A Vision for Using an Argument-Based Framework for Validity Applied to a Comprehensive System of Assessments for English Learners in Secondary Grades
By Margaret Heritage, Caroline Wylie, Molly Faulkner-Bond, and Aída Walqui
INTRODUCTION | PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4 | PART 5 | PART 6 | PART 7 | PART 8 | PART 9 | REFERENCES | APPENDICES
Part 8: Propositions, Claims, and Evidence for the Assessments in the CAS Framework
c. Classroom Summative Assessment (end of course or year)
The purpose of classroom summative assessment for English Learners is to ascertain the achievement of students at the end of a course or a year relative to course objectives or state standards. Scores from these assessments may determine students’ final grades or achievement levels for the course, which may, in turn, affect their placement in or access to, future courses. Individual teachers can use the assessment results to reflect on the effectiveness of their teaching and make plans about any changes or improvements that are needed. Teachers, school and district administrators can examine patterns of achievement across classrooms and grades to inform decisions about policies, programs, and resources in relation to English Learners.
The results of these assessments can also be reported to students and parents/guardians to inform future plans for continued and optimal support for the students
Teachers and school administrators can examine the results of these classroom end-of-course or end-of-year summative assessments with those of the end-of-unit assessments and vice versa to evaluate the degree of consistency between them. In the event of inconsistencies, teachers and administrators will need to investigate the potential contributory reasons in order to determine whether revisions to one or both sets of assessments are needed.
The logic model for classroom summative (end of course or year) is shown in Figure 7.
Figure 7. Logic Model for Classroom Summative Assessment (end of course or year)
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Proposition 1: The assessment is aligned to rigorous long-term learning goals (the competencies expected by the state standards or end-of-course goals).
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Proposition 2: The assessment reflects the learning experiences that students have had in the classroom
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Proposition 3: The assessment provides all students with the opportunity to demonstrate what they have achieved in relation to long-term goals through multiple modalities (e.g., video, audio, graphic representations, writing), and, if relevant, languages.
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Proposition 4: The assessment can be appropriately used by school/district leadership to evaluate student learning relative to long-term goals (e.g., standards, end-of-course goals) in order to inform resource allocation by the teacher to make determinations about outcomes of students’ learning, and with students and parents to inform future plans.
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Moderation is a structured process, groups of teachers discuss samples of student work at different levels of quality in conjunction with associated standards and rubrics. The process is intended to develop consistency of interpretation of each level of the rubric across teachers (e.g., Connolly et al., 2012; Wyatt‐Smith et al., 2010).
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