Speaking and Listening

Suggestions for Pre-K English language assessment tools

Although the State of Missouri does not recognize or require a single assessment tool to evaluate the English language proficiency of pre-K learners, the question does come up from early childhood educators in Missouri. A recent poll from MELL Specialists across the state, enabled me to curate a worthy list of pre-K assessment tools that MO districts might want to consider. Please note that tools listed below do not represent an endorsement of their effectiveness:

MO DESE Early Learning Section recommends (not requires) The Desired Results Developmental Profile which has a section specifically for English Language Learners, more commonly known as the DRDP (2015).

The Bilingual Early Language Assessment (BELA) was recommended in a book called “One Child Two Languages”. It was developed at Harvard and used in the Cambridge Public Schools: BELA Toolkit

The State of Illinois uses (actually requires) the Pre-IPT

Many states use the Pre-LAS

A speech pathologist working in education in Seattle recommended Pre-school Language Scales, 5th Edition (Spanish)

The Texas pre-K language assessment was recommended as being especially helpful for students from migrant families.

If you are using a specific pre-K language assessment not included on this list, I’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment with your recommendation, why you find it reliable, and provide a link if possible.

Thanks for reading and sharing!

Missouri Updates ELL Screening Process 2016-2017

As a part of federal requirements, districts are required to identify incoming students who qualify as English language learners (ELLs). Since the 2010-2011 academic year, Missouri districts have used the paper based W-APT screening assessment provided by WIDA.

With the move to online English proficiency testing, WIDA has also been working on an updated Online Screener – to replace the W-APT for grades 1-12. Originally, the screener was to be available prior to the start of the academic year, but the release date has been pushed back to an anticipated date of October 2016.

The W-APT Kindergarten screener will remain as is.

Implementation Schedule

For more information about ELL Screening procedures, please reference the 2016-2017 ELL Screening Process guide, found on the DESE website at:

https://dese.mo.gov/sites/default/files/asmt-ell-screening-process-guide-1617.pdf

If you have questions please contact the assessment section at 573-751-3545 or assessment@dese.mo.gov.

A framework for speaking and listening lessons

The link (below) takes you to a step-by-step guide for scaffolding speaking and listening. I created and used this lesson successfully in my ELL classroom. Of special note, the lesson includes pre- and post- formative assessments — an often over-looked part of listening and speaking tasks.

Watch the video here!

(Created in Adobe Voice. In and of itself a highly useful tool for your speaking and listening tool box.)

How will you modify this lesson for your classroom?