Types of Assessments
When looking at the assessment process for special education with ELL students, it is important to first look at why the student is being assessed. The student's classroom teacher is responsible for providing the student with the appropriate remediation and/or enrichment prior to reaching the process of assessment for special education services. If the student still shows no sign of progress after the educational team has provided the student with all of the evidence-based interventions thought to be appropriate, then an authentic assessment can be presented to the child in their native language. In order to achieve reliable and valid testing results, the assessment must be a non-bias assessment of the child's knowledge of the skills of concern. The child's language skills should not interfere with the child's performance on the assessment. Any modifications or accommodations that need to be met in order to meet the child's needs during the testing session must be implemented in order to produce accurate results.
When assessing an ELL student, it is important use special modifications every step of the way. The ELL student should be assessed differently then a typical peer because their language will play a major role in their performance on the assessment. Be sure to present the assessment and all materials throughout the assessment in the child's native language. Be sure to follow all of the appropriate protocol with the assessment process, such as contacting the parents for permission to assess their child. If you need to contact a translator to effectively discuss the process with the family, be sure to do that prior to beginning the assessment process in order to get consent to test.
Appropriate means of assessment are not only in the student's native language, but will also use grade level vocabulary and context that the student will understand. The administrator of the assessment should speak the student's native language in order to answer any questions while taking the test. Students being assessed for special education services will usually be assessed using an IQ test, as well as asked a serious of questions in order to gather information about their social skills and communication. The ESL teacher or translator speaking in the child's native language could ask these questions to the student in their first language. The most important thing to remember about assessment is that it needs to assess the child's academic ability level, not their language and communication skills.
When assessing an ELL student, it is important use special modifications every step of the way. The ELL student should be assessed differently then a typical peer because their language will play a major role in their performance on the assessment. Be sure to present the assessment and all materials throughout the assessment in the child's native language. Be sure to follow all of the appropriate protocol with the assessment process, such as contacting the parents for permission to assess their child. If you need to contact a translator to effectively discuss the process with the family, be sure to do that prior to beginning the assessment process in order to get consent to test.
Appropriate means of assessment are not only in the student's native language, but will also use grade level vocabulary and context that the student will understand. The administrator of the assessment should speak the student's native language in order to answer any questions while taking the test. Students being assessed for special education services will usually be assessed using an IQ test, as well as asked a serious of questions in order to gather information about their social skills and communication. The ESL teacher or translator speaking in the child's native language could ask these questions to the student in their first language. The most important thing to remember about assessment is that it needs to assess the child's academic ability level, not their language and communication skills.
Below is a survey done in 12 states about the challenges and success that teachers experience when assessing and instructing ELL's.