Alternative Assessment Strategies for ESOL

Article Review: http://www.doe.in.gov/lmmp/docs/article-alternativeassmnt.pdf

This article was written to offer some options for assessment in the ESOL classroom. There are a variety of methods presented in a way that makes it easy to visualize implementing them on a regular basis. The author explains that alternative assessment is needed in the ESOL classroom because the traditional strategies for fluent English speakers are much too strenuous for the Non-English Speaker or to students who are in the beginning stages of learning our language.

The article offers suggestions on five categories of assessment. The first one is nonverbal. This strategy allows the student to be assessed by showing what they know without the need for talking. The other option is for the student to draw or to use pictures to illustrate what they know. The second category is a K-W-L chart where the student can write in their native tongue the information that they already know and what they want to know and can put onto paper. The teacher can help with this. Then, as they learn in class, they will add to the “know” column and the teacher will be able to measure the learning. The third group was the oral performance or presentation option. In this situation, the student can act out their learning as well as answering questions asked by the teacher. This frees them from having to write in English and therefore might ease the burden they feel. The fourth category presented in this article is for the student to create oral and written demonstrations of what they have learned. Among these were the content area logs, reading response logs, dialogue journals, and audio or video recordings. This category, the author claims, is easier for students than a free write because it offers structure and a direction for the student to focus on. Finally, the fifth category mentioned was portfolios. As in the regular classroom, portfolios offer a variety of assessment tools and a wider range of learning over time.

I appreciated this article for its suggestions in alternative assessment. Due to my inexperience at this point I feel that these options give me a better understanding of how to help students showcase their knowledge at any level of English speaking. I especially like the idea that it seems to be a team effort between the child and the teacher so that there never has to be a time when the student feels inadequate or unable to complete the task set before them. The important thing to understand is that each child will progress at their own rate and that a true assessment will measure the child against themselves and not comparing them to their classmates. Hopefully, with determination on the part of both the teacher and the student, each child will show growth over time.