Build the bridges for English language learners to reach success! This thoroughly updated edition of Gottlieb’s classic delivers a complete set of tools, techniques, and ideas for planning and implementing instructional assessment of ELLs. The book includes: A focus on academic language use in every discipline, from mathematics to social studies, within and across language domains Emphasis on linguistically and culturally responsive assessment as a key driver for measuring academic achievement A reconceptualization of assessment “as,” “for,” and “of” learning Reflection questions to stimulate discussion around how students, teachers, and administrators can all have a voice in decision making

For many teachers of English language learners, the field of assessment is foreign territory. Assessment has its own culture, traditions, and terminology. This training guide is intended to help classroom teachers become more comfortable creating and using assessments. A Practical Guide to Assessing English Language Learners provides helpful insights into the practice and terminology of assessment. The text focuses on providing the cornerstones of good assessments—usefulness, validity, reliability, practicality, washback, authenticity, transparency, and security—and techniques for testing. It devotes a chapter to the assessment of each of the four main skill areas (reading, writing, listening, and speaking), and also covers placement testing, such as using TOEFL® and MELAB, diagnostic testing, evaluation, and instructional decision-making with regard to testing. Tips to improve students’ test-taking strategies are offered, and each chapter ends with a helpful list of Ten Things to Remember, as well as informative case studies featuring two teachers and their assessment decisions. Incorporating its own principles, A Practical Guide to Assessing English Language Learners opens with a short quiz for the reader called Are You Testwise? that quickly determines how each teacher will benefit from this indispensable guide.

Assessing English Language Learners in the Content Areas: A Research-into-Practice Guide for Educators seeks to provide guidance to classroom teachers, staff developers, and test-item designers who want to improve ELL assessment outcomes, particularly in the areas of math, science and social studies. The first two chapters of the book establish the background for the discussion of content-area assessment for ELLs, examining several important characteristics of this rapidly growing student population (as well as critical legislation affecting ELLs) and providing a description of various forms of assessment, including how ELL assessment is different from the assessment of English-proficient students. Important assessment principles that educators should use in their evaluation of tests or other forms of measurement are provided. Other chapters review ELL test accommodations nationwide (because, surprisingly, most teachers do not know what they can and cannot allow) and the research on the effectiveness of these types of accommodations. The book analyzes the characteristics of alternative assessment; it discusses three popular alternative assessment instruments (performance assessment, curriculum-based measurement, and portfolios) and makes recommendations as to how to increase the validity, reliability, and practicality of alternative assessments. The book proposes fundamental assessment practices to help content area teachers in their evaluation of their ELL progress.

Assessing English Language Learners explains and illustrates the main ideas underlying assessment as an activity intimately linked to instruction and the basic principles for developing, using, selecting, and adapting assessment instruments and strategies to assess content knowledge in English language learners (ELLs). Sensitive to the professional development needs of both in-service and pre-service mainstream teachers with ELLs in their classrooms and those receiving formal training to teach culturally and linguistically diverse students, the text is designed to engage readers in viewing assessment as a critical part of teaching appreciating that assessments provide teachers with valuable information about their students’ learning and thinking becoming aware of the relationship among language, culture, and testing understanding the reasoning that guides test construction recognizing the limitations of testing practices being confident that assessment is an activity classroom teachers (not only accountability specialists) can perform Highlighting alternative, multidisciplinary approaches that address linguistic and cultural diversity in testing, this text, enhanced by multiple field-tested exercises and examples of different forms of assessment, is ideal for any course covering the theory and practice of ELL assessment.

“Effective Ways To Assess English Language Learners [For Intermediate and Advanced Levels] by Felipe Cofreros who has also authored three basic Art Books with Rex Book Corporation in Manila, Philippines and several Children’s Picture Books with Xlibris Publishing Company in Indiana, United States of America promotes accurate placement for quality Instruction and helps students make process rapidly. This book serves as a tool to evaluate students to accurately and reliably place them within a program that best meets their needs. -- Ronald Jay Blassingame Ph.D., former English as a Second Language [ESL], Work Orientation Program Supervisor, International Catholic Migration Commission [ICMC], Philippine Refugee Processing Center [PRPC], Bata-an, Philippines “Effective Ways To Assess English Language Learners [For Intermediate and Advanced Levels] written by Felipe Cofreros, a multi-talented author, newspaper and magazine editor is very useful in teaching English as a Second Language [ESL] to the learners in different levels. This book is very handy for the teachers in the assessment of skills mastered. The instructional directions in taking the tests are easy to follow. I highly recommend this book for teachers and students in the elementary, high school and college and nurses who are preparing to take their English exams as a review book. -- Leonor Antoja Verano, former English as a Second Language [ESL] teacher, International Catholic Migration Commission [ICMC], Preparation For American Secondary School [PASS] Program , Philippine Refugee Processing Center[PRPC], Bata-an, Philippines “Effective Ways To Assess English Language Learners [For Intermediate and Advanced Levels] written by Felipe Cofreros, a former International Catholic Migration Commission [ICMC} English as a Second Language [ESL] teacher and a feature writer/contributor to the ICMC Digest, the offi cial newsletter of the said company during the early 1990’s, a multi-gifted artist, mentor, editor and author of more than a dozen Children’s Picture Books with illustrations and comprehension questions; A Pre-School Math Workbook and a book about Japan: Its People and Culture is another indispensable addendum that could be used as pre-tests or diagnostic tests in the high school department or perhaps the intermediate grades providing the mentors a much-needed guidance in the lesson planning side by side with their prescribed students’ textbooks. Precisely, this won’t only enrich the present English curriculum but also worth-inspiring to every teaching enthusiast who wishes to measure the learning progress of their students periodically.Matsy Balan-eg Tumacdang, former English as a Second Language [ESL] teacher, International Catholic Migration Commission [ICMC], Philippine Refugee Processing Center [PRPC], Bata-an, Philippines

Assessing English Language Proficiency in U.S. K–12 Schools offers comprehensive background information about the generation of standards-based, English language proficiency (ELP) assessments used in U.S. K–12 school settings. The chapters in this book address a variety of key issues involved in the development and use of those assessments: defining an ELP construct driven by new academic content and ELP standards, using technology for K–12 ELP assessments, addressing the needs of various English learner (EL) students taking the assessments, connecting assessment with teaching and learning, and substantiating validity claims. Each chapter also contains suggestions for future research that will contribute to the next generation of K–12 ELP assessments and improve policies and practices in the use of the assessments. This book is intended to be a useful resource for researchers, graduate students, test developers, practitioners, and policymakers who are interested in learning more about large-scale, standards-based ELP assessments for K–12 EL students.

Assessing English Language Learners explains and illustrates the main ideas underlying assessment as an activity intimately linked to instruction and the basic principles for developing, using, selecting, and adapting assessment instruments and strategies to assess content knowledge in English language learners (ELLs). Sensitive to the professional development needs of both in-service and pre-service mainstream teachers with ELLs in their classrooms and those receiving formal training to teach culturally and linguistically diverse students, the text is designed to engage readers in viewing assessment as a critical part of teaching appreciating that assessments provide teachers with valuable information about their students’ learning and thinking becoming aware of the relationship among language, culture, and testing understanding the reasoning that guides test construction recognizing the limitations of testing practices being confident that assessment is an activity classroom teachers (not only accountability specialists) can perform Highlighting alternative, multidisciplinary approaches that address linguistic and cultural diversity in testing, this text, enhanced by multiple field-tested exercises and examples of different forms of assessment, is ideal for any course covering the theory and practice of ELL assessment.

This volume documents international, national, and small-scale testing and assessment projects of English language education for young learners, across a range of educational contexts. It covers three main areas: age-appropriate ‘can do statements’ and task types for teaching and testing learners between the ages of 6 to 13; innovative approaches to self-assessment, diagnostic testing, self- perception, and computer-based testing; and findings on how young learners perform on vocabulary, listening, speaking, pronunciation, and reading comprehension tests in European and Asian contexts. Early language learning has become a major trend in English language education around the globe. As a result of the spread of teaching English to a growing number of young children, assessment of and for learning have emerged as key issues. In line with this development, there is a clear and emerging need to make early language programs accountable and to assess both the progress children make over time and to quantify their achievement at various stages of development. This volume informs stakeholders about the realistic goals of early language learning, their efficiency, and how much progress children make over time.

"Designed around the bestselling book Assessing English Language Learners, this comprehensive multimedia presentation offers staff developers the necessary materials to show how teachers can equitably assess the language proficiency and academic achievement of English Language Learners (ELLs). Facilitators and participants will examine an assessment framework for ELLs, discuss the author's proposed fair grading practices, and learn how those practices translate into a standards-based report card."--Container.