Tag Archives: assessment

STEM and ELT: Performance Tasks for MLLs

Darlyne de Haan
Darlyne de Haan

Performance tasks can be more informative for teachers, students, and parents of all students—particularly multilingual learners (MLLs) of English—than standardized achievement tests, which are used for assessment and accountability purposes. This is because performance tasks can offer multiple opportunities for … Continue reading

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Assessing Assessments: 5 Points to Consider

Barbara Gottschalk
Barbara Gottschalk

Are you preparing to begin a new academic year? For many teachers in the United States and other parts of the world, the answer is “yes.” Even if this isn’t the case for you, it’s safe to assume almost every … Continue reading

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Three Levels of Complexity in ESOL Placement

Robert Sheppard
Rob Sheppard

Placement testing is tough. Doing it well can be time consuming and resource intensive, and doing it with insufficient rigor can lead to “slippery” leveling, where, say, a level 3 one year is different in ability from a level 3 … Continue reading

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Critiquing Your Critiques: What to Ask Yourself Before Giving Written Feedback

Nathan Hall
Nathan Hall

I often joke that the difference between an ESL specialist and an English teacher is like the difference between an engineer and an artist: The ESL specialist is concerned with the mechanics of language to solve problems, while the English … Continue reading

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What You Need to Include in an ELL Needs Assessment

Nathan Hall
Nathan Hall

Congratulations! You made it through another school year. Enjoy your summer, but unless you’re retiring (in which case, congratulations again) it will be time to prepare for the new school year before you know it. There will be some familiar … Continue reading

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Directed Self‐Placement for Second Language Writers

Elena Shvidko
Elena Shvidko

Crusan’s (2011) article “The Promise of Directed Self-Placement for Second Language Writers” underscores the advantages of directed self-placement (DSP) methods over so-called “classic” placement approaches, which, as Crusan rightly noted, assume financial expenses and political decisions, and which may not … Continue reading

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4 Ways to Help ELLs Self-Assess Their Writing

Elena Shvidko
Elena Shvidko

As part of my TESOL MA program, I had to take a language testing class. One of the hardest tasks of the course was—believe it or not—working in a group with other graduate students to create a writing test. Some … Continue reading

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The Positive Effects of Pretesting

Robert Sheppard
Rob Sheppard

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending an exceptional PD workshop in Boston put on by First Literacy. The presenter was Sarah Lynn, and her topic was Brain-Based ESOL Instructional Techniques. It was a fascinating talk, rich with practical, … Continue reading

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