Performance Assessment Tips, Part 1

I would highly recommend the book Standards-Based Instruction and Assessment for English Language Learners by Mary Ann Lachat. The book is full of information and tips to help mainstream and ESL teachers improve learning for English Language Learners. Today I would like to address the area of performance assessment. A teacher has to be knowledgeable not only about their content but also about the cultural and linguistic backgrounds of their students in order to create fair assessments. I would like to share Lachat's ideas for improving performance assessments for ELLs. Theses can be found on page 92 of the book mentioned above. Below are five areas to consider in regards to developing appropriate performance assessments. I'll share a few more in a future post!

1. The extent of English Language learners' experiences with the concepts, knowledge, skills, and applications represented in the learning task

2. The language demands of tasks, particularly for tasks emphasizing higher-order thinking skills

3. Whether learning tasks include concepts, vocabulary, and activities that would not be familiar to students from a particular culture.

4. The prior knowledge and understanding that English Language learners need in order to make sense of learning tasks.

5. Whether the standards for performance are known and familiar to ELLs, as well as the criteria for judging proficiency in a student exhibition or product