The document discusses content area assessment for English language learners. It outlines the primary purposes of content area assessment as monitoring student progress, determining eligibility for reclassification, and accountability. It also discusses considerations for content area instruction such as integrating language and content, scaffolding support, and altering instruction and assessment for ELLs. The document provides examples of formative and summative assessments and strategies for adapting assessments, including scaffolding, differentiated scoring, and communicating criteria. It also discusses approaches to basic assessment such as determining prior knowledge, assessing conceptual knowledge through semantic maps, assessing reading comprehension, vocabulary, and thinking skills.

1. Chapter 7:
Content Area
Assessment
Ade Dwi Putra

2. Primary Purposes of Content
Area Assessment
 Monitor student progress
– Formative assessments
– Should guide instruction
– Math test, “fist-to-five,” “Dame 5,”
projects, DIBELS, MIDE, Aimsweb, etc.
 Reclassification
– ACCESS, local assessments
 Accountability
– ACCESS, ISAT, PSAE, local
assessments

3. Considerations for Content
Area Instruction
 English is learned through integrated
language and content area instruction
 Language of content areas varies
depending on context (i.e. table)
 Content area instruction needs scaffolded
support for learning concepts
– Visuals, graphic
organizers, realia, cooperative learning, etc.
 Content area teachers need to alter
instruction and alter assessment for ELLs

4. Adapting Content Area
Assessments
 Scaffold--don’t separate!
– Rather than separating language and
content, provide contextual supports.
 Exhibits or projects, visual displays,
organized lists, tables/graphs, short
answers.
 Differentiate scoring.
– Use one score for writing
conventions/grammar and a separate
score for content.
 Communicate criteria.
– Tell students how their work will be
scored.

5. Thinking Schools Versus
Standardized Schools
 “part of the failure of the education
system has been the failure to match
instruction to the most effective way
that children learn” (p. 168).
 Balance between standards and
“thinking” schools.

6. Basic Assessment
Approaches
NONVERBAL
 Determining
Prior
Knowledge RECOGNITION
– Look at table
on page 176. STRUCTURED
Create your QUESTIONS
own
examples for UNSTRUCTURED
DISCUSSION
assessing
what 5th
FREE RECALL
Grade
students
know about WORD
the Civil War. ASSOCIATION

7. Basic Assessment
Approaches
 Assessing Conceptual Knowledge
 Semantic Maps
– Spider map
– The Time Ladder Map
– Contrast Overlay Map (aka Venn-Diagram)
– The Cause/Effect Map
 Be sure that students are familiar with
the graphic organizer prior to
assessment.
 Technology can also be very helpful.
– http://www.district87.org/staff/jensenp/Stud
ent%20Work.htm

11. Basic Assessment
Approaches
 Reading Comprehension
– T-lists
– Cloze test
 Random deletion, purposive deletion, limited
cloze

12. Basic Assessment
Approaches
 Vocabulary
– Recognizing or generalizing attributes,
examples, and nonexamples.
– Sensing and inferring relationship
 Do the words freedom and jail go together? Why or
why not?
 Freedom is to slave as _____ is to student.
 Categorize/classify
– Applying concepts to a variety of contexts
 Freedom of a country, freedom from jail, freedom from
slavery, freedom of religion, etc.
– Generating novel contexts
 Use the word freedom and slavery in a sentence.

13. Dorath’s legs
are at a steep
angle.
Mohamed is
scolding Peter.

14. Gilberto is pleading
for someone to read
Daichi’s arms are with him.
invisible.

15. Basic Assessment
Approaches
 Thinking Skills
– Be sure to guide planning,
instruction and assessment with
thinking skills in the content areas
– Comprehension
– Analysis
– Comparison
– Synthesis
– Evaluation

16. Basic Assessment
Approaches
 Writing to Integrate Language and
Content
– Provide writing prompts to mirror the
thinking processes.
– 1. What does the number sentence tell
you?
– 2. How did you solve the problem?
– 3. Write a word problem.
 Write the numbers.
 Write an operation and make a number
sentence.
 Now make a story to go with the question.

17. Science, Math, Social
Studies
 Declarative knowledge
– T-lists, semantic maps, cloze tests
 Procedural knowledge
– Scoring rubrics, check lists, self-
assessment

18. General Guidelines for
Content Area Assessment
 Embed assessment into instruction
 Scaffold assessments with contextual
supports
 Assess procedural knowledge as well as
declarative knowledge
 Always assess prior knowledge
 Encourage self-assessment
 Use integrated assessments of language
and content; differentiate scoring
 Make criteria visible

19. Questions?