THIS ISSUE: Language Arts Assessment

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In this issue of the Promising Practices Forum we have been asked to provide an overview of selecting Language Arts Assessments. This practical guide will help the school and educator make better informed decisions on assessments in this field of study.

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Promising Practice Research and Tips

Theory Meets Practice in Language Arts Assessment

Educators now have a wider, richer selection of materials and ideas 
to match to the theories to which they subscribe

Assessment in the classroom is following contemporary descriptions of learning, thinking, and language use as "processes". Accruing theory that stresses process and integration recommends and promotes instruction that 1) crosses different subject matter; 2) combines various kinds of thinking; and 3) integrates the different language behaviors. The theory further emphasizes that "thinking" or problem solving should be a major focus for instruction; another emphasis is a focus on performance.

THEORY INTO PRACTICE  
The public’s concern with academic achievement is based on the decline on the SAT and other tests coupled with concern about dropouts, drugs, student discipline, and increased school taxes, thus creating a highly publicized demand for school (student/teacher) accountability—standardize test.

• However, many of the tests have attempted to isolate and categorize both knowledge and sub-behaviors of processes like reading and writing. The testing goal is to report on "objectives" that are easily targeted for practice and which, on the test, are measured by multiple-choice questions.
• When the accountability assessments were instituted, teachers studied the tests to see what was being assessed since they, as well as the students, were being held accountable for the test results--- many teachers have emphasized what the tests cover and have modeled instruction after them.
• This narrowing of the curriculum was exacerbated by textbook authors and publishers who were pressured to structure textbooks and instructional materials that reflect the content and skills emphasized on the tests.

à  "The era of accountability," which emphasizes recognition and right  answers, and by evolving theory which emphasizes constructing meaning and problem solving, educators have become more articulate about defending the classroom impact of the new theory.

PORTFOLIOS AND ASSESSMENT  
In the language arts, there is a spreading emphasis on using portfolios (where students collect, organize, and analyze samples of their work) as an alternative assessment. The public, the media, legislators, and employers have been enthusiastic about assessment that has students "apply" what they know; but many understand and trust the fact that multiple-choice tests are nor med. Portfolios have evolved as individualized and personalized collections of students' achievements, but they do not solve the need for comparability and for educational accountability in the eyes of many education policy makers and the public.

This dilemma has led to the tryout of new forms of assessments which have fallen under the heading of "performance" or "authentic" tests. Both these and portfolios are being used in different subject areas.

• One general form of performance assessment that has evolved emphasizes process by having a student read several texts in order to construct a response to a general problem. The purpose is defined in terms of a problem to be solved, and an audience for the writing task is assigned; but both are designed to seem authentic to the student. The criteria for scoring how students organize and develop their responses can be carefully described, and examples of student responses that match different scores can be selected for scorers to follow. This system can be tested to assure that raters who follow the criteria and refer to the example papers give the same--or nearly the same--ratings to the same papers.
• Many state and local school districts across the country are experimenting with several kinds of performance assessment. A few are experimenting with ways to use and evaluate portfolios for large-scale assessment as well. The intention has not been to replace or discontinue standardized multiple-choice tests, but the interest in alternative forms of assessment appears to be a desire to get at the "application" of student learning.

à  In response to this trend, authors and publishers of assessment and other educational materials have begun to produce textbooks and instructional materials which cut across content areas, emphasize the construction of

meaning and problem solving, and encourage collaborative learning. The new instructional materials and assessments being developed seem to be in sync with each other and with theory and common sense which emphasize the value of purpose and integration in learning.