Welcome to my wiki, a website designed as a handbook to help teachers learn about
assessing English language learners.
What is assessment?
Assessment is determining each student's knowledge and growth to better plan instruction.
Why should we assess English language learners (ELL) any differently then we assess native English speaking students?
A vast body of literature suggests that validating assessment systems for ELL students is a complex and challenging task, given the heterogeneous characteristics of ELL students. Previous research in the areas of attainment and rate of attainment of English proficiency has suggested that ELL students can take up to at least 7 years to achieve the English language proficiency (ELP) necessary for success on academic content assessments (Cummins, 1981).
If we are committed to teaching ELLs using different strategies, we must assess using methods that fit these strategies.
Using the navigation menu to the left- or the menu drop-down bar above- please view the documents, weblinks, and articles. I hope you enjoy my wiki, and I hope it encourages you to use these strategies for all of your students.
—Pete Kuhn
