Standard 4.

c Classroom-Based Assessment for ESL

Artifact 1

Classroom assessment for ELLs should be a formative process that allows students to see

and reflect upon their own growth. Therefore, to effectively assess the cognitive development of

student learning in the classroom, student reflection on course materials should be documented

several times throughout a unit so that they can later see how their thinking has changed or

evolved.

The attached artifact is an anticipation guide that I use to address the themes in Things

Fall Apart. Before reading, students simply write if they agree or disagree with a particular

theme in the novel. Then, the class goes through each theme and students move to one side of the

room if they agree, and another if they disagree. We then discuss why each group agrees, or

disagrees, with a particular theme. Students keep these anticipation guides with their reading. At

the end of reading, students complete the same graphic organizer and then compare how they

have changed. Students then complete a reflection that states what changed after the reading and

why they think that is.

Understanding the educative impact of student self-assessment of their growth has

allowed me to better assess my students progress while also making their learning and

metacognition apparent to them.