Using Defensible Data on ELLs to Drive Decisionmaking
- For states, districts, and schools that are making decisions about ELL education (policy, curriculum, program, assessment) without defensible data on ELL growth and achievement.
- This year-long or multi-year workshop series helps ELL educators, in collaboration with those responsible for accountability for ELLs in the district, to 1) identify common formative assessments of academic learning and English as a second language development that are needed in the district to complement standardized test scores of academic achievement and English language proficiency, 2) develop a data management system, and, 3) collect and use defensible data on ELLs' growth and achievement to guide instruction, drive program and professional development, and inform policy.
- The workshop series targets ESL/bilingual teachers, ESL/bilingual coordinators, literacy coaches, directors of assessment and accountability.
- First we consider factors that influence how an English language learner learns through two languages at school, and we look critically at current policies and accountability requirements for ELLs. Then participants are introduced to the BASIC Model, which is an acronym for Balanced Assessment and Accountability System that is Inclusive and Comprehensive, a research-based, field-tested assessment and accountability system for language education programs. We highlight the pivotal portfolio as a powerful tool that educators can use to collect multiple measures of ELLs' learning over time, and we see how student performance data can be used to facilitate collaboration among mainstream and ESL teachers.
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