Assessment in World Languages

How do we measure “proficiency” in a language?

In the United States, there are clear definitions of world language proficiency that can be used to assess student progress. These guidelines are established by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) and reiterated in the Connecticut World Language Standards document.   The “ACTFL Proficiency Scale” defines language learning on a continuum from Novice to Distinguished, with each level divided further into low, mid, and high (ex. Novice-Mid). In the graphic to the right, you’ll notice that the breadth of what students are able to do with language in terms of topics and content increases as they move up the proficiency levels. In NHPS, we have defined our Proficiency Targets for each level of language study. See the chart below.

How do we assess students? 

In each unit of study, at the end of each 1/2 year, and at the end of each level, we have assessments that measure student progress in each of these areas:

Interpretive Skills: Are students able to read, listen to, or view target language materials and comprehend?

We give students a real-world text such as a menu, schedule, infographic, video, song, recorded conversation, etc.  and ask comprehension questions. 

Interpersonal Skills: Are students able to converse in spontaneous spoken or written conversations?

We give students a task that asks them to speak to a partner such as a role-play or talking about a particular topic or picture, OR we interview students one-by-one. 

Presentational Skills:  Are students able to draft, memorize, and present information in speaking and in writing?

We give students a task that mirrors something they might have to do in the real-world, like write an email, create a brochure, create a poster or "fakebook" page, perform a poem, play, or song, etc. 

How do we score the assessment?

For Interpretive (reading/listening) questions, we usually score the quality of their answers(sometimes they are just right/wrong).  For Interpersonal Assessments, we use a proficiency-based rubric such as the following Level I example:

For Presentational Writing in which students have to write more quickly, such as an email in a limited amount of time, we score students on using a proficiency-based rubric such as the following Level I example:

For Presentational Assessments in which students have time to draft and revise, we score students on using a performance-based rubric such as the following Level I example:

For more information on NHPS Rubrics and Assessments, contact us.