Informal EL Assessment (not so) Quick Guide

The ELPAC only happens once a year for EL students, but teachers need to know
where students are regarding language acquisition in between the testing times. So
educators need to have a variety of informal language assessments with which to
analyze their students progress in learning English. Below is a list of informal
assessments that can be done in the classroom to judge a students English progress.
According to Alberta Learning, the purpose of ESL assessment is to
identify strengths and weaknesses of individual students,
adjust instruction to build on students strengths and alleviate weaknesses,
monitor the effectiveness of instruction,
provide feedback to students and parents or sponsors, and
make decisions about the advancement of students to the next level of the
program.
ESL Senior High Guide to Implementation (2002)
Performance-Based Assessments
These assessments are based on everyday activities and tasks that happen
throughout a normal school day.
Rubrics or checklists can be used to evaluate the students.
Criteria must be established ahead of time so that the assessment is fair
and it is clear what is being evaluated.
Working with other teachers and paraprofessionals to establish criteria is
recommended.
Since teachers are checking up on a students language progress, the
rubrics and checklists can be similar and then used in a variety of ways
and many times.
Do not to assess too many things at one time, especially for beginner and
intermediate EL students. No more than three items at a time is
recommended.
Rubrics and checklists can have different criteria with a scale rating.
For example, teachers can judge a students reading
comprehension on a scale of one to five, with one being low, three
being average, and five being high. The same scale can be used
for oral comprehension, written work, etc. It can also be used to
appraise how well the student works on his/her own or how well
he/she knows what to do when he/she is stuck, etc.

 Evaluation forms can have places for recommendations and how to

achieve those recommendations.
Rubrics can be analytic with benchmarks for each criteria
assessed.
There can be generic rubrics or task-specific rubrics.
All rubrics and checklists are geared to observing and evaluating an
EL students language acquisition progress.
The rubrics and checklists can be used in a variety of situations where a
teacher can monitor and examine an EL student reading, writing, or
speaking English. Below are some circumstances during which
observation can occur.
Reading with partners
Retelling stories
Role playing
Giving descriptions or instructions using visual or written prompts
Oral reporting to the whole class
Telling a story by using a sequence of three or more pictures
Completing dialogue or conversation through written prompts
Debating, either one-on-one or taking turns in small groups
Brainstorming
Completing incomplete stories
Playing games
Having a conversation with the teacher
Having a conversation with another student
Completing pictorial products (label maps, fill in diagrams, create
illustrations)
Giving non-verbal answers like thumbs up/down/in the middle
Working in a group
Portfolio Assessments
This type of assessment lets you keep track of a students progress throughout
the entire school year. You collect a variety of work samples that show growth in
language acquisition.
There should be both process-based (drafts of writing samples) and
product-based (group projects) examples in the portfolio.
Portfolios should include as many of the following examples as possible.
Samples of written student work, such as stories, completed forms,
exercise sheets, descriptions, etc.
Drawings representing student content knowledge and proficiencies

 Tapes of oral work, such as role-playing, presentations, or an oral account

of a trip
Teacher descriptions of student accomplishments, such as performance
on oral tasks
Formal test data, checklists, rating sheets, rubrics, and checklists
Tests and quizzes
Art work, charts, graphs, drawings, etc.
Anecdotal records
Conference or interview notes
The students can have a part in the process, too, by having the students
participate in the following ways.
Students can select samples of their work and reflect on their own growth
over time.
EL students can meet with their teacher to develop their goals and
standards
Together with students, teachers can set tangible, realistic improvement
goals for future projects.
Students as a class, in groups, or individually can create their own
rubrics.
Methods of Assessing Oral and Auditory Skills
Student Samples
Oral interview, reports
Picture-cued descriptions and stories
Records of student interactions
Story/text retelling
Audio- and videotapes
Dramatization: improvisation, role plays, puppet plays, readers theatre,
skits, interviews
Slide, overhead, and PowerPoint presentations
Dictation
Criteria for Oral Skills
Communication
Does the student
Initiate communication with peers?
Speak on specific topics?
Share anecdotes or tell stories?
Participate in two-way conversations (paired or groups)
using turn-taking skills, etc.?

 Express personal ideas, points of view?

Communicate intent?
Grammar and Vocabulary
Does the student
Vary sentence type and construction?
Pay attention to grammatical features, e.g., prefixes,
suffixes?
Demonstrate a repertoire of word choices?
Body Language
Does the student
Communicate through appropriate facial expressions and
gestures?
Understand the use of social space?
Criteria for Auditory Skills
Communication
Does the student
Follow directions?
Ask for clarification?
Paraphrase and/or retell?
Demonstrate understanding by performing tasks?
Write orally dictated passages or notes?
Use appropriate gestures and body language?
Respond to differences in register and tone of voice?
Methods of Assessing Reading Skills
Student Samples
Retelling
Response journals
Anecdotal records
Comprehension questions
Reading strategies checklists
Reciprocal teaching
Student-made dictionaries
Think alouds
Miscue analysis
Running records
Reading logs
Student manipulation of information, e.g., unscrambling pictures,
sentences

 Story/concept mapping
Criteria for Oral Fluency
Does the student
Attend to phrasing/chunking?
Read with the proper stress, intonation, and rhythm?
Sound out unfamiliar words?
Self-correct?
Criteria for Comprehension
Does the student
Link to prior knowledge?
Predict, retell, infer, recall main ideas and supporting details?
Understand sequence and patterns of discourse?
Use pictures, graphs, charts, diagrams?
Methods of Assessing Writing Skills
Student Samples
Learning logs
Dialogue journals
Summaries
Unedited student written work
Close procedures
Samples of completed work from a variety of sources e.g., lab reports,
interviews, graphic organizers
Criteria for Communication
Does the student
Write for a variety of audiences and purposes?
Write on specific topics?
Demonstrate a variety of written formats?
Follow the writing process: prewrites, drafts, shares and responds,
revises and publishes?
Criteria for Grammar, Vocabulary, and Mechanics
Does the student
Manipulate verb tenses?
Vary sentence construction?
Pay attention to agreement, number, word order, parts of speech?
Pay attention to word forms, e.g., prefixes, suffixes?
Demonstrate a repertoire of word choices?
Pay attention to punctuation and spelling?

References
Colorin Colorado. (2017). Using informal assessments for English language learners.
Retrieved from
http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/using-informal-assessments-english-langua
ge-learners
deMilliano, K. (n.d.). Understanding ESL learners: Assessment. Retrieved from
https://www.teachers.ab.ca/SiteCollectionDocuments/ATA/Publications/Specialist
Councils/ESL-3-4%20Assessment.pdf
Hamel, M. (2017). Informal assessments for English language learners. Retrieved from
http://study.com/academy/lesson/informal-assessments-for-english-language-lea
r
ners.html
Tannenbaum, J. (2000). Practical ideas on alternative assessment for ESL students.
Retrieved from
http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content2/practical.assessment.4.html#conte
n
ts