Alexis A. Lopez

Helping English Language Learners Access the Language and Content of Science Through the Integration of Culturally and Linguistically Valid Assessment Practices

The chapter aims to inform about considerations that science teachers and teacher educators should take to use culturally and linguistically valid classroom assessment practices to help English language learners (ELLs) learn both science and the language of science. We describe the notion of equitable science assessments for ELLs and describe the characteristics of linguistically valid assessment practices and explain what it means to integrate culturally valid assessment practices into instruction. We also propose a three-step approach to developing culturally and linguistically valid assessment practices. We present an assessment task to illustrate the three steps on an 8th grade science standard. Finally, we discuss implications for teacher education programs and highlight critical areas these programs need to focus on to prepare science teachers to develop assessments that provide ELLs an opportunity to access the science content and use language to demonstrate their science knowledge.

Alignment between standardized assessments and academic standards: The case of the Saber Mathematics Test in Colombia

In this study the concept of alignment is analyzed by presenting the results of a study that examines the degree of alignment between a standardized mathematics assessment and a set of academic standards. The alignment was examined using the Webb model and the results suggest that the degree of alignment between standardized assessments and academic content standards is not the most appropriate and therefore the results should be interpreted with great caution and stakeholders must be very careful with the type of decisions that are made based on the results of these types of assessments. Resumen En este estudio se analiza el concepto de alineación presentando los resultados de un estudio que examina el grado de alineación entre una evaluación estandarizada de matemáticas y unos estándares académicos. La alineación se examinó usando el modelo de Webb y los resultados sugieren que el grado de alineación entre las evaluaciones estandarizadas y los estándares académicos no es el más adecuado y por lo tanto los resultados se deben interpretar con mucha cautela y se debe poner mucho cuidado con el tipo de decisiones que se toman con base en los resultados.