JenniferLirianoQuiros

ReflectionTESOL5AESLHistory/Research

UpontakingacloserlookatBarackObamasEveryStudentSucceedsAct(ESSA)of

2015,IrealizedhowcloselythisaffectstheEnglishLanguageLearners(ELLs)inmyclassroom.

Thisactssolepurposeistoensurethatschoolspreparestudentsforcollegeandcareerswith

highlevelassessments.Furthermore,theactpromotesthisbymonetarilyrewardingteachersfor

theirstudentssuccesses.

Whilethissoundsamazingandallinclusiveonpaperandwhilehighlevelassessments

seemliketheyareholdingallstudentstohighexpectations,itfailstoaddressthemajorflaws

associatedwithstandardizedassessments.TheESSAreliesheavilyonstudentsperformingwell

onstandardizedassessments,whichisahugeissueforTitleIschools,especiallythosethathave

alargepopulationofELLs.Forexample,theNewYorkStateEnglishLanguageArtsExamis

writteninStandardEnglishwithanongradelevelandabovegradelevelofreading

comprehension.ThisputsELLswhohavetotaketheassessmentatamajordisadvantage.Most

ELLswhoarefirsttimetesttakershavedevelopedtheirBasicInterpersonalCommunication

Skills(BICS),butthatformoftheEnglishLanguageisnotreallytestedonthisassessment.

Moreover,mostELLswhoaretakingtheassessmentforthesecondorthirdtimearestill

developingtheirCognitiveAcademicLanguageProficiency(CALP),whichmeansthattheyare

nottrulypreparedtobeassessedonthecomprehensionoftheircurrentgradelevel,letalonea

levelabovethat.

Incontrast,theNewYorkStateMathematicsExamisofferedinEnglishandinSpanish.

ThisisveryhelpfulforstudentswhoareproficientinSpanish,andknowthecontentintheir

homelanguage.Unfortunately,theissuewiththisisthattheSpanishthatisofferedisCastilian
Spanish,whichisverydifferentfromLatinAmericanSpanish,especiallyintermsofthenames

ofobjectsandphrasing.Thisplacesallofmystudentsinagrayarea,wheretheexamISoffered

inSpanish,butnotintheSpanishlanguagetheyhavelearned,muchlikestudentswhoknow

AfricanAmericanVernacularEnglish(AAVE)experiencewithStandardEnglish.Inaddition,

theNYSMathExamisgiventonewcomerswhohaveneverbeenexposedtothiskindoftesting

before,whichisjustwildlyunfair.

Therefore,theEveryStudentSucceedsActshouldnotusestandardizedassessmentsas

themeasureofsuccessforstudents,teachers,andschools.IfIwasmeasuredbythescoresmy

studentsreceiveonthesestandardizedassessments,Iwouldbeconsideredanineffectiveor

developingteacher.Thiscompletelycontradictsallofmydailyeffortsintheclassroomwithmy

students.Asaresult,theESSAhasgoodintentions,butterriblemeansofachievingthose

intentions.Inthefuture,IwouldwanttoinformmycolleaguesabouttheESSA.Ifeelthatthis

wouldallowthemtorealizewhytheadministrationbecomessoconcernedwithtestscores,even

thoughtheyarenotsupposedtocounttowardsstudentpromotion.Sometimestherearethings

thatevenadministratorscanavoid.