Assessing EAL Learners
EAL learners are entitled to a fair and meaningful process of assessment, which recognises their distinctive characteristics and supports the development of their language learning.
Schools should be clear about the purpose of each assessment, whether formative, summative or diagnostic.
Meaningful assessment will:
- arise from and inform planning for teaching and learning
- stress pupil achievement and enhance motivation
- facilitate continuity and progression
- provide the basis for an informed dialogue with the pupil and parents
- stress curriculum entitlement
- emphasise the importance of common expectations and standards for all.
The principles of assessing EAL
The assessment of EAL should follow the same principles of effective assessment of all pupils. It should:
- recognise what pupils can do and reward achievement
- be based on different kinds of evidence
- be a valid reflection of what has been taught or covered in class [1]
- be reliable in terms of enabling someone else to repeat the assessment and obtain comparable results
- be manageable, both in terms of the time needed to complete the task, and in providing results which can be reported or passed on to other teachers.
Additional factors to consider include:
- being sensitive to the pupil's first or main other language(s) and heritage culture
- taking account of how long the pupil has been learning English
- recognising that pupils may be at different levels of attainment in speaking, listening, reading and writing
- allowing for the fact that children will show progress in different ways and that the routes they take as learners will differ
- structuring assessment in other subjects to assess the curriculum content, rather than the language [2]
The QCA steps and levels [3]
Early assessment criteria have been developed which describe the pupils' development at two steps before National Curriculum level 1 in English through to National Curriculum level 2.
The QCA document also describes the use of pupil profiles in monitoring attainment, enabling teachers to:
- build on characteristics of pupils' prior attainment, including skills and development, which cannot be obtained from numerical assessment data
- highlight aspects of the curriculum, or of pupils' use of English, which need particular attention when planning the next stages of teaching and learning.
It highlights that a jointly agreed system of profiling can help class or subject teachers and the specialist language support teacher or assistant to:
- share important information
- clarify areas for focused work and set targets for learning
- pin-point key evidence of teaching and learning across the curriculum
- plan together effective strategies for pupil's progress towards particular targets, both within the curriculum and for English language.
- identify mainstream teaching strategies/approaches which promote inclusive access to the curriculum
Data gathering and analysis
Data gathered relating to the attainment of individual pupils and significant groups should be regularly updated and analysed to ensure that progress is monitored, and support is targeted appropriately. [4]
[1] Where children are newly arrived from abroad, or have experienced interrupted schooling it is important to ascertain as quickly as possible what their understanding of a given subject is, and if there are any significant gaps.
[2] see 'Assessment in mathematics toolkit to support pupils for whom English is an additional language', (DfES 2003) http://www.qca.org.uk/downloads/10828_cs_maths_assess_eal.pdf
[3] 'A Language in Common: Assessing English as an Additional Language'. (QCA 2000)
[4] 'Key Stage 3 National Strategy. The assessment of pupils learning English as an additional language' (2003) gives helpful case studies in how to do this.