Browsing by Subject "English language learners"
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Item Addressing the inclusion of English language learners the educational accountability system:lessons learned from peer review.(2010-01) Christensen, Laurene L.This study investigated the inclusion of English language learners (ELLs) in state standards and assessments, as measured by comments made by peer reviewers in the federal evaluation of states' standards and assessments. As required by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), reauthorized in 2004 as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), states are required to develop challenging content standards in English language arts and mathematics, and to assess students on these standards. Nationwide, English language learners have been performing below proficient on these state tests. The goal of this study was to determine the elements of the standards and assessment system that peer reviewers thought could be addressed in order to improve the accessibility of these assessments for ELLs.This dissertation employed two research methods: a frequency and distribution analysis of the peer comments relevant to ELLs across the seven Critical Elements of the peer review, and a thematic analysis of the comments, using inductive methods to establish themes. The study found that comments relevant to assessing English language learners were present in all seven critical areas and in all states. All states had two or more critical elements with comments relevant to ELLs. Key themes from the qualitative analysis included accommodations, diverse stakeholders, reporting accuracy, inclusion, reporting for parents, migrant students, comparability of test forms, bias review, DIF analysis, and standards. States have begun to address the inclusion of ELLs in statewide standards and assessments; however, state agency personnel have more work to do in these areas before assessments can be seen to be fully accessible to ELLs.Item Creating a Linguistically-Responsive Intervention for Developing Readers: A Formative Experiment with a Teacher Study Group(2017-05) Ittner, AnneHow are we to ensure that emergent bilinguals in early elementary settings receive linguistically-responsive reading interventions in response to intervention (RtI) frameworks? One way is to harness the collective expertise of classroom teachers, reading interventionists, and English language learner teachers. A collaborative relationship amongst these crucial school personnel is warranted in order to support the implementation of evidence-based practices in intervention, language development, and assessment. The goal of this study was to create, implement, and study a linguistically-responsive reading intervention for emergent bilinguals in an elementary RtI setting. Alongside a teacher study group that consisted of two classroom teachers, a reading interventionist, and an English language learner teacher, the teachers and I co-constructed and implemented the intervention. I used a formative experiment framework to conduct and execute the study. In six phases of design, I collected qualitative and quantitative data. Qualitative data collection included transcripts from teacher study group sessions, observations of teaching and learning in the intervention, interviews, and document review. Quantitative data collection included weekly reading assessment data and sentence repetition measures. Results indicate that language and reading development were fore fronted as a result of teachers’ collaborative efforts. Teachers who implemented the intervention contend that the strategies helped students’ overall comprehension. Students in the linguistically-responsive intervention showed growth in reading and language outcomes.Item Making sense of testing: English language learners and statewide assessment(2008-07) Stone, Karla RaeThe federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 has dramatically changed the educational landscape for all students by increasing the number of standardized tests used for accountability purposes. The impact is profound on students for whom English is not their first language, in part because of the sheer number of tests they are required to take. The challenges increase when tests become high stakes for students in the form of high school exit exams, an increasingly prevalent requirement in states, though not required under NCLB. The policies for tests are complex and can easily be viewed as devoid of any attention to the human side of testing--the ground level, nuanced, and sometimes complicated application of policy at the student level. Yet it is at this level where a policy becomes truly validated. The literature on accountability testing rarely considers student perceptions. This research is an attempt to contribute to that void by combining a student voice paradigm with a sense-making framework. Case study methodology was used and incorporated methods that moved from breadth towards depth as the study evolved. In the case of this research, that evolution was from participant observation (Phase I) to document review, inquiry groups and interviews (Phase II). Participants' pre-existing knowledge and experiences with testing are explored alongside the new knowledge gained as participants in this research study. Findings clearly demonstrate that the stakes connected to testing influence the ways in which students make sense of testing, as do the policy signals. Beyond contributing to the fields of educational policy and student voice initiatives, the intent of this research is to spur advocacy on behalf of and in conjunction with English language learners. Whether for systems accountability (the Test of Emerging Academic English), or for individual accountability as a requirement for a diploma in Minnesota (the Basic Skills Tests), the findings reveal both the complexities of and urgency for exploring testing policies from students points of view. Additionally, findings validate the need for students' voices in policy research, and suggest several implications based on reported experiences with statewide testing.Item Technology-enhanced formative assessment in Mathematics for English language learners(2012-12) Lekwa, Adam JensThis paper reports the results of a descriptive study on the use of a technology-enhanced formative assessment system called Accelerated Math (AM) for ELLs and their native-English-speaking (NES) peers. It was comprised of analyses of an extant database of 18,549 students, including 2,057 ELLs, from grades 1 through 8 across 30 U.S. states. These analyses were followed by semi-formal interviews with three teachers in California, Texas, and Minnesota, who use AM in mathematics instruction with ELLs and NESs. Without taking classroom-level information into account, ELLs, as a group, appeared to receive slightly greater implementation of this formative assessment system than did their native English speaking peers. Yet the results of five sets of generalized linear mixed-effects regression models indicated that, after accounting for classroom membership (or teacher effects), ELLs and their NES peers received roughly equal levels of implementation of the formative assessment system, suggesting that ELLs in this sample tended to be found in the classrooms of teachers who made somewhat greater use of their formative assessment system. The results of multilevel growth models suggested that ELLs tended to begin the school year with lower levels of mathematics skills, on average, than their NES peers. After accounting for variability associated with classroom membership, there were no significant differences between average growth in STAR Math scores between ELLs and NESs. Implementation of AM was a strong positive predictor of growth for both groups of students, yet there was a significant, but small, negative three-way interaction between ELL status, growth in mathematics, and implementation of AM. Teacher input, obtained in semi-formal interviews, added perspective to the results of quantitative analyses of implementation and growth. Their responses to questions about patterns of implementation or observations of growth in STAR Math scores provided illustrations of trends encountered in statistical models, and suggested issues for consideration in future research on the topic of formative assessment practices in mathematics for ELLs.Item Technology-enhanced formative assessment in Mathematics for English language learners(2012-12) Lekwa, Adam JensThis paper reports the results of a descriptive study on the use of a technology-enhanced formative assessment system called Accelerated Math (AM) for ELLs and their native-English-speaking (NES) peers. It was comprised of analyses of an extant database of 18,549 students, including 2,057 ELLs, from grades 1 through 8 across 30 U.S. states. These analyses were followed by semi-formal interviews with three teachers in California, Texas, and Minnesota, who use AM in mathematics instruction with ELLs and NESs. Without taking classroom-level information into account, ELLs, as a group, appeared to receive slightly greater implementation of this formative assessment system than did their native English speaking peers. Yet the results of five sets of generalized linear mixed-effects regression models indicated that, after accounting for classroom membership (or teacher effects), ELLs and their NES peers received roughly equal levels of implementation of the formative assessment system, suggesting that ELLs in this sample tended to be found in the classrooms of teachers who made somewhat greater use of their formative assessment system. The results of multilevel growth models suggested that ELLs tended to begin the school year with lower levels of mathematics skills, on average, than their NES peers. After accounting for variability associated with classroom membership, there were no significant differences between average growth in STAR Math scores between ELLs and NESs. Implementation of AM was a strong positive predictor of growth for both groups of students, yet there was a significant, but small, negative three-way interaction between ELL status, growth in mathematics, and implementation of AM.Teacher input, obtained in semi-formal interviews, added perspective to the results of quantitative analyses of implementation and growth. Their responses to questions about patterns of implementation or observations of growth in STAR Math scores provided illustrations of trends encountered in statistical models, and suggested issues for consideration in future research on the topic of formative assessment practices in mathematics for ELLs.Item Using Primary Documents to Foster Historical Thinking Skills in a Secondary English As a Foreign Language Classroom(2013) Anderson, Corinne; Han, Insoon; Johnson, Christopher W.In order to explore the benefits of primary sources in the classroom, this study evaluates lessons within a unit in which the primary method of content delivery is made through the use of primary source documents to English language learners. To better understand the use of primary sources in fostering historical thinking skills in high school students learning English as a Foreign Language, this case study assesses student research and performance using the model of the National History Day Project. This project provides a curriculum model centered on the use of primary sources to guide student research and understanding of a topic.