English Language Learner: Evaluation & Assessment
Instructor Name: Dr.
Karen Lea
Phone: 509-891-7219
Office Hours: 8
a.m. to 5 p.m. PST Monday - Friday
Email: karen_lea@virtualeduc.com
Address: Virtual
Education Software
16201
E Indiana Ave, Suite 1450
Spokane,
WA 99216
Technical Support: support@virtualeduc.com
English Language Learner: Evaluation &
Assessment was written to
help teachers understand concepts and terms related to evaluating and assessing
students whose first language is not English. This course discusses
high-quality assessment and the scope of assessments, including initial
placement, annual assessments, and exit assessments. This course ends with a
discussion of classroom assessments, including accommodations for those who
need language assistance.
This
computer-based instruction course is a self-supporting program that provides
instruction, structured practice, and evaluation all on your home or school
computer. Technical support information
can be found in the Help section of your course.
Course Materials (Online)
Title: English
Language Learner: Evaluation & Assessment
Instructor: Dr. Karen Lea
Publisher: Virtual
Education Software, inc. 2020
Academic Work
Academic work
submitted by the individual (such as papers, assignments, reports, tests) shall
be the student’s own work or appropriately attributed, in part or in whole, to
its correct source. Submission of commercially prepared (or group prepared)
materials as if they are one’s own work is unacceptable.
Aiding
Honesty in Others
The individual will
encourage honesty in others by refraining from providing materials or
information to another person with knowledge that these materials or
information will be used improperly.
Violation of these academic standards will
result in the assignment of a failing grade and subsequent loss of credit for
the course.
Level of Application
This course is designed as an informational course for K–12
teachers, administrators, parents, and related service personnel. Information
discussed is designed to help you better understand second language acquisition
and current educational models being used to educate English language learners.
This course will allow you to compare and identify how school districts in your
own area are implementing English language learning programs, handling current
issues, and some of the practices teachers are using
to educate students and communicate with parents/guardians.
Expected Learning Outcomes
As a result of taking this course,
participants will be able to demonstrate their ability to:
1. Identify bias and other ethical concerns in assessments.
2. Apply
knowledge of a variety of assessments.
3. Apply
knowledge of assessment procedures for ELLs.
4. Apply
knowledge of assessment accommodations for ELLs.
5. Implement
legal assessment requirements for identification, reclassification, and exit of
ELLs from ELL programs.
6. Assess ELLS
using a variety of assessments.
Course Description
Information
provided in this course has been divided into four chapters, which should be
completed in the order in which they are presented in the program. Once you
have completed these four chapters, you should have a better understanding of
the concept of evaluating and assessing English language learners. You are
strongly encouraged to read additional journal articles, books, and research
materials outside the course material to gain a better understanding of current
issues related to educating students who need language assistance.
Chapter 1: High-Quality
Assessments
This
chapter of the course focuses on the criteria for determining whether an
assessment is a high-quality assessment. We will also discuss issues such as
validity and culturally fair assessments.
Chapter 2: Initial Placement
Assessments
Chapter
2 focuses on the initial placement assessments required by legislation.
Included in the discussion are the accommodations needed for students learning
English as a second language.
Chapter 3: Exceptional and/or
Gifted
This
chapter focuses on students who need language assistance and are also
exceptional and/or gifted. Discussion will focus on legislative requirements
and practical suggestions for the classroom.
Chapter 4: Classroom
Assessments
Chapter
four focuses on classroom assessments every educator can use to assess English
language learners, including possible accommodations.
Student Expectations
As
a student you will be expected to:
·
Complete all four
information sections showing a competent understanding of the material
presented in each section.
·
Complete all four section
examinations, showing a competent understanding of the material presented. You must obtain an overall score of 70% or higher, with no individual exam score below 50%, and successfully
complete ALL writing assignments to pass this course. *Please note: Minimum exam score requirements may vary by
college or university; therefore, you should refer to your course addendum to
determine what your minimum exam score requirements are.
·
Complete a review of any section on which your examination score was
below 50%.
·
Retake any examination, after completing an
information review, to increase that examination score to a minimum of 50%,
making sure to also be achieving an overall exam score of a minimum 70% (maximum
of three attempts). *Please note: Minimum exam score
requirements may vary by college or university; therefore, you should refer to
your course addendum to determine what your minimum exam score requirements
are.
·
Complete all course journal article and essay writing assignments with
the minimum word count shown for each writing assignment.
·
Complete a course evaluation form at the end of the course.
Examinations
At the end of each course section,
you will be expected to complete an examination designed to assess your
knowledge. You may take these exams a total of three times. Your last score
will save, not the highest score. After
your third attempt, each examination will lock and not allow further
access. The average from your exam
scores will be printed on your certificate.
However, this is not your final grade since your required writing
assignments have not been reviewed.
Exceptionally written or poorly written required writing assignments, or
violation of the academic integrity policy in the course syllabus, will affect
your grade. As this is a self-paced
computerized instruction program, you may review course information as often as
necessary. You will not be able to exit any examinations until you have
answered all questions. If you try to exit the exam before you complete all
questions, your information will be lost. You are expected to complete the
entire exam in one sitting.
Writing
Assignments
All
assignments are reviewed and may impact your final grade. Exceptionally or poorly written
assignments, or violation of the Academic Integrity Policy (see course syllabus
for policy), will affect your grade. Fifty percent of your grade is determined
by your writing assignments, and your overall exam score determines the other
fifty percent. Refer to the Essay Grading Guidelines which were sent as
an attachment with your original course link. You should also refer to the Course Syllabus Addendum which was sent as
an attachment with your original course link, to determine if you have any
writing assignments in addition to the Critical Thinking Questions (CTQ) and
Journal Article Summations (JAS). If you
do, the Essay Grading Guidelines will
also apply.
Your writing
assignments must meet the minimum word count and are not to include the
question or your final citations as part of your word count. In other words, the question and citations
are not to be used as a means to meet the minimum word
count.
Critical
Thinking Questions
There are four CTQs that you are required
to complete. You will need to write a minimum of 500 words (maximum 1,000) per
essay. You should explain how the information that you gained from the course
will be applied and clearly convey a strong understanding of the course content
as it relates to each CTQ. To view the
questions, click on REQUIRED ESSAY and choose the CTQ that you are ready to
complete; this will bring up a screen where you may enter your essay. Prior to course submission, you may go back
at any point to edit your essay, but you must be certain to click SAVE once you
are done with your edits.
You must click
SAVE before you write another essay or move on to another part of the course.
Journal Article Summations
You are required to write, in your own
words, a summary on a total of three peer-reviewed or scholarly journal
articles (one article per JAS), written by an author with a Ph.D., Ed.D. or
similar, on the topic outlined within each JAS section in the “Required Essays”
portion of the course (blogs, abstracts, news articles or similar are not
acceptable). Your article choice must relate specifically to the
discussion topic listed in each
individual JAS. You will choose a total of three relevant articles (one
article per JAS) and write a thorough
summary of the information presented in each article (you must write a minimum
of 200 words with a 400
word maximum per JAS). Be sure to provide the URL or the journal name,
volume, date, and any other critical information to allow the facilitator to
access and review each article.
To write your summary, click on REQUIRED
ESSAYS and choose the JAS that you would like to complete. A writing program will automatically launch where you
can write your summary. When you are ready to stop, click SAVE. Prior to course
submission you may go back at any point to edit your summaries
but you must be certain to click SAVE once you are done with your edits. For
more information on the features of this assignment, please consult the HELP
menu.
You
must click SAVE before you write another summary or move on to another part of
the course.
You may contact the
instructor by emailing karen_lea@virtualeduc.com or by calling (509) 891-7219 Monday through
Friday. Calls made during office hours will be answered within 24 hours. Phone
conferences will be limited to ten minutes per student, per day, given that
this is a self-paced instructional program. Please do not contact the
instructor about technical problems, course glitches, or other issues that
involve the operation of the course.
If
you have questions or problems related to the operation of this course, please
try everything twice. If the problem persists please
check our support pages for FAQs and known issues at www.virtualeduc.com and
also the Help section of your course.
If
you need personal assistance then email support@virtualeduc.com or call (509) 891-7219. When contacting technical support, please
know your course version number (it is located at the bottom left side of the
Welcome Screen) and your operating system, and be
seated in front of the computer at the time of your call.
Minimum Computer Requirements
Please refer to VESi’s website: www.virtualeduc.com or contact VESi if
you have further questions about the compatibility of your operating system.
Refer to the
addendum regarding Grading Criteria, Course Completion Information, Items to be
Submitted and how to submit your completed information. The addendum will also
note any additional course assignments that you may be required to complete
that are not listed in this syllabus.
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Course content is updated every three years. Due to this update timeline,
some URL links may no longer be active or may have changed. Please type the title
of the organization into the command line of any Internet browser search window
and you will be able to find whether the URL link is still active or any new
link to the corresponding organization's web home page.
3/11/20 JN