article Abedi identifies and discusses six major LEP assessment issues as they relate to AYP reporting. The six major issues are as follows:


1. Inconsistency in LEP classification across and within states




2. Sparse LEP population




3. Lack of LEP subgroup stability




4. Measurement quality of AYP instruments of LEP students





5. LEP baseline scores





6. LEP cutoff points





(We’ll look at these more in depth in the activity!)

Abedi also identified other factors that can affect AYP. One major factor that can affect an LEP students’ ability to become proficient in the content is their ability to understand the instruction that is given. This lack of understanding may result in LEP students to participate less in class and even when LEP students did raise their hand the teacher was apt to call on them less.

Abedi goes on to discuss that LEP student don’t necessarily lag behind non-LEP students in terms of content knowledge but the biggest limiting factor on tests are the linguistic structures of the test. Also, because LEP students at such a lower baseline than native English speakers and lag farther behind native English speakers it will be near impossible for them to move at the same rate towards proficiency as native English speakers.

Abedi also discusses that the classification LEP students as well as the number of LEP students in each state also leads to inconsistent AYP reporting. Many districts and states have smaller numbers of LEP students and these small numbers make it difficult to reach reliable AYP reporting.

NCLB does not completely ignore LEP populations. Title III of NCLB does address students with Limited English Proficiency, however, Abedi believes that this wording is not enough to support and provide adequate testing for all LEP students in the entire nation. He goes on to state that the test developers should take into account recommendations to ensure that the mistakes that were made in the first tests do not happen again. Abedi discusses that many of the tests are questionable in terms of reliability and validity.

Abedi ends his article by giving ideas for improving the AYP outcome for LEP students. He says that there are four critical needs to help LEP students reach proficiency. They are 1) improve current LEP classification an assessment, 2) improve monitoring of progress, 3) improve teacher capacity and 4) consider redesignated LEP students as part of LEP subgroup that established the baseline score.

More importantly, Abedi concludes his article by discussing his purpose, to raise awareness of this issues and that it is his hope that policymakers, lawmakers, and decision makers to consider the struggles of the LEP student population when making decisions.

McNamara

One thing I liked about this chapter was that it laid out the history of language tests so that we could clearly understand how the tests and test construction has changed within the last 50 years or so.

When I read about the discrete point tests I could not help but think about the grammar drill exercises I used to receive in grade school. Then, suddenly, when I entered Junior High School the grammar exercises dropped off and I didn't get another grammar lesson until college. We then had to create sentence diagrams to "show" that we knew the parts of speech and where they all belonged on our neat little diagram. I actually liked diagramming (until it got hard) because it helped me to understand sentence structure and patterns.

So, the whole point of this ramble, is that as I was reading this chapter I really didn't feel like I had any gigantic insights or ah!ha! moments. What I did find myself doing as I read this chapter was that I was thinking more and more about all those tests we have to give and what kind of tests they are. Tests kept flashing in my head and I kept thinking about the construct and what type of tests they were.

Another thing that I kept thinking of as I read this chapter is that it has taken quite awhile for tests to change and for people to embrace these changes. I mean, it is 2008 and I'm still required to give students discrete point tests to see if they know what they need to know in terms of English grammar. The horribly sad and frustrating part is that I don't think (even about earning all those credit hours studying English) I could even pass those tests...yet I'm required to give them and have a second language learner pass them. Sigh. I cringe when I see those tests.

Authentic Assessment for Language Learners: Chapter 1

I felt that much of this chapter touched on the same issues that the McNamara chapter focused on. Once again, we see how useless standardized tests are when trying to assess language learners. Not only are they written in a language that may be ambiguous and unfamiliar to many language but they don’t provide enough information for teachers to accurately know how to adjust their instruction to help their students improve.

One of my biggest issues when looking at standardized test score is that I just get to see some mark on a page. We look at the high marks and identify the areas that the student is strong in and then look at the low areas and talk about what we are going to help our students improve in. However, what frustrates me is that I can never know what specific questions the students got wrong. I just see a black dot in the areas they are weak in and really, it tells me very little.

I was pretty pumped to learn that we will be learning more about the creation and implementation of portfolios in the classroom. I’ve tried to keep portfolios for my students before and I haven’t done such a good job. My students’ portfolios are a manila folder with their names on it with a bunch of their work inside. I don’t think that any of them have gone back to look at what they have written over time and reflected on whether they felt they improved or not.

As I was reading this chapter I kept thinking of what I already do in my classroom to assess my students. I try to focus very much on what my students’ strengths are and use their strengths to help them feel more confident in overcoming their weaknesses. I am very lucky that I have the same students for six hours a day. I have a chance to observe them in many different content areas and to determine what it is that they are really good at doing.

On page 7 the author states “authentic assessments take time and careful planning to be used effectively”. I agree with this…so much in fact that I often find myself giving out those multiple choice tests because they are just kind of a “wham bam, take the test and let’s move on to the next chapter” sort of assessment. I don’t have to spend a whole bunch of time coming up with a rubric and figuring out projects. This past summer I spent the greater part of the day just trying to figure out how to create ePortfolios to use in my classroom and still felt like I had gotten nowhere by the end of the day. I know assessment is my weak point as a teacher and although I have been making efforts there are many times I find the end of unit approaching and feel I need to give some sort of test at the end to see if the kids learned anything. It’s like I got programmed to give a test at the end of each unit in teacher college and it’s hard to rid myself of that undesirable habit. However, I am making changes in my classroom and I am trying quite hard to make assessment more of my focus. I will conquer ePortfolios even if I exhaust myself in the process. Authentic assessment, here I come!

Language Testing: Chapter 1

As I was reading the introduction to this book I couldn’t help but think of all the different tests I have been a part of in my 28 years of life. I remember being in elementary school and middle school and taking the good old standardized tests that were so widely mentioned in this chapter. I remember hating them and not really caring about what my score was but never having the guts to just fill in any old bubble like my brothers all claimed to do. I also remember feeling that sense of elation when, at conferences, my teachers would pull a sheet of paper out with tests scores on it and say I did well. Yay!! Then I took my driving test when I was 16 (I passed on the third time), my Praxis tests, essay exams, and every single college exam (just to name a few). Our society does focus around tests quite a bit.

One thing that kind of stood out for me in this chapter as I read it was that “language testing is relevant both for those actually involved in creating language tests, and also...for those involved in using tests or the information they provide, in practical and research contexts.” I ashamedly admit, that when we give our annual language test I really have no idea what that information does. We test the students, we tell them to do their best and I never see a report of any kind and the only feedback I get is whether the students are still LEP status or not. I have also given part of the language test and I have to say, that I think it is pretty silly. I also feel kind of bad for some students when they are listening to the professor or teacher talk and then they have to answer questions. About a quarter of the way through these students look at me, all panicky and I can see that they are just lost. I can’t do anything to help them out and all I can do is smile and try to convince them that this test (which we’ve made a big deal) really isn’t such a huge deal and to just do the best they can on it.

After reading this chapter I hate multiple-choice tests even more. However, I use them as a teacher. I use multiple-choice and fixed response tests in my classroom more as a way for students to practice for their standardized tests and to teach test taking skills to my students. I hate typing that. I feel like I’m letting a horrible secret out by saying I give multiple-choice tests. “Hello, my name is Erin and I’m a multiple-choice test giver.”

I do believe strongly that students should be able to self-assess themselves and to evaluate themselves as learners. I have students design their own rubrics in the classroom and the writing workshop I use focuses heavily on self-reflection at the end of each workshop. I really feel encouraged by what my students have already shown me in the classroom and I do want to continue encouraging them to reflect upon their learning and to determine their own capabilities as students.

One important aspect of this chapter is that performance tests can somewhat recreate a certain situation or tasks but that it can never be real. Although we can work to make testing seem as painless and as normal as possible the people being tested still know it is a test and therefore a whole host of behaviors could potentially influence the results and the validity of the tests.

Tests are all about inferences. Test takers are constantly making inferences about how they should answer and the raters are making inferences about how the test takers, based on their performance will act or behave in a certain situation.

The Maori

Maori Approaches to Assessment

The Moari approach to assessment is everything that NCLB lacks. The most significant lines (and there were many) in this article was “It is not about creating a one-size-fits-all approach to assessment, but more about authentic assessments”. This idea seems to be something that George W. has overlooked in the last 8 years. When I have parents in and go over their child’s tests we always focus on their weaknesses. I have to point to those sections where the bar falls under the vertical black line that deems proficiency and tell the parent that the child was low in this area and we will be working on it during the school year. Even as I’m saying it I can’t help but think of those 4 questions on the test that dealt with that concept and that if the student got two of those wrong it would drastically alter their grade. That little black line and the bars that measure “proficiency” can be quire misleading at times.

I think what the Maori people are doing is wonderful. I fully believe that if we want students to succeed we need to focus on their strengths and not so much on weaknesses. As teachers we need to be able to feel comfortable with students not excelling in everything. If a student is better at one area we should celebrate that with them.

Perhaps the most important idea that came from this article is that education does not just take place at the school. It should be a school and community partnership and in order for the Maori to instill traditional values and ways of life they have to work closely with the school. To be sure that the school is assessing the Maori students accurately they have to work closely with the community.

One idea I loved from this article that I am going to try to implement in my classroom is the idea of Learning Stories. As a teacher, I keep notes on students when they are having a bad day or are displaying unusual behavior. I keep thinking of a student of mine who has much difficulty composing and writing answers to reading questions and hates writing essays and just writing in general with a passion. However, he is a wonderful oral speaker. If I ask him to summarize what we just read he can spew off the main characters and plot points of a text. His answers in class are usually quite exemplary and he will often physically react to text. If we are reading a scary part he will look up and kind of shiver as if chilled. If it’s a sad part he might be shaking his head. I have all these great, specific stories that show his is learning and show he is internalizing and yet I talk about that black line at conferences. I really want to start keeping track and using learning stories in my classroom.

In all, the article was a little hard to get through but I eventually got through it. I think that what is happening in New Zealand is an inspiration to all.

Teacher Refuses to Give Test

Teacher Refuses to Give Test

I applaud this teacher for standing up for his beliefs. Last year I watched a student with a reading disability and who is LEP status pore over the Reading and Writing portion of his HSGQE. The poor kid not only spent the entire day reading and rereading and trying to finish this test, but he even stayed after school and worked on it. By the end of the second day the student was exhausted, so exhausted in fact that he couldn’t even finish his writing test. He was simply burned out. Imagine his frustration when he received his scores and to find out that he had not passed after all that work.

I also have another student who has learning disabilities and is currently at a fourth grade level in math, reading and writing. He also spent the entire day and part of his afternoon trying to finish his tests. As with the other student he did not pass the test.

I often reflect on the absurdity of the state tests, especially the HSGQE. However, I don’t know if I would have the guts to refuse to give the test. I think that Chew did prove a point but that he got off quite lightly. I’m not sure if that would happen in other school districts. There may be many reasons why he didn’t get more severely punished, perhaps it was the way he conducted his insubordination or perhaps it was his numerous years in the school district.

Whatever it was that kept Chew from getting more severely punished there would be no guarantee that other teachers would get off as lightly.

As much as we don’t like the idea of high stakes testing and as much as we are against it, it is going to take much more than one or two insubordinate teachers to change things.

I think the best thing we can hope for is that the next administration will make positive changes in the field of education.

Pierce Article

Many emotions and thoughts ran through me as I read this article. First, just the term NCLB causes my stomach to wretch and a grimace to appear on my face. I appreciate the fact that the government wants our students to attain a level of education that is on par with the rest of the world, but giving one test a year and deciding if the students has improved or not is not the answer, especially for students who are English Language Learners. When I first arrived at my school I encountered two young women who had taken the HSGQE four times. They were to take it two more times each before they had passed all their sections.

As a teacher I have felt intense frustration and pressure as a result of federal, state and local mandates for testing. As this article points out, often times the three agencies load teachers down with mandates and requirements for testing. These mandates and requirements load teachers down and make them feel boxed in as to what they can teach and how far they may be able to adapt and be creative with the material.

As I was reading this article I kept thinking of that dreaded time that occurs about a week or two before actual testing. During this week, teachers print off practice tests and require that the students take the practice tests. The teachers then spend the days before actual testing going over the practice tests with their students and “teaching” them test taking skills. In LKSD there is a week set aside in the writing curriculum map for Standardized Test Prep. I have always thought that this sort of cramming for tests is silly and ridiculous. Teachers should be helping students get ready for tests throughout the year and be working reading strategies into their lesson plans. What I have found throughout the last few years is that my students usually know what it is they want to say on essay or short answer questions on tests but often they don’t know how to say it. Consequently, I have spent much time modeling how to answer questions and discussing what words like “explain”, “describe”, and “tell” should look like in an answer.

I agree with the author that more Staff Development is needed to hold teachers up to the same standards we hold the students to. I can think of one school in particular whose students have not met AYP for a number of years and, according to a teacher there, “never will”. This angers me immensely. First, if staff were not only trained how to differentiate instruction and how to teach students reading strategies they can apply when taking tests but also required by the principal to who evidence of teaching these things in their lesson plans I think that teachers would be finding out that the students who will “never do it” will begin to show us that they can do it and that they can be successful, even if it is not the way that President Bush requires us to.

Also, does anyone else find it ironic that the state of Texas has lowered their passing requirements for their state tests? Considering that NCLB stems from Bush’s education plan when he was governor it seems only fitting that it hasn’t been successful there. Apparently even students in the great state of Texas aren’t too successful in passing tests that are designed to trick students so that they fail.