The teacher understands and uses formal and informal assessment strategies to ensure the
continuous intellectual, social, and physical development of the learner.
Rationale
There are two general categories of learner assessment: 1) traditional – which normally
or cloze questions, and 2) alternative – a diverse category that can include portfolios,
knowledge and skills in relative isolation from tasks typical of the outside world (Ormrod, 2008).
Alternative assessments focus on measuring students’ language use in context and as close to
offer this artifact “Final Paper for TSL645 – Alternative Assessments,” that I created as part of
the requirements for TSL645: Reading in ESL/EFL Instruction. I chose alternative assessments
because of research stating that traditional assessments ignore important learner differences in
culture, ability, learning style, and background (Macrine & Sabbatino, 2008). The research for
this paper exposed me to several varieties of alternative assessments including - the portfolio, the
Standard 8 because it showcases the knowledge I acquired about alternative assessments, which I
References
Macrine, S.L. & Sabbatino, E.D. (2008). Dynamic assessment and remediation approach: Using
the DARA approach to assist struggling readers. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 24(1), 52-
76.
Ormrod, J.E. (2008). Educational psychology (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Education Inc.
Standard 8 – Assessment of Student Learning Artifact 2 Joely Rogers
Abstract
This paper conducts a broad investigation into three different types of alternative assessments
and examines their potential for use in the adult ESL reading classroom. The paper is divided
into three sections. The first section contrasts traditional with alternative assessments and makes
a case for the use of alternative assessments in the classroom. The second section investigates
three different types of alternative assessments – the portfolio assessment, the authentic
assessment and the performance-based assessment, and explores their use in the adult ESL
reading classroom. The third section presents three instructional activities that classify as
program.
Standard 8 – Assessment of Student Learning Artifact 2 Joely Rogers
observing a sample of a student’s behavior and drawing inferences about the student’s
knowledge and abilities” (Ormrod, 2008). When most people hear the word ‘assessment’ the
image that often comes to mind is a paper-pencil test consisting of long rows of multiple choice
questions, and perhaps matching and fill-in-the blank exercises. A paper-pencil test is a type of
(traditional) assessment and it is normally included in an assessment program, but it is just one
the many ways a teacher can derive inferences about their students’ learning. Aebersold & Field
(1997) say that assessment is an ongoing process that includes “exams, progress tests, quizzes,
and exercises worked in class or at home, or any other kind of testing or learning instrument” (p.
167). Teachers are assessing their students’ learning all the time, both informally during
unstructured classroom observations, and formally with instruments like a paper-pencil test or
Assessments can be classified as either traditional, like the paper-pencil test mentioned
earlier, or alternative, such as a student portfolio, and while we believe that there is a place for
both types of testing in classroom; in this paper we will exclusively examine the alternative
variety, specifically its place in the adult English as a second language (ESL) reading classroom.
The overall purpose of this paper is to conduct a broad investigation into the different types of
alternative assessments and examine their potential for use in the adult ESL reading classroom.
The paper is divided into three sections. The first section contrasts traditional with alternative
assessments and makes a case for the use of alternative assessments in the classroom. The second
section investigates three different types of alternative assessments – the portfolio assessment,
Standard 8 – Assessment of Student Learning Artifact 2 Joely Rogers
the authentic assessment and the performance-based assessment, and explores their use in the
adult ESL reading classroom. The third section presents three instructional activities that we
assessment program.
multiple choice, matching, true and false, and/or fill-in-the blank exercises is a type of traditional
assessment. This type of assessment focuses on measuring basic knowledge and skills in relative
isolation from tasks typical of the outside world (Ormrod, 2008). Another term for this type of
assessment could be “out-of-context” testing and it has been criticized by educators; in particular
those work who with English language learners (ELLs). With regards to reading assessment,
Macrine & Sabbatino (2008) say that traditional assessments of reading ignore important learner
differences in culture, ability, learning style, and background, and argue for a social-
constructivist model of assessment that employs both the learner and the teacher in the learning
process. Social constructivism emphasizes “education for social transformation and reflects a
theory of human development that situates the individual within a sociocultural context” (Abdal-
Haqq, 1998).
constructivist model of assessment could be one that assesses a student’s learning within in their
sociocultural (and contextual) environment, and that reflects a shared goal between the students
and their teacher of individual transformation through education. This positive, holistic view of
assessment strongly contrasts with traditional forms that are more negative and secularized, in
which an authority (teacher, school, etc.) uses assessment strictly for discerning weak areas of
Standard 8 – Assessment of Student Learning Artifact 2 Joely Rogers
knowledge. Does such a model exist? We feel that alternative assessments, which symbolize an
“ongoing process involving both the student and teacher making judgments about the student's
constructivist model (ERIC Digest, 1994, p. 3). Tannenbaum (1996) says that while there is not a
single definition for alternative assessments they generally meet the following criteria: 1) they
focus on documenting the students’ individual growth, 2) they emphasize students’ strengths,
rather than their weaknesses, and 3) they take into consideration students’ learning styles,
cultural/educational backgrounds and language proficiencies (p.1). In this next section, we will
examine three different types of alternative assessments – the portfolio assessment, the authentic
assessment and the performance-based assessment, for the focus of this paper, the adult ESL
reading classroom.
Adult ESL students face many challenges in their pursuit of English. In the field of
education, marginalization is said to occur when a “cultural gap or difference exists between a
learners’ native culture and their current school culture” (Alfred, 2002, p. 30). Within the second
language reading classroom, marginalization manifests itself in many ways, such as a vastly
different orthography from that of their native language (L1), possible illiteracy in their L1, and
differing cultural expectations about the purpose and value of reading. Alternative assessments
offer many choices to help ‘level the playing field’ for ESL students, and when used
appropriately by teachers, they can be highly effective instruments for “influencing student
learning and differentiating instruction tailored to individual student profiles and diverse cultural
Portfolio Assessment
portfolio is a “collection of evidence used by the teacher and learner to monitor the growth of the
learner’s knowledge of content, use of strategies, and attitudes toward the accomplishment of
goals in an organized and systemic way” (Shrum & Glisan, 2005, pp. 382-383). Unlike a test,
which is basically a snapshot of the student’s knowledge at one point in time, a portfolio is more
like a documentary movie that charts the student’s learning progress. The portfolio can contain
examples of authentic and performance-based tasks (which will be discussed later under
authentic and performance-based assessments). For ESL students, the portfolio is a way for them
to be assessed by more than just skills and facts but also on “the modes of thinking expressed in
any language or work strategy that aids in the completion of a task, however unconventional
these may be, the diligence exhibited in all tasks, and the degree of growth and improvement
Portfolios can be paper-based or electronic and are almost unlimited in the amount of
evidence, known as ‘artifacts, they can contain. With regards to the reading classroom, some of
the most common artifacts for portfolios are: audio or video samples of oral reading, regular or
dialogue journals (which are written conversations between the student and teacher about a piece
of text), book reports or essays, content area logs, reading response logs, teacher, peer, or self-
evaluations, drawing or sketches, goal check-lists, and homework, tests and quizzes. We feel that
teachers should be extremely flexible in the types of artifacts they allow in the portfolio, even if
they are created outside the classroom. For example, during a recent classroom observation we
observed a teacher suggesting to a student that she include copies of the English reading
homework she helped her daughter, who is in 2nd grade, with in her portfolio. This type of
Standard 8 – Assessment of Student Learning Artifact 2 Joely Rogers
authentic artifact shows how the student can apply their language knowledge in important, real-
world tasks.
assessing students. We are listing these two types of assessments together because performance-
based tasks can be assessed authentically if their result demonstrates some type of real-life
language use situation. One important thing to remember about both of these types of
assessments is that there is no “correct or single answer” for either; instead, the emphasis is on
what the student can ‘do’ with the language, meaning their ability to perform task that is
equivalent to a real-life situation. Rubrics, which are “scoring tools that list the criteria for a
piece of work”, are used to determine the letter grade of both these types of assessments, as well
as the portfolio (Andrade, 1997). Artifacts from authentic and performance-based assessments
tasks that mirror the tasks and challenges faced by individuals in the real world” (Shrum &
Glisan, 2005, p. 364). These tasks are also known as contextualized tasks, and our earlier
example of the student assisting her daughter with her English reading homework is one type of
authentic task that could be modified for the adult ESL classroom; for example, by having one
student help tutor another student for a particular assignment. The goal of authentic assessments
is to provide the closest and most accurate evaluation of actual language ability (Aebersold &
Field, 1997, p. 178). This sounds easier than it actually is because even if a task is authentic in
nature, it is still artificial if you are evaluating it in the environment of the classroom. Some
possible authentic tasks for the adult ESL reading classroom are: reading and responding to a
Standard 8 – Assessment of Student Learning Artifact 2 Joely Rogers
text, for example – responding to an email or letter from a co-worker or business organization;
and reading and filling out job application or an income tax form.
which require the students to develop a response, create a product or conduct some type of
demonstration (Pierce, 2002). Performance-based tasks in the reading classroom require students
to ‘do’ something with the material they read. They are one of our favorite types of tasks because
if well-designed, they can engage visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning styles. Some possible
performance-based tasks for the adult ESL reading classroom are: reading a piece of literature
about a product, for example: stain-remover, and conducting a persuasive demonstration urging
their fellow students to buy it; and reading a menu and then ordering in a restaurant, or even
Conclusion
As stated in the introduction, the main goal of this paper was to conduct a broad
investigation into three different types of alternative assessments and examine their potential for
use in the adult ESL reading classroom. It was actually very confusing to research this topic,
because alternative, authentic and performance-based were all lumped together in many of the
sources reviewed for the paper. This paper turned into a struggle for clarity on what exactly is
‘alternative’ and how do you classify the different types of alternative assessments. In
that they are a positive, holistic manner of assessment in which the student and teacher work as a
team to investigate and document the student’s knowledge about the language they are learning.
Standard 8 – Assessment of Student Learning Artifact 2 Joely Rogers
The final section presents three instructional activities for the adult ESL reading
classroom that we are classifying as alternative, which can be individually assessed or included
with a piece of authentic text. The reading response journal is meant to be utilized throughout the
class with multiple pieces of text and then included in the student’s portfolio for assessment.
Complete instructions for the teacher and student are included in Appendix A.
the students try to match job seekers with the job they are most qualified for.
Complete instructions for the teacher and student are included in Appendix B.
where a student tries to order take-out sushi for their boss based on a list of likes and dislikes the
boss has given them. Complete instructions for the teacher and student are included in Appendix
C.
Standard 8 – Assessment of Student Learning Artifact 2 Joely Rogers
References
http://www.ericdigests.org/1999-3/theory.htm
Aebersold, J.A. & Field, M.L. (1997). From reader to reading teacher. New York, NY:
Alfred, M.V. (Ed.). (2002). Learning and sociocultural contexts. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-
Bass.
Andrade, H.G. (1997). Understanding rubrics. Retrieved October 31, 2010 from
http://www.middleweb.com/rubricsHG.html
ERIC Digest. (1994). Alternative assessment and second language study: What and why?
Macrine, S.L. & Sabbatino, E.D. (2008). Dynamic assessment and remediation approach: Using
the DARA approach to assist struggling readers. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 24(1), 52-
76.
Ormrod, J.E. (2008). Educational psychology (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Education Inc.
http://www.cal.org/resources/archive/news/2002fall/CLLNewsBulletin_Fa02c.pdf
Risko, V.J. & Walker-Dalhouse, D. (2010). Making the most of assessments to inform
Shrum, J.L. & Glisan, E.W. (2005). Teacher’s handbook: Contextualized language instruction
Standard 8 – Assessment of Student Learning Artifact 2 Joely Rogers
Solis, A. (n.d.). Portfolios in secondary ESL classroom assessment: Bringing it all together.
_December_1993_Accountability_in_Education/Portfolios_in_Secondary_ESL_Classroo
m_Assessment:_Bringing_it_All_Together/
Tannenbaum, J. (1996). Practical ideas on alternative assessment for ESL students. Retrieved
Appendix A
Proficiency Level: This activity is designed for adult (ages 18 and older) learners of English as a
Texas Adult Education Standard – Read With Understanding for ESL: Low Intermediate- 6.4
Self-monitor accuracy in comprehension using more advanced strategies such as: identifying
main ideas, sequencing story events into its “beginning,” “middle,” and “end.”, making personal
connections between the text and learner’s background knowledge, and making and evaluating
Instructional Goal: The goal of this activity is observe students’ comprehension of a text and
Teacher Instructions: Ask the student to read the text and answer the questions in the reading
response journal. Encourage personal connections with the text and encourage creativity when
making predictions.
Teacher Instructions for Assessment: The reading response journal is meant to be progressive
activity utilized throughout the class and then included in the student’s portfolio for assessment;
Resources: TCALL. (2008). Texas adult education standard & benchmarks for ABE, ASE &
tcall.tamu.edu/taesp/guide08/3readesl.html
Standard 8 – Assessment of Student Learning Artifact 2 Joely Rogers
Appendix A
Instructions: Read the text and respond to the questions in the reading response journal.
Maria Castro's Autobiography, From (Blanton & Lee, 1994) – Retrieved October 31, 2010 from
http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwesl/issue1/mullacts.htm
My name is Maria A. Castro. I was born in Rivas, Nicaragua, Central America, in December,
1953. I have five brothers and one sister. My father died four years ago, and my mother lives
with my sister in Honduras.
When I was a child, I had many friends, and I enjoyed being with them. All the time, we ran and
jumped. I always remember that time because it was the best time in my life.
Fourteen years ago, I was a hospital secretary in Rivas. My father was my boss. We were a
happy family, but we left our country because a civil war broke out. Many Nicaraguans fled
because of political persecution. My family fled to Honduras. In Honduras, I met my husband,
and we were married on December 12, 1986.
In January, 1988, my husband and I decided to come to the United States because we wanted a
better education for our children. Beginning a new life was very hard for us. We learned to
overcome our fear of the new language and the new culture.
Now all is different. My husband has a good job, my daughter has finished high school, my son
will finish high school in two years, and I am studying English at Delgado. I am very happy
living in the United States.
Questions Response
How old is Maria?
Where was she born?
What did she do for a living before she came to
the United States?
Where did Maria meet her husband?
How many children does she have?
Why did Maria leave her country?
Where does Maria’s mother live?
Do you know anyone who had to leave their
country because of war?
Why did you leave your country?
Standard 8 – Assessment of Student Learning Artifact 2 Joely Rogers
Appendix B
Proficiency Level: This activity is designed for adult (ages 18 and older) learners of English as a
Texas Adult Education Standard – Speak So Others Can Understand for ESL: Reading - High
Intermediate, 2.5, Recognize unfamiliar and some specialized words and abbreviations
independently.
Instructional Goal: The goal of this activity is to have students practice decoding words by using
an authentic activity where they try to match job candidates with classified ads for jobs.
Teacher Instructions: Divide students into pairs (or give them the opportunity to divide
themselves), give them a list of job candidates and have them try to match the candidates with
Teacher Instructions for Assessment: Can students recognize and read unfamiliar or specialized
words and abbreviations like “wpm”, “HTML”, “BS” and “Javascript”? Can they match general
descriptions to specific ones? For example – “doesn’t want to work weekends” to “Monday-
Friday.”
Resources: TCALL. (2008). Texas adult education standard & benchmarks for ABE, ASE &
tcall.tamu.edu/taesp/guide08/3readesl.html
Standard 8 – Assessment of Student Learning Artifact 2 Joely Rogers
Appendix B
Instructions : Pick a partner or have the instructor pick one for you. Match the employee with the
Job Seekers:
Karla - types 60 wpm, expert with Microsoft Office, good customer service skills, bilingual in
English & Spanish, doesn’t want to work on weekends.
Jose - shipping & receiving experience, certified fork-lift driver, familiar with FedEx Ship
Manager software, good problem solving skills, able to work independently, can lift 100lbs.
Lee - BS in Computer Science, expert in Javascript, HTTP, SSO Design & Adobe Photoshop,
willing to relocate.
Jobs:
Job 1
We are currently seeking an administrative assistant who is a "jack of all trades" for a non profit
organization! Are you bilingual in Spanish? Must have a good knowledge of Microsoft Word,
Excel and Outlook. Can you type at least 40 wpm? Team player with a great attitude. Ability to
work with all levels of personalities. Need to have a strong work ethic.
Hours: Monday- Friday 37.5 hours per week / 8:30am -5 pm
Apply immediately at: www.leadingedgepersonnel.com- application will be listed under
"employee" tab- attach resume at end of application.
Call our office to schedule time to complete registration. Must be able to pass a background
check. ~LeadingEdge Personnel
Job 2
Looking for an organization that has room for professional growth? If so read on! We will
relocate the right candidate!
~ HTML
~ Javascript
~ Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
~ HTTP
~ Asynchronous Javascript and XML (AJAX)
Standard 8 – Assessment of Student Learning Artifact 2 Joely Rogers
If you're a Java Developer with a Bachelors of Science Degree then apply today! We have great
benefits and progressive technology!
Job 3
MATERIAL HANDLER
RESPONSIBILITIES
• Receive material from vendors both physically and in the system.
• Prioritize, process, pick, and ship material for sales orders, both physically and in the system.
• Perform daily counts of the sections of the inventory to maintain inventory accuracy
• Interface with the Purchasing, Accounting, and Quality teams on a daily basis, procuring the
material and information they need to perform their functions.
• May utilize the following equipment: Hand truck, Pallet Jack, Paper Pack Machine, Key Punch,
Telephone, RF Hand Scanners, Computer, Remstar Computer System, Box Cutter, Tape
Dispenser, Push Carts, Forklift, Calculator, Scale.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
• Moderate to heavy work: Lifting, moving, and stocking boxes up to 60 lbs on a daily basis.
MENTAL REQUIREMENTS
• Effective reading, and writing skills. Must be able to professionally communicate through
written correspondence.
• Excellent computer skills, with typing skills of at least 40 WPM. Experience with FedEx Ship
Manager software is desired.
• Analyze and solve complex and undefined problems (typically inventory discrepancies) with
little or no supervision.
*Job descriptions adapted from authentic job descriptions in the Dallas Morning News.
Standard 8 – Assessment of Student Learning Artifact 2 Joely Rogers
Appendix C
Proficiency Level: This activity is designed for adult (ages 18 and older) learners of English as a
Texas Adult Education Standard – Speak So Others Can Understand for ESL: Reading, High
Beginning, 4.3, Locate information in simple text and graphs with minimal guidance and in
Instructional Goal: The goal of this activity is to have students locate information in a table (the
Teacher Instructions: This is an independent activity. You can have the student chose the menu
items and present their choices in front of the class. Mix it up by varying the likes/dislikes on the
student worksheets.
Teacher Instructions for Assessment: Can the student locate words in the table? Can they pick
menu items based on likes/dislikes? Make sure you pre-teach any vocabulary, like allergic,
Resources: TCALL. (2008). Texas adult education standard & benchmarks for ABE, ASE &
tcall.tamu.edu/taesp/guide08/3readesl.html
Standard 8 – Assessment of Student Learning Artifact 2 Joely Rogers
Appendix C
Instructions: Your boss loves sushi rolls! He wants you to order take-out sushi for him. He has
given you a list of his likes and dislikes. Pick five (5) sushi rolls which best fit your boss’s
‘likes.’ It’s OK to get more than 1 of the same roll. Your budget is $50.00.
*Spicy
**House Specialty