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Assessment in Multiple Languages
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Assessment in Multiple Languages
A Handbook for School and District Leaders

Foreword by Patricia Morita-Mullaney

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July 2021 | 296 pages | Corwin

Assessing the full capabilities of your multilingual learners

Assessment asfor, and of learning complement effective curricular and instructional practices, however, the complexities of assessment for multilingual students are too-often overlooked and misunderstood. What if multilingual learners, teachers, and educational leaders all had opportunities to plan for and use assessment data in multiple languages? Imagine the linguistic, academic, and cultural reservoirs we could tap to highlight what our multilingual learners know and can do. 

Assessment in Multiple Languages: A Handbook for School and District Leaders shows how superintendents, principals, directors, coaches, and other educational leaders can more accurately portray the academic, language, and social-emotional development of multilingual students. As a companion to Classroom Assessment in Multiple Languages, this book illustrates how the assessment cycle unfolds at school and district levels. Together the two books provide comprehensive guidance for enacting linguistically and culturally sustainable assessment in multiple languages in K-12 settings. Grounded in leading-edge research, with an emphasis on instilling equity and social justice in assessment practices, this book: 

  • justifies the legitimacy of assessment in multiple languages 
  • showcases examples from federal to classroom levels
  • provides practical guidance and tools for schoolwide and district level assessment
  • applies to any and all programs with multilingual learners whether in dual-language immersion, bilingual, or monolingual settings.
Written by leading multilingual education and assessment authority Margo Gottlieb, this guide will help educational leaders highlight the true capabilities of multilingual learners. 

See the companion book for teachers, Classroom Assessment in Multiple Languages: A Handbook for Teachers 


 
Foreword
 
Preface
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Author
 
Chapter 1: Looking at Assessment Through the Lens of Multilingual Learners
The Dilemma: But English learners isn’t an appropriate term (or label), and initial screening only in English isn’t an accurate depiction of who our multilingual learners are and what they can do!

 
Federal Influence on Terminology and Assessment

 
The Resurgence of Bilingual and Dual Language Education

 
Competing Theories and Views of Assessment

 
Creating Language and Assessment Policies

 
Multilingual Learners and Social-Emotional Learning

 
Tips for Assessment in Multiple Languages

 
Facing the Issue: Rethink Terminology and Language Education Models

 
Resolving the Dilemma: Accentuate Equitable Assessment Practices for Multilingual Learners!

 
Resources for School and District Leaders

 
 
Chapter 2: Getting Started With Assessment in Multiple Languages
The Dilemma: But I only speak English! How can I be expected to communicate in other languages?

 
How Language Policy Informs Assessment in Multiple Languages

 
Effective Leadership in Programs Cultivating Multiple Languages

 
Supporting Multilingual Learners During Difficult Times

 
The Assessment Cycle in Multiple Languages

 
Purposes for Assessment Involving Multilingual Learners

 
Data Associated With Assessment as, for, and of Learning

 
Understanding the Basics of Assessment of Learning

 
Evoking Systemic Change Through Social Justice

 
Facing the Issue: Advocate on Behalf of Your Multilingual Learners and Their Families

 
Resolving the Dilemma: Enlist Families and the Community in the Assessment Process!

 
Resources for School and District Leaders

 
 
Chapter 3: Planning Curriculum and Assessment in Multiple Languages
The Dilemma: The students are returning to school speaking a mix of languages!

 
Stimulating Assessment in Multiple Languages Through Distributive Leadership

 
Assessment as an Expression of Curriculum Design

 
Resources for Curriculum and Assessment in Multiple Languages

 
A Multilingual Curriculum Framework With Embedded Assessment

 
Common Assessment for Schools and Districts

 
Student Assessment Portfolios in Multiple Languages

 
Facing the Issue: Utilize Multilingual Learners’ Resources to Maximize Their Language Learning

 
Resolving the Dilemma: Put Trust in Your Multilingual Learners’ Language Use!

 
Resources for School and District Leaders

 
 
Chapter 4: Collecting and Organizing Assessment Information in Multiple Languages
The Dilemma: Discrimination abounds against multilingualism and multiculturalism . . . What can we do?

 
The Role of Leadership in Collecting Data in Multiple Languages

 
Advice for Collecting Data in a Post-Pandemic World

 
Improving Accessibility in Data Collection

 
Revisiting Resources for Assessment in Multiple Languages

 
Co-planning Data Collection in Multiple Languages

 
Collecting and Organizing Common Assessment in Multiple Languages

 
Organizing and Assembling Assessment Portfolios in Multiple Languages

 
Facing the Issue: Collect Data in Multiple Languages Using Multiple Resources to Form a Convincing Body of Evidence

 
Resolving the Dilemma: Take Responsibility for Diminishing Discrimination for Multilingual Learners and Their Families!

 
Resources for School and District Leaders

 
 
Chapter 5: Interpreting Information and Providing Feedback in Multiple Languages
The Dilemma: There simply aren’t enough qualified language teachers, so let’s place multilingual learners in “special education” classes for support.

 
Examining Data in Multiple Languages

 
Common Assessment in Multiple Languages

 
Collaboration in Providing Consistent Feedback

 
Interim/Annual Assessment in Multiple Languages

 
Standardized Testing: Reassessing Validity Claims

 
Interpreting Data in Multiple Languages for Local Accountability

 
Facing the Issue: Never Consider Special Education as an Option for Multilingual Learners (Unless Duly Warranted)

 
Resolving the Dilemma: Use Multiple Data Approaches, Sources, and Languages When Assessing Multilingual Learners!

 
Resources for School and District Leaders

 
 
Chapter 6: Evaluating and Reporting Assessment Information
The Dilemma: But how can we evaluate the effectiveness of instruction or programs for multilingual learners in multiple languages if we only depend on results from assessment in one language?

 
An Equity Framework for Assessing Multilingual Learners

 
Another Single Story, A Different Scenario: State Reclassification Criteria

 
Creating Assessment-Capable Students and Schools

 
Evaluating Linguistically and Culturally Responsive Assessment Practices

 
The Role of Rubrics in Evaluating and Reporting Assessment Results

 
Reporting Assessment Results

 
Reconsidering Grading Practices

 
Multilingual Learners’ Role in Evaluation and Reporting

 
Facing the Issue: Consider the Many Stories of Multilingual Learners and Their Families

 
Resolving the Dilemma: Never Evaluate Evidence or Programs for Multilingual Learners Based on a Single Story!

 
Resources for School and District Leaders

 
 
Chapter 7: Taking Action Based on Assessment Results
The Dilemma: The “‘COVID slide’ may be especially troublesome for English-language learners, the 5 million students still learning English in the nation’s K–12 schools” (Mitchell, 2020). How will schools and districts measure multilingual learners’ “COVID

 
Action 1: Engage in Reflective Practice and Inquiry

 
Action 2: Determine Priorities in Assessing in Multiple Languages

 
Action 3: Challenge the Status Quo in Assessment: Take the Multilingual Turn

 
Action 4: Assess Multilingual Learners From a Strengths-Based Lens

 
Action 5: Enact Effective Assessment Practices in Multiple Languages

 
Action 6: Use Assessment Data in Multiple Languages to Leverage Systemic Change

 
Taking Action: Lessons Learned From Crises

 
Facing the Issue: Consider Crises as Eye-Opening Opportunities for Multilingual Learners

 
Resolving the Dilemma: Provide Equitable Educational Opportunities to All Minoritized Students, Including Assessment in Multiple Languages for Multilingual Learners!

 
Resources for School and District Leaders

 
 
Glossary
 
References

Supplements

For instructors

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eBook
ISBN: 9781071827642

Paperback
ISBN: 9781071827666
$39.95

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