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0 Preparing English Language Learners for Assessments Prepared for Pennsylvania Department of Education Academic Recovery Liaisons Prepared by: Beverly Mattson April 2015

Preparing English Language Learners for … annual Pennsylvania System of School Assessment ... Preparing English Language Learners for Assessments 3 ... Reading the prompts for writing,

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Preparing English Language

Learners for Assessments

Prepared for

Pennsylvania Department of Education

Academic Recovery Liaisons

Prepared by:

Beverly Mattson

April 2015

About the Mid-Atlantic Comprehensive Center:

The Mid-Atlantic Comprehensive Center at WestEd (MACC@WestEd) helps state

leaders with their initiatives to implement, support, scale up, and sustain

statewide education reforms. We work closely with state leaders in the Mid-

Atlantic region of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the

District of Columbia. To learn more about MACC@WestEd visit

macc-atwested.org or to learn about the technical assistance network funded

by the U.S. Department of Education, visit www.ed.gov.

Copyright © 2015 WestEd

All rights reserved.

Suggested citation: Mattson, B. (2015). Preparing English Language Learners for

Assessments. Prepared for Pennsylvania Department of Education Academic

Recovery Liaisons. (A report from the Mid-Atlantic Comprehensive Center at

WestEd.) San Francisco, CA: WestEd.

Disclaimer Language

The contents of this report were developed under a cooperative agreement

under prime award #S283B120026 between the U.S. Department of Education

and WestEd. The findings and opinions expressed herein are those of the

author(s) and do not reflect the positions or policies of the U.S. Department of

Education. Readers of this report should not assume endorsement by the

Federal Government.

i

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Methodology 1

Organization of the Document 1

Preparing English Language Learners for Assessments 2

General Preparation Strategies for Assessments 2

Preparation Strategies for English Language Arts

Assessments 4

For reading sections 4

For writing sections 4

Preparation Strategies for Mathematics Assessments 5

Preparation Strategies for Science Assessments 6

References 7

ii

1

Introduction In November, 2014, the Lead Academic Recovery Liaison with the

Pennsylvania Department of Education requested that MACC@WestEd

identify strategies to prepare English language learners for assessments.

The strategies would be available to the Academic Recovery Liaisons

(ARLs) and district/school leadership teams of schools identified as priority

schools. The request is related to the MACC@WestEd Year 3 WorkPlan,

Priority Area: School Turnaround, Objective 1. Assistance to Academic

Recovery Liaisons (ARLs).

The annual Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) is a

standards-based, criterion-referenced assessment used to measure a

student’s attainment of academic standards. Every student in grades 3

through 8 and grade 11 is assessed in reading and math. Every student in

grades 5, 8, and 11 is assessed in writing. Every student in grades 4 and 8 is

assessed in science (Pennsylvania Department of Education website). The

Keystone Exams are end-of-course assessments designed to assess

proficiency in the subject areas of: Algebra I and II, Geometry, Literature,

English Composition, Biology, Chemistry, U.S. History, World History, and

Civics and Government (Pennsylvania Department of Education website).

Methodology

To address this request for information, the staff of MACC@WestEd

conducted a review of: resources from the Pennsylvania Department of

Education, resources from other states, and educational articles. An

accompanying document, Resources Addressing the Instruction of English

Language Learners presents an annotated bibliography that describes

the additional resources identified by MACC@WestEd.

Organization of the Document

The first section of this document presents an overview of general

preparation strategies for assessments. The second section identifies

strategies to prepare for assessments in English language arts, including

reading and writing sections. The third section lists potential preparation

strategies for assessments in mathematics. The fourth section identifies

strategies to use in preparation for science assessments. The final section

includes the references.

2

Preparing English Language

Learners for Assessments

General Preparation Strategies for Assessments

Embed general preparation strategies for assessments and test-

taking in standards-based instruction.

Analyze State assessment released sample/practice items to:

Understand why standards are assessed in a particular way

on the assessments;

Analyze how class assessments compare to state

assessments;

Distinguish between correct and incorrect answers to

questions; and

Help students determine what and how standards are

assessed (California Department of Education, 2009)

Provide students explicit instruction in vocabulary, the meaning

of discourse markers (e.g., because), grammar, and text features

that are essential to understanding assessment questions.

Introduce students to commonly used assessment formats,

including the wording of questions, and illustrations. This will build

their comfort and confidence with assessment formats (Larson,

no date).

Common formats include: Multiple choice, open-ended

questions, short answers, extended answers.

Identify what format and items might be confusing or

misleading to students and how to address these during

instruction.

Model and practice:

the process for understanding directions and placing

answers correctly on answer sheets;

the process for understanding different types of questions

(e.g., multiple-choice, open-ended).

Be sure students understand the difference between

question expectations (e.g., show your work, describe

your work, or explain your work).

Model and practice approaches to multiple-choice

questions. For example, how to use elimination of

Preparing English Language Learners for Assessments

3

incorrect choices, using educated guessing, estimating,

and working problems backwards.

Students practice appropriate and state-approved assessment

accommodations during instructional time so students are well

acquainted with these accommodations. (Refer to Pennsylvania

Department of Education’s Accommodation Guidelines).

Teach students to:

Not leave any questions blank.

Always check their answers, especially if there is time

remaining on a test.

Use time efficiently while not rushing, but rather pacing

themselves through the tests.

Preparing English Language Learners for Assessments

4

Preparation Strategies for English Language Arts

Assessments

For reading sections:

Teach students to read questions first and then read passages to

find the answers to the questions.

Model and practice:

Reading a whole passage and question(s) carefully and

identifying key words;

Rereading a question and identifying potential responses, if

a question asks for prediction, conclusion, or summary;

Using context clues, knowledge of word structure, or word

parts to determine meanings of unknown words;

Looking for specific details in a passage to support a main

idea;

Identifying key information from passages to support

students’ answers (Ohio Department of Education, 2008).

For writing sections:

Introduce students to different types of formats and questions

(e.g., multiple-choice, selected-response, short-answer, and

mode-specific questions).

Introduce and use a writer’s checklist for each type of writing

prompt and the PSSA or the Keystone Scoring Guidelines to

evaluate students’ written responses (e.g., for different types of

composition, including opinion, informative, explanatory,

argumentative, and/or narrative).

Model and practice:

Reading the prompts for writing, identifying key words for

understanding of a topic and what is expected.

Brainstorming as many ideas as possible to writing prompts

and then how to organize the ideas.

Writing short answer responses with introduction, body, and

conclusion when composing narrative, opinion,

informational, argumentative, or informative-explanatory

responses (Ohio Department of Education, 2008).

Proofreading the responses of individual students and peers

using a writer’s checklist and scoring guidelines (California

Department of Education, 2009).

Preparing English Language Learners for Assessments

5

Preparation Strategies for Mathematics Assessments

Teach students the mathematics vocabulary from the 2014

Mathematics Glossary to the Assessment Anchors and Eligible

Content (Pennsylvania Department of Education).

Provide direct instruction on essential math vocabulary that

students will need to understand and answer questions.

Provide explicit instruction on how to read and use math

terms, symbols, and syntax.

Embed and model different types of mathematical questions in

each lesson.

Teach students to respond to multiple-choice questions by:

First solve the problem on scratch paper. Choose the

correct answer and record the choice. If none of the

choices matches a student’s answer, go back and check

the work for possible errors.

Teach students to respond to open-ended questions by:

reading the questions carefully, identifying the parts of the

question, and if they need to show or explain their work.

Use different mathematical models and representations that

students might encounter on tests (e.g., instead of 3+8=____,

_____=3+8) (Larson, no date).

Teach students to identify all the facts in a given problem, how

to estimate answers and eliminate choices in a multiple-choice

format.

Provide opportunities for students to practice:

reading an entire mathematics problem and modeling the

steps that will be needed.

explaining their strategies for reaching solutions.

Use the PSSA Assessment Scoring Guidelines for Mathematics

Open-Ended Questions or the Keystone General Scoring

Guidelines for Algebra I as part of the evaluation of students’

responses.

Preparing English Language Learners for Assessments

6

Preparation Strategies for Science Assessments

Teach students and practice vocabulary from the Pennsylvania

Science Assessment Glossary.

Provide direct instruction on essential science vocabulary

that students will need to understand and answer

questions.

Provide explicit instruction on how to read and use

science terms, symbols, and syntax.

Model and practice with students:

reading all titles, diagrams, symbols, labels and explanations,

before answering questions (Ohio Department of Education,

2008).

how to analyze what a question is asking: to describe,

explain, analyze, or compare.

Teach students to skim a science passage and then reread

specific parts that contain facts and data needed to answer a

question (Ohio Department of Education, 2008).

Teach and model for students responses to different types of

questions (e.g., multiple-choice, constructed response, open-

ended).

Introduce and use the PSSA Science General Scoring Guidelines

or the Keystone Biology Scoring Guidelines to evaluate students’

responses to open-ended questions (Pennsylvania Department

of Education, 2015).

Preparing English Language Learners for Assessments

7

References

California Department of Education (2009, December). Guidelines on academic

preparation for state assessments. Sacramento, CA: Author. Retrieved

from

http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/ai/documents/academicprepdec09.pdf

Larson, M. (no date). A developmental approach to preparing students for

standardized or state tests. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. Retrieved from

http://www.eduplace.com/state/pdf/author/larson1_hmm05.pdf

Ohio Department of Education. (2008, Summer). Strategies for taking state

assessments: Information for parents and students. Retrieved from

http://www.ae.k12.oh.us/docs/Test%20Taking%20Tips.pdf

Pennsylvania Department of Education. (2015). Keystone exams. Harrisburg, PA:

Author. Retrieved from

http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/state_assessme

nt_system/20965/keystone_exams/1190529

Pennsylvania Department of Education. (2015, January). The Pennsylvania

System of School Assessment (PSSA): English language arts preliminary

items and scoring sampler. Harrisburg, PA: Author. Retrieved from

http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/state_assessme

nt_system/20965/p/1329672

Pennsylvania Department of Education. (2015). The Pennsylvania System of

School Assessment (PSSA): General description of scoring guidelines for

science open-ended questions. Harrisburg, PA: Author. Retrieved from

http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/state_assessme

nt_system/20965/pennsylvania_system_of_school_assessment_%28pssa%29

/1190526

Pennsylvania Department of Education (2013-2014). The Pennsylvania System of

School Assessment (PSSA): Mathematics preliminary item and scoring

sampler. Harrisburg, PA: Author. Retrieved from

http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/state_assessme

nt_system/20965/pennsylvania_system_of_school_assessment_%28pssa%29

/1190526

Pennsylvania Department of Education. (2014, June). 2014 PSSA English

language arts glossary to the assessment anchors and eligible content

aligned to the Pennsylvania core standards. Harrisburg, PA: Author.

Retrieved from

http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/state_assessme

nt_system/20965/p/1329672

Pennsylvania Department of Education. (2014, June). 2014 PSSA mathematics

glossary to the assessment anchors and eligible content aligned to the

Preparing English Language Learners for Assessments

8

Pennsylvania core standards. Harrisburg, PA: Author. Retrieved from

http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/state_assessme

nt_system/20965/p/1329672

Pennsylvania Department of Education. (no date). Science assessment glossary.

Harrisburg, PA: Author. Retrieved from

http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/state_assessme

nt_system/20965/p/1329672

Preparing English Language Learners for Assessments

9