Assessing & Grading ELLs
NYS ELL Demographics Report
Colorin Colorado provides several books which give us an introduction to
assessment best practices for English language learners.
Measuring What Matters, Educational Leadership, February 2018
Differentiating Instruction and Assessment for ELLs
This guidebook for teachers by Shelley Fairbain and Stephaney Jones-Vo shows both general education and ENL teachers how to differentiate instruction and assessment for the English language learners in their classes.
Every teacher is a language teacher!
Margo Gottlieb-Assessing ELLs Video
ELLs come to school with more than one language which need to be assessed.
Assessing ELL Student Progress-YouTube
A discussion of alternative assessment practices for ELLs
Assessment for English Language Learners
This section of Colorin Colorado discusses how to properly assess and
place English language learners (ELLs).
Five Non-Test Alternatives for Assessing ELLs
Fluent U explains why testing is not an effective way to assess ELLs.
Supporting ELLs with Formative Assessments
by Sarah Ottow
Formative Language Assessment for ELLs
by Sarah Ottow
by Tammy King, WIDA Blog
Using Rubrics and Checklists for Language Proficiency Assessments
by Tammy King, WIDA Blog
Formative Assessment of Language Across Disciplines-Jeff Zwiers
Using conversation as formative data
ESL Authentic Assessment Pilot-Food
A short You Tube Video
Assigning Meaningful Grades for ELLs
This presentation outlines the current best practices.
ESL Authentic Assessment-Home Country Project
A short You Tube Video
Five Pillars of Equitably Grading ELLs
A new article by Diane Staehr Fenner, Jill Kester and Sydney Snyder
Free Webinar https://getsupported.net/professional-development-webinars
This article discusses which aspects of computer-based assessment might prove to be especially challenging for ELLs
and provides resources to support ELLs’ success in computer-based testing.
New Jersey Grading Recommendations for ELLs
This grading system is based on Can-Do Descriptors and the five levels of Language proficiency.
Grading Newcomers with Sample Report Cards for all Levels
A great article from the Empowering ELLs blog which utilizes the Can-Do Descriptors to create several
sample grade level report cards for ELLs. Excellent!
Harrisburg School District Assessment Forms
Progress Reports in many languages and by language proficiency level.
The Best Resources on Differentiated Grading
Larry Ferlazzo asks the question: What do you know about differentiated grading for ELLs?
Could You Teach Without Grades?
Jennifer Gonzales asks the question in her Cult of Pedagogy blog
Quick check comprehension rubrics
*ENL Report Cards: The linked ENL Report Cards were created by the Long Island RBE-RN Report Card Committee in August of 2016. They are available in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole. They include Targets of Measurement (TOMS) and the new proficiency levels for ELLs.
Will Letter Grades Survive? Edutopia asks that question as schools change to competency-based systems.
Some Ideas for Differentiating ELL Assessments