Tag Archives: Assessment

112: Standards-Based Grading

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Are your assessments and grades in your classes a reflection of what students are able to do with the target language? Are the communication modes in there?  Are there parts of your grade that are based on compliance to rules and routines? In this episode I am going to look into what grading based on standards in a proficiency based classroom looks like. And once again, luckily there is a very useful chapter on this topic in the newly published book “Honing Our Craft.”  It gives us all the info we need to engage with “Standards-Based Grading for Proficiency-Based Language Instruction.” That’s actually the title of chapter 7. 

Honing Our Craft

  • Edited by Florecia Henshaw (Director of Advanced Spanish at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) & Kim Potowski (Professor of Spanish Linguistics at the University of Illinois at Chicago)
  • 12 chapters written by educators for educators, with a focus on bridging the gap between research and practical application.
  • Practical applications and suggestions for language educators that they can adapt to their particular contexts. 
  • Use this link and the discount code JOSHUA25HOC to save 25% on the book.

Standards-Based Grading for Proficiency-Based Language Instruction

Put Standards-Based Grading in Context

  • Traditional grading system:
    • Variability in what exactly counts towards the percentage average of a traditional grade. Some teachers include non-academic factors such as work habits (punctuality, participation, effort or completion) which have very little to do with measuring learning. (Dweck, 2014, Feldman, 2019, Townsley, 2019)
    • Score is no longer an accurate reflection of what the student can communicate in the target language.
  • 3 Core Principles of Standards-Based Grading
    • Focus should be on mastery of specific skills and grade describes that mastery
    • Multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate their learning and receive specific feedback, typically tied to a rubric
    • Separate factors such as behavior, punctuality, homework completion and extra credit

Key Terms and Misconceptions

  • Proficiency: language ability in the real world, unscripted, without practice
  • Performance: can do with practice in an educational setting. 
  • Mastery: highest level
  • Goal is for students to gradually improve their performance from assessment to assessment through feedback, learning and revision.
  • SBG can be used with any set of standards
  • Rubrics: core principle of SBG to provide feedback for revision and multiple attempts to demonstrate learning.
  • Multiple attempts to demonstrate learning
    • Use feedback to foster the use of multiple attempts for students to demonstrate learning. 
    • Retakes are not identical to first assessment, nor should it be more difficult
    • System in place to have retake opportunities: practice, formative, HW, meet with teacher.
  • Grading behaviors unrelated to mastery
    • Homework leads towards mastery, not a completion grade. If students don’t see connection, why do it?  Make it a requirement for retakes?
    • Removes opportunity for implicit bias.

Suggestions

  • Focus on…
    • Standards and create rubric accordingly
    • Differentiation
    •  Feedback and the iterative process
    • Formative and summative assessments 
  • Do…
    • Plan units around your learning goals
    • Collaborate with colleagues for common rubrics, assessment and learning goals (standards)
    • Plan for reassessments and retakes (additional versions) and decide on what the requirements will be to retake.
  • Don’t…
    • Create retakes that are more difficult
    • Limit scores on retakes and reassessments.  Allow students to receive full credit. Count on the new grade, most recent representation of skills, learning or mastery.

Remember to use this link and the discount code JOSHUA25HOC to get save 25% on the book.

Work with Joshua either in person or remotely.

Teachers want to hear from you and what you are proud of in your classroom.
Join me as a guest on the podcast.

You  can also be a part of Leveling Up coaching episode if there is an area of your teaching that you like to improve or enhance.  Join me on the podcast for a Leveling Up Coaching Episode.  

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Reflecting on Our Language Teaching

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How often do we stop to reflect on our language teaching?  Hopefully we take the time and opportunity to do it regularly so that we are teaching our students as effectively as possible.

Reflecting on Our Language Teaching, French, Spanish

Let’s look at how we can think about our work as language teachers using Reflective Practice.  I know, this all sounds way up there in the theory world.  I promise you it’s not and that it’s fairly simple.  Stick with me you’ll be looking at your teaching in ways that help to confirm what you are doing as beneficial and successful, along with some ways to perhaps modify, enhance or improve.

Lesson Reflection

One of the things I appreciate the most about the language teaching community is how much teachers want to be effective with students.  The ethos of the group seems to be an openness and willingness to engage in reflective practice.

Why Reflect?

Reflection can help you to be more creative and try new things. It’s very easy to get stuck in a rut and it can be helpful to think about what you are doing and why you are doing it. This can help to spark new ideas and ways of thinking.

Reflective Practice for language teachers

Here’s a simple way to look closely on how we are teaching and find those opportunities to confirm what you are doing as beneficial and successful, while also finding ways to modify, enhance or improve.

  1. Teach
  2. Assess the effect your teaching has on learning
  3. Consider what can improve the quality of teaching and learning
  4. Try the new ideas
  5. Reflect on effectiveness 
  6. Repeat

Number 3 is where the opportunity to modify, enhance or improve lies.

Success Criteria

Success Criteria helps to make this reflective process possible.  These concepts are from The Success Criteria Playbook by John T. Almarode, Douglas Fisher, Kateri Thunder, Nancy Frey (2021).  I spoke with Tim Eagan on Episode 60 of the podcast if you want to go really deep with Success Criteria. 

Reflecting on Our Language Teaching, French, Spanish

But to put it simply:

  • Success Criteria are essentially statements that specify the evidence to show whether or not you have met the learning intention, such as “I can” statements.
  • “what you want students to know and be able to do by the end of one or more lessons.”
  • Without learning intentions and success criteria, they write, “lessons wander and students become confused and frustrated.

The important and simple questions:

  • What will be learned?
  • Why is it going to be learned?
  • How will I know that it has been learned?
  • What will I do with what I learned?

Use the these Success Criteria questions to inform our Can Do Statements and to reflect on that important #3 in the reflective process above.

  • Consider what can improve the quality of teaching and learning

Put this together with the Success Criteria questions to determine the success or breakdown in what was learned? 

  • What will be learned?
    • Was what students were learning clear or unclear?
  • Why is it going to be learned?
    • Was the reason why students were learning the materia clear or unclear?]
  • How will I know that it has been learned?
    • Were students able to demonstrate mastery?
  • What will I do with what I learned?
    • Were students able to do something with what they learned?

Then, revisit the Can Do’s for next time and modify as needed.  

Reflective Practice for Language Teachers in a nutshell:

  1. Plan and Teach using success criteria
  2. Assess the effect your teaching has on learning
  3. Consider what can improve the quality of teaching and learning (success or breakdown on the success criteria)
  4. Try the new ideas
  5. Reflect on effectiveness
  6. Repeat

You can also listen to episode 77 of the podcast where I break down this reflective process.Reflecting on Our Language Teaching, French, Spanish

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61: Goals and Assessment in the Language Classroom

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In this episode we look at goals, and assessment of those goals, in teaching and learning language.  This is the third of 5 episodes dedicated to the book Common Ground: Second Language Acquisition Theory Goes to the Classroom by Florencia Henshaw and Maris Hawkins. Actionable insights and takeaways that you can use right away as you set goals for your students and create the assessments that support students moving toward them.  

Topics in the episode:

  • ACTFL Proficiency Levels
  • Setting Proficiency-Based Goals
  • Performance and Proficiency
  • Assessment; Integrated Performance Assessments and Rubrics
  • Intercultural Communication Goals
  • Making the discussion interactive on Twitter with Joshua (@wlcalssoom), Florencia Henshaw (@Prof_F_Henshaw) and Maris Hawkins (@Marishawkins).

Blog posts referenced in this episode:

Get your own copy of Common Ground.  Hackett Publishing is generously offering a 25% discount when you use the code WLC2022.  [Available through December 31, 2022].

**The 25% off discount code can be used for any book through the end of December, 2022.  Hackett publishes several intermediate language-learning textbooks in Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Latin, and Classical Greek. New releases include Cinema for French Conversation, Cinema for Spanish Conversation, and Les Français.

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Work with Joshua either in person or remotely.

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Teachers want to hear from you and what you are proud of in your classroom. Join me on the podcast.  We record conversations remotely, so you can be anywhere.

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60: Building & Leading a Proficiency-Based Department with Tim Eagan

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In this episode we discuss building and leading a proficiency-based language department.  Tim Eagan, the 6-12 Department Head of World Languages in Wellesley, MA, joins me to talk about his experience leading his department through the process of embracing proficiency.

Topics in the episode:

  • contemporary and emerging research and the shift in approach and expectations.
  • what collaboration looks like in a proficiency-based department and how this supports consistency, particularly with assessments.
  • the objectives and benefits of using success criteria in a language department.
  • the essential role of feedback in a proficiency-based program.
  • how we get our department members on board.
  • www.visiblelearningmetax.com
  • Blog Post in Reflective Practice and Success Criteria

Connect with Tim Eagan

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Work with Joshua either in person or remotely.

——————————————————————————————-

Teachers want to hear from you and what you are proud of in your classroom. Join me on the podcast.  We record conversations remotely, so you can be anywhere.

——————————————————————————————-

Follow wherever you listen to podcasts.

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56: Backwards Design and Planning

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In this episode we look at planning in the language classroom.  Whether it is for an entire year, a particular unit or even an individual lesson, backwards design and planning is quite effective.  It also helps to ensure that we are focusing on all of the modes and that our ultimate goals are for students to do something with the target language vocabulary, structures and themes that they are learning.  It’s all about planning ahead to plan backwards.

Backwards design planning and execution happens in three phases or stages.

  1. Identify Desired Results
  2. Determine Acceptable Evidence
  3. Plan the Learning Experience and Instruction

References in this episode:

Work with Joshua either in person or remotely.

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49: Revisit Competency-Based Grading & Rubrics

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In this episode of the Summer Headspace series I revisit episode 20 on Rubrics and episode 37 on Competency-Based Grading.

Listen to the episodes:

Work with Joshua either in person or remotely.

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How to Assess Foreign Language Proficiency (SlideShare)

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How to Assess Foreign Language Proficiency (SlideShare) (French, Spanish) www.wlclassroom.comAssess foreign language proficiency can be challenging.  This SlideShare presentation will give you some concrete ways of grading communicative language.

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Foreign Language Assessment Rubrics (Interpersonal, Interpretive, Presentaional)

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The ACTFL Proficiency Levels and Performance Descriptors provide a useful way of creating prompts and assessing student communication in the classroom.

Foreign Language Assessment Rubrics (Interpersonal, Interpretive, Presentaional) (French, Spanish) www.wlclassroom.com)Teachers are becoming more familiar with these proficiency levels and the text types associated with them.

Foreign Language Assessment Rubrics (Interpersonal, Interpretive, Presentaional) (French, Spanish) www.wlclassroom.com)

The Performance Descriptors break proficiency down into several categories: Language Control, Vocabulary and Strategies.  Depending on the task a cultural assessment may also be a part of this.  Quite often the challenge is  finding a way to concretely assess students in these categories.

When creating an assessment, the teacher should begin by going over exactly what language looks like at each proficiency level.  By knowing the current proficiency level of students the teacher can create prompts that require speaking, listening, writing and reading that is possible for students to accomplish without going too far above or below their proficiency level. If you need a refresher on assessing proficiency levels and communication strategies take a look at these posts:

Begin planning each task with these questions:

  • What is the current text type of students (proficiency level)?
  • What are the language structures to be assessed?
  • What is the vocabulary theme?
  • What communication strategies are needed?

Then, based on this information, write a prompt that will allow students to speak, read, listen, write and communicate at a proficiency level that is appropriate to them. It’s important to follow this order so that the prompt is appropriate to the proficiency level.

You can download detailed rubrics that assess interpersonal, interpretive and presentational communication HERE.  They include text type, language control, vocabulary and communication strategies and can be used on any topic or proficiency level.

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Planning Towards a Goal in the Foreign Language Classroom

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Feedback is an important and much-needed part of learning.  It is important that students have a clear understanding of what the goal or end product is so that they don’t feel that they are working just to work.  How many of us have heard students ask, “Why are we learning this?” or “When will I ever need this?”  Students ask this when they are not motivated to learn because the goal that they are working toward is not clear and obvious.  Teachers need to clearly understand what the end goal or product will be, and this needs to be shared with students at the beginning of a unit or lesson.Planning Towards a Goal in the Foreign (World) Language Classroom (French, Spanish) wlteacher.wordpress.comThroughout the unit or lesson the formative assessment and feedback should always be in relation to the goal.  Comments such as “good work” or “nice job” are not specific and in relation to the goal.  When the goal is presented early on it is more productive to assess formatively and provide feedback toward the goal.  For example, if the goal is to narrate an event in the past, feedback such as, “Your mastery of these regular verb forms will help you to speak confidently about what you did last weekend.  Now turn your focus to these irregular verb forms that will help you speak or write about more events.” Information from  Formative Assessment provides data during the instructional process. Without a clear goal, it is difficult to answer these formative assessment questions:

  • Where am I going?
  • Where am I now?
  • How can I get to where I am going/need to be?

Here are some ways to keep the goal the focus of the a unit or lesson.

Planning Towards a Goal in the Foreign (World) Language Classroom (French, Spanish) wlteacher.wordpress.com

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Foreign Language Assessment: Knowing about language and doing something with language

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Assessments often focus on knowing about the language at the exclusion of what the student can do with the language.  Below are some guidelines to help distinguish these two practices.  Take some time to find the balance of assessing what students can do with the language (context-based) and what they know about the language (minimal context).  I focus on the language particulars more when tasks involve writing and more on what students can do with the language when speaking.

Foreign Language Assessment: Knowing about language and doing something with language (French, Spanish) www.wlclassroom.com

These are some assessment characteristics that show what students know about  language:

  • They assess discrete points.
  • The answers are either right or wrong.
  • They are easily and quickly scored.
  • They test language content: vocabulary, grammar, and culture.
  • They involve the lower-level thinking skills of knowledge and comprehension.
  • They are usually given in formal testing periods.

These are some assessment characteristics that show what students can do with language:

  • They require that students create a product or do a demonstration.
  • They are scored holistically.
  • They are task-based.
  • The tasks are situation-based or use real-world content.
  • They involve higher-level thinking skills of application, integration, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
  • They are given in both formal and informal testing situations.

Take a look at the tasks and activities that you give students and determine what it is that they are actually assessing.  Are they focused on what students know about the language or what they can do with the language?

Activities that show what students know about language:

  • True/false
  • Multiple choice
  • Fill in the blanks
  • Match
  • Give the correct form of the noun, adjective, verb
  • Change one word for another, e.g. noun for pronoun
  • State the facts
  • Translate
  • Follow the model
  • Repeat, recite
  • Answer the questions

Activities that show what students can do with the language:

  • Complete the sentence logically.
  • State your opinion, thoughts, or comments.
  • Give personal answers.
  • Create a situation.
  • Seek information.
  • Develop a product, e.g. advertisement, brochure, collage, poem, song, essay, video, etc.
  • Demonstrate your knowledge.
  • Summarize, paraphrase.
  • Change the ending.

Find the balance in assessment and make sure that there are opportunities for students to demonstrate what they can do with the language in addition to what they know about it.

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