A special case for young learner language assessment

Summary

By Belinda Davis

                                                       

Young language learners are those who are learning a foreign or second language and who are doing so during the first six or seven years of formal schooling. In the education systems of most countries, young learners are children who are in primary or elementary school. In terms of age, young learners are between the ages of approximately five and twelve. Many young language learners can be called bilingual. Bilingual learners are those learners who learn two (or more) languages to some level of proficiency.

A special approach and efficient programs for young learners are needed because of unique characteristics of growth and vulnerability. They have individual learning styles.

Children are in cognitive, social, emotional and physical growth. The attention span of young learners is short, as little as 10 to 15 minutes.
Children bring to their language learning their own personalities, likes and dislikes and interests, their own individual cognitive styles and capabilities, strengths and weaknesses.
As teachers we need to understand the cultural backgrounds of children, their experiences, provide scaffolding support in order to improve foreign and second language.
                                                                                                 













Assessment terms and purposes
There are many reasons or purposes to carried out assessments. Administrative should not prevail over pedagogic purposes. Sometimes teachers train children to past the test, rather than concentrate on curriculum learning needs of the children.

Formative assessment
It is usually informal, gives teachers information about how well students is doing. Formative assessment also involves diagnostic assessment, when we analyse learners' strengths and weaknesses. Teachers observed the students' performance over the time to make improvements,  changes or to check if the objectives have achieved along the way.

Summative assessment
It is used to know how student has progressed during a period. The information is used to measure learning objectives and for report to others. Parents and administratives want to know how the child has progressed. It is also used to make careful decisions.

Effective assessment provides valuable information to teachers, parents, administrators and students themselves. As teachers we need to make sure that our assessments are positive, challenging and realistic for our students.

 

CCSS, Hacienda y MEP logran acuerdo

CCSS, Hacienda y MEP logran acuerdo para

superar diferencias en planillas del MEP

Jesús Mora Rodríguez / Dirección de Prensa y Relaciones Públicas

El Ministerio de Hacienda, la Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social y el Ministerio de Educación alcanzaron un acuerdo que permitirá solventar las diferencias que durante los últimos meses se presentaron  con el pago de las cuotas obrero-patronales correspondientes a muchos trabajadores de la educación.

Para el ministro de Educación, Leonardo Garnier, esas diferencias tuvieron su origen en interpretaciones distintas en cuanto a la base salarial que debía servir para estimar el monto de las cuotas. Mientras que la Caja establece cuotas mínimas para ello, Hacienda y el MEP consideraban que la base de cálculo debía ser el salario real devengado por los docentes en virtud de que muchos de ellos trabajan jornadas parciales que no les permite alcanzar ese mínimo.

De igual manera, dijo, se dieron casos en los que un mismo funcionario o docente poseía dos acciones de personal o contratos de trabajo en virtud de laborar en centros educativos distintos. En estos casos, acotó, la CCSS estimaba la cuota mínima por cada contrato, mientras que Hacienda y MEP consideraban que debían sumarse y aplicar lo deducible como un solo salario.

Tal diferendo –que afectó a menos del 1% del valor de la planilla total del MEP pues el 99% restante siempre se pagó de manera puntual, enfatizó–  hizo que la CCSS calificara al ministerio como “patrono moroso”, situación que se vio reflejada durante los últimos meses en las órdenes patronales extendidas a todos sus trabajadores, tanto docentes como administrativos.

Pero más grave aún, señaló el ministro, ese menos del 1% provocó que la CCSS acreditara al MEP el costo total de los servicios médicos recibidos por sus funcionarios a lo largo de todos los meses que duró esta negociación.  Ello porque así lo establece el marco jurídico que la tutela.

Tras meses de negociación, apuntó Garnier, se logró el acuerdo de que la CCSS acredite como un solo salario aquellos casos de funcionarios y docentes que posean dos o más acciones de personal o contratos laborales, en tanto que el MEP y Hacienda continuarán utilizando el criterio de pagar la cuota mínima de ley en aquellos casos en que, por trabajar tiempo parcial, esta cuota mínima sea mayor de la deducción correspondiente del salario real que devengan algunos trabajadores.

Importante acotar, dijo el ministro, es que estas diferencias de más las asumirá el MEP en su condición de patrono, y por tanto no tendrán impacto alguno sobre las deducciones que se aplicarán en adelante a los funcionarios y docentes que ostenten esa situación.

El jueves último, la junta directiva de la Caja autorizó la firma del acuerdo mediante el cual Hacienda se compromete a cancelar la suma de ?2.855 millones, correspondiente casi en su totalidad al costo de los servicios médicos recibidos por los funcionarios del MEP durante el periodo en que se generó este diferendo entre las partes. De igual manera, se le levantará a esta cartera su condición de “morosa” lo que se reflejará en la emisión de las nuevas órdenes patronales de sus funcionarios.

Todo lo anterior significa que el MEP en ningún momento incurrió en una retención indebida de cuotas de sus trabajadores como maliciosamente lo denunció una organización sindical en días pasados, acoto Garnier.

Tomado de: www.mep.go.cr

ADMINISTERING ASSESSMENT

                                                                     

Summary

Chapter 8

As teachers we should be always looking for our students to achieve the best results possible. For this reason, a careful consideration of factors that may affect is important to consider.

                                                                      

Prior to test administration be aware of:

-Scheduling Tests:  be sure the date does not coincide with special events or sport activities. Be sure to be there because strangers or substitutes make students nervous and uncomfortable.

-Academic dishonesty: give clear instructions, describe to them acceptable and unacceptable behaviours. Give examples of cheating, plagiarism, and impermissible collaboration. Explain the policies, procedures and penalties for academic dishonesty.

-Physical setting: the ideal seating is every other seat and every other row. The test room should be free from interruptions and noise and have adequate ventilation and lighting.

                                                                                                   

-Test Assembly: test should be typed, well put together, free of typos, high quality photocopies. The test paper should also provide students with general and separate instructions for each section.

-Supplies: prepare materials in advance. Have pens, scratch paper, stapler and others.

                                                                                                                           

Test Administration

-Time: tell students how long they have at the beginning of the test, give time announcements, at the end collect papers promptly so certain students don't get extra time.

- Test security: personally hand out to each the test. Some rules include no talking, no cell phone calls or text messaging. Walk around up and down to watch students

Issues in Test Administration

-Latecomers: students who arrive late should not be allowed to take the test. Inform them of the date and time of the make-up exam.

-Accommodations policy: be aware of medical problems or physically challenged.

Finally, I believe that we need to challenge our students to do the best according to their knowledge, give them the tools and facilities to do well in the test. However, we need to be fair don't help too much and don't give hints, this is unfair for students who studied and prepared sufficiently.

  

Practical Assessment, Research and Evaluation

SUMMARY

Designing Scoring Rubrics for Your Classroom

                                                                               

Rubrics are rating scales, scoring guides, consisting of specific pre-established performance criteria, used in evaluating student work on assessments.
There are two types of rubrics:
1. Holistic: score the overall process or product as a whole.
2. Analytic: score separate, individual parts of the product, then sums the individual scores to obtain a total score.
                                                                                
A teacher must decide whether the performance or product will be scored holistically or analytically. Regardless of which type is selected, specific performance criteria and observable indicators must be identified as the initial step. To choose is important that teachers consider how they intend to use the results, the time requirements, the nature of the task and the specific performance criteria being observed.

When converting rubric scores to grades or descriptive feedback, it is important to remember that there is not one correct way to accomplish this. As teachers we must find a system of conversion that fits our different individual system of reporting students performances.

In order to create your own rubric, ask yourself the following:

1. What are the specif tasks and subtasks of the assignment?
2. What's the purpose? Is this a qualitative or quantitative rubric? Is the rubric for student feedback or to provide a grade?
3. What are your descriptors going to be? Remember to avoid negative connotations.
4. Did you consider and build in a full range of skills and knowledge with clear indicators of each level of performance?
Also remember to keep making revisions to your rubric, there is always something to improve for the benefit of our students.