Language & Cultural Services
LCS Bulletin - October 17, 2016
Supporting English Learners with Formative Assessments
The Latin root word for “assessment” is assidere which means to sit beside. In my work as an English Language Learner (ELL) specialist, I advocate for educators to intentionally sit beside their students to more deeply understand and support their learning trajectory at the classroom level. That is to say, I strongly advocate for an intentional formative assessment approach for ELLs.
Schools can go beyond traditional summative and interim measures to ensure a more balanced assessment approach that brings to light the nuanced and complex process of academic language development. By implementing formative assessments for ELLs, educators can develop a “language lens” that uncovers and showcases the growth of this culturally and linguistically diverse population.
Where do we start?
First, we can examine what comprises our current assessment systems in place. We have large-scale, “big data” summative assessments that give us “big data” once a year on student proficiency. We also have interim assessments that measure growth against benchmarks periodically throughout the year, often with the audience largely being district and school-level stakeholders.
These summative and interim assessments provide “snapshots” of ELL performance and are not always reliable or valid on the ELL population. Therefore, we need to ask ourselves if we have systemic, systematic formative measures in place that provide feedback on teaching and learning specifically for our ELLs? Do we have a “photo album” approach of ELL development? If not, we can add specific formative practices into our assessment system that celebrate student growth and provide next steps for instruction at the classroom level.
Check out 27 simple ways to check for understanding and the infographic below here.
ISO: Instructional Supports for English Learners?
Be honest. How many times a month do you Google instructional support for English Learners? How often do you visit Pinterest to find ready-made activities? Relax. Everything you need to help your English Learners master content and language is right here at your fingertips.
With Ellevation, you can browse and filter classroom activities by grade level and strategy (such as Classroom Chatter or Academic Conversations). Every activity is authored by an expert ELL teacher or coach, and integrates best practices on effective instruction for ELLs, so you’ll never have to worry about the quality of your source.
Within each activity you’ll find planning steps, guidance on what to do during the activity, and instructional resources such as graphic organizers and templates. Simply select an activity and plan to incorporate it into your next lesson.
Webinar: Avoiding Unnecessary Segregation of English Learner Students
Time: 2:00pm to 3:00pm
This is the next open session in a monthly, year-long series that focuses on the issues addressed in the Dear Colleague Letter on ELs published in January 2015 by the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, and the U.S. Department of Justice. The series will also cover material provided in the EL Tool Kit published by OELA, and has been updated to include ESSA requirements.
Learning Briefs for Educators (Everywhere)
However and wherever you share out quick tips to support English Learners with colleagues, these provide great, chunked information that educators can quickly skim and apply to enhance and support English Learners in the classroom.
Level Set Lexile Test
School Leader Memo 10/14/2016; Teacher Connect 10/18/2016
Language and Cultural Services will be offering LevelSet, the Spanish Lexile test, for the remaining three RI testing windows for this school year. The assessment was created by Achieve 3000 and will be administered by ELD Teachers to all 3-12 grade students who meet first year exemption on ELA testing. ELD Teachers will receive additional instructions on how to administer the assessment and which students qualify for testing. Additionally, students in 3, 4, and 5 grade at Dual Language Academy and 3rd grade dual language classes at Kendall-Whittier, Skelly, and Sequoyah will take the Spanish Lexile test, which will be administered by their classroom teacher.
If you have questions, please email Stephanie Cagle.
Guidance on Grading for English Learners
School Leader Memo 10/14/2016; Teacher Connect 10/18/2016
As we embody our district values of excellence and equity for all students, it is important to review the guidelines for grading of English Learners. Federal law requires that classroom modifications and testing accommodations are provided to English Learners, as needed, based on their individual English language proficiency levels in order to address any linguistic barriers that would prevent them from fully participating in the educational opportunities offered in all classrooms (Lau v. Nichols, 1974). School leaders and classroom teachers should review the Language Instructional Education Plans (LIEPs) for English Learners in their schools or classrooms by logging into Ellevation InClass.
- If an English Learner is receiving a passing grade with modifications then an Instructional Modification form must be completed.
- If an English Learner is receiving passing grades without modifications then an Instructional Modification form does not need to be completed.
- If an English Learner is not receiving passing grades an Instructional Modification form must be completed to document the modifications provided to address the students individual linguistic barriers.
- If an English Learner is also on an Individual Education Plan, IEP accommodations will be noted on the IEP. An Instructional Modification form does not need to be completed unless the student is also receiving instructional modifications to support their English language development in addition to the IEP modifications as noted on the IEP.
- A copy of the Instructional Modification form should be shared with the ELD teacher as well as sent home with the report card.
Why is English Spelling so Weird?
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Missed a Department Meeting?
Elementary ELD Department Meetings
Language & Cultural Services Events
Week of October 17, 2016
No events this week - Happy Fall Break!
Week of October 24, 2016
October 25, 3:45pm - ESL Certification Test Study Group (Elementary)
October 25, 4:45pm - ESL Certification Test Study Group (Secondary)
October 26, 9:00am - Interpreter and Translator Skill Building Training (Edivate)
All events are listed in MyLearningPlan unless otherwise noted. Please pre-register and verify session location in MLP.
Check out the Language & Cultural Services events calendar for future events.