Making Assessment Practices Valid for indigenous American Students by Sharon Nelson-Barber and Elise Trumbull

This reading focuses on how research can find ways to aid in making assessment valid for indigenous American students. It is clear that NCLBA has placed indigenous students with assessments that are quite challenging due to cultural context. Research showed that cultural elements found by Demmert will help to improve the academic performances of indigenous learners. It was found that using local knowledge and culture in the curriculum and using the funds of knowledge help the students to succeed with work and assessments in school. Back in the days, children observed and learned from their parents, grandparents, and close relatives through cultural activities. They learned from hearing stories and family experiences. And children practiced those cultural activities by interacting through play and pretending. It is true that tasks were learned at home throughout the seasons. One learned by trial and error and when a task was accepted by elders and parents, the individual became aware of his or her successful performances. Elders and parents used to observe the natural abilities and characteristics of young children to foresee their future performances and successes.

Who Is Given Tests in What Language by Whom, When, and Where? The Need for Probabilistic Views of Language in the Testing of English Language Learners

A third grade ELL Yup'ik student was given a standardized test in math by a
Caucasian third grade teacher in the late 1950's in a boarding school. This student's first language was Yup'ik and was in the third year of learning a second language. Test results were unknown. Then two generations later an ELL student was tested in the third grade in reading, writing, and math by a local native teacher in 2006 in the student's hometown. The student's L1 was local English dialect and Yup'ik as L2. However, the test results were proficient in reading, writing and math. But a little more than half the third grade test results were below proficient. Programs like SES are offered for all students to improve in reading, writing, and math. In the reading for ELL testing, I take it that Torgerson's discussion on deterministic models in testing does not fit the ELL testing. Whereas the probabalistic models would most likely fit in with the ELL testing. Solano-Flores had listed the good "would be" processes for ELL students. When will the ELL student processes become a reality?

The Language Assessment Process: A "Multiplism" Perspective by Shohamy and Inbar

From this reading, I sensed that "multiplism" is a process of conducting language assessment for each phase beginning with the multiple purposes of assessment. Teachers can choose any multiple method of assessment depending on the design of the test. An examiner can have multiple ways of designing items and tasks and administer assessment in multiple ways. There are many criteria to determine language quality. The final phases include the multiple ways of interpreting results and reporting results. Among all these phases, the validity and reliability are present in the processes of language assessment procedures. What I liked about this chapter is that it showed many concepts in assessment. These can help us with language assessments as we develop our classroom documents for our students and other teachers.

Ch.2 Designing Authentic Assessment

This chapter focuses on different types of authentic assessment, scoring guides, and how to use designing, developing, and using authentic assessemnt. The book addresses that validity and reliability are both important for the quality of assessments. Other concerning issues like purpose of assessment, fairnes, and grading are explained and clarified in the chapter. These are the steps teachers can use in designing authentic assessment, which can help to improve teaching to the students.One time I took part in the early stages of making assessment for Yup'ik levels in our district. We as a team (native teachers and bilingual instructors) helped build standards for Yup'ik levels one through seven for teaching and assessment. After several months of interval meetings and revisions by the team and the district, we the bilingual instructors had a new and better design of authentic assessment to teach and to test. This new change helped the instructors to improve their teaching and learning. What we are lacking are student workbooks that go with the authentic assessments. We make our own teaching materials for the Yup'ik levels.

McNamara Ch.2 Communication and the design of language tests

I think all kinds of language tests are good for all language learners. If a learner cannot pass one particular language test, the learner can be tested in another design of language test, depending on grade level. I think earlier tests are as good as the current performance tests. I rather use tests that are simple to make and easy to score. Whatever a criterion is tested in any test, it is judged or measured for quality learning. Reading this article has focused my attention on the kinds of classroom tests that I use with my students. I hope to make better assessments in the future.

The No Child Left Behind Act and English Language Learners: Assessment and Accountability Issues

Did your teacher test you in reading, writing, and math? My grandson answered, "Yeah, two times in reading, once in writing, and about eight times in math to see what level we are on." These are the recent tests given since school started five weeks ago in the fifth grade. "I had fun having Yup'ik culture math using berries, because we tasted berries and made a graph at the same time." At another time, "I had fun making super sentences like, 'The green pizza came to lunch at 12:00 o'clock." So now I'm thinking, are these tests good and fair assessments and are they accountable? My initial reaction was yes! I think teaching and assessing the main subjects using what is relevant for learners supports their education. I believe these kinds of teachings and assessments will likely help the LEP students in our area. Sometimes it takes time to make the AYP with happy results for all at the end.

Testing, testing...What is a language test?

I remember when I first took a language test back in Wrangell Institute third grade classroom in reading and math. We young natives were seated separately around large tables with a booklet and a pencil. I remembered none of the reading test, but I was totally confused on a large division problem. It had two digit divisors and about five dividends. I had no idea on how to solve it and this has always been in my memory. Since then I have experienced taking English tests through elementary, high school, and college. To me, language testing is testing to check ones knowledge in reading, writing, math, etc. and how the learners will use that knowledge in a real life world. When I use language testing in my classroom, the scores help me to look for ways to teach better and to find ways how students learn best.