First, get to know your student.
1. What content are background does she/he have?
2. How much experience has she/he had with English (reading, writing, speaking, listening)
3. Preassess for language skill level. Don't assume that a student who can converse with you can read/understand grade level texts. Don't assume that ability to decode written texts means that there is comprehension.
4. Translation into the first language is not necessary if good visuals are used.
5. Preassess for content knowledge (much the same as you wouldl do at the beginning of a unit of study to determine how much and to what degree students already know the content).
The article: Assessing ELLs in ESL or Mainstream Classrooms: Quick Fixes forBusy Teachers
suggests:
1. ELL students benefit most from having assessment accommodations in English rather than assessment translations in their language.
2. It can be difficult to evaluatie and assess the progress of ELL students in classrooms. Language can be an assessment obstacle, yet there are some simple accommodations busy teachers can employ such as:
allow students who speak the EAL student's first language to translate (especially in project and lab assessments)
allow the use of electronic word-to-word translators and picture dictionaries
make use of comprehension supports such as study buddies and cooperative groups
A number of adjustments can be made to already-existing assessments, including tests that will help English language learners perform better.
Go through the test before hand and highlight important key terms and phrases-- use a highlighter, different font, or different colored font to indicate important terms and phrases to draw attention to those terms or phrases first. Point out to the learner that they should translate the highlighted terms first as those will give them the key concepts of the test/assessment item.
Read the test directions aloud to the student as they follow along to assure understanding (have students follow with their fingers to ensure they know how to decode the words.) remember that decoding does not necessarily indicate comprehension of meaning. Have the student demonstrate what they will be doing or check the student to see they actually understood the meaning of the directions.
Clarify important key words or “confusing” directions-those with low-level in reading English need step by step directions. If directions have multiple steps, allow them to accomplish the first step before telling them the second.
Share class notes or lesson plans with the students, allowing them to do a functional translation and look up key vocabulary before class. With this strategy they come into class already knowing the basic content (they can find content in their own language on sites such as Wikipedia that are translated into their own language. The Khan Academy also has many videos in divergent languages)
Provide students alternate definitions of commonly used terms that may be confusing. For example use: “gasoline” instead of “gas,” “test” instead of “assessment,” “tissue” instead of “Kleenex,” “rotate” instead of “turn,” and “way to think” or“perspective” instead of “view.”
Explain/teach test taking vocabulary. These learners may not know the test-taking meaning of terms such as: define, describe, briefly, explain, name, why?, how?, role of, discuss, think about, compare and contrast, or except. Provide examples from other students from previous tests.
-Provide more time to complete the test. This is the easiest of all accommodations.
-Allow ELL students the use of electronic word-to-word translators during tests (think about how generative AI such as Chat GPT might be misused and come up with ways that will have students just use the direct translation).
-Allow students to use picture dictionaries (or Google images) for a vocabulary check.
-Have students answer fewer test questions.
-Read the questions aloud to the student if they need clarification.
-Check periodically as the student takes the test to see if he/she is taking the test correctly. Sometimes students come from cultures where questioning a teacher indicates that a teacher's directions are unclear and that the teacher is not doing a good job of teaching. Check frequently to see if the ELL did indeed understand the test procedure, vocabulary, and directions.
-Provide “cognates” (words that are the same in English and the student's first language--this will be more common in Spanish but soem languages from the Philipines also do this. Examples of cognates for Spanish are: for “talk” use“conversation” (Sp: conversacion),for “test” use “exam” (Sp: examen), for “above average” use “superior” (Sp: superior), for“purpose” use “objective” (Sp: objectivo), for “happen” use “occur”(Sp: ocurrir), for “directions” use “instructions” (Sp: instrucciones)
Multiple choice: eliminate one or more of the choices
Discussion and essay: have students label terms, draw and label diagrams and pictures instead of just having them write
Matching: reduce the number of matches required, give an equal number of possibilities in each column, and eliminate “trick” language matches
Short-answer: accept one-word answers and phrases in place of complete sentences
True/False: eliminate or clarify “tricky” language and reduce the number of questions (also, "yes" and "no" may be clearer than "true" and "false")
Fill in the blank:provide two or three options and make the answer multiple choice
Grade only those items that have been completed
Grade only a fraction (perhaps half) of the number of items that mainstream students would answer
Accept a picture or a description rather than a specific word as an answer for fill-in the blank
Count and grade the process rather than only the product (especially in math, science, and language arts projects) ; Conversely, if the student is not familiar with "showing their work" to receive a mark, accept the answer.
Grade homework and include it as part of the final assessment grade.
Adjust the “weighting” of curricular components (tests, homework, and class work) to reflect student achievement.
Give vocabulary tests on the course content in place of textbook generated tests
Additional Suggestions:
Incorporate dialogue journals, especially in English language arts and social studies and for the incorporation of reading and writing language objectives. These are a low-stress, high-interest tool for assessment and can be useful for long-term assessment.
Incorporate project assessments, especially in science, math, and social studie because they can easily incorporate the four language domains of reading, writing, listening and speaking.
Incorporate oral presentations and demonstrations that offer an alternative for students who are at a higher level in the speaking domain but at a lower level in reading and writing domains (these can be recorded by the student on an ipad or other device)
Incorporate portfolio assessments that will be a source of data for a continuous evaluation of progress .
Incorporate Authentic Assessments (real world challenges) such as letter or journal writing, completing or demonstrating a task from the world outside the classroom or reading or writing a blog etc.