Assessment for English Learners
— Offered by the College of Education and Health Professions —
Earn professional development hours through the Assessment for English Learners series offered by the College of Education and Health Professions. A National Professional Development grant through the Office of English Acquisition at the U.S. Department of Education will cover the majority of the cost of the three 6-hour courses designed to provide you with a deeper understanding of legal requirements, types of assessments, and the how and why of differentiation and accommodation explicitly for culturally and linguistically diverse students. These courses will provide you with the basic knowledge of the history and legal requirements for assessment for the growing populations of English Language Learners (ELLs) within your classroom as well as the knowledge and skills to create valid assessments in the classroom specifically for ELLs. Those who do not meet the qualifications for grant funding can pay $60 for each course.
Registration is Closed
Registration will reopen in Fall 2022. We hope to see you then!
$60 per course
*$12 per course for qualified educators through a U.S. Department of Education grant. Requirements
Participants will have one month to complete the course(s).
Selection of the month you would like to access and complete the course is available during registration.
Courses are not offered in December.
These courses contain self-paced activities for professional development hours. Just as you do not receive individual feedback from the presenter on activities you participate in for face to face PD, you will not be given feedback on these courses, unless your submissions do not meet proficiency requirements. Discussion board activities allow you to learn from other teachers in the course. Rubrics are provided to help you self-assess your work. At the end of the month, your work will be assessed by an instructor. Feedback will be given at that time if needed. You will receive a certificate of completion from Global Campus after your work has been assessed if you complete the course at a proficient level.
Legal Requirements for Assessments
In this first course, you will learn about national- and state-mandated legal requirements for English Language Learners in the public-school setting. You will also evaluate the current reality of your school/district's ESL program. Additionally, you will identify what summative assessments are legally required.
- Evaluate your district's current implementation of national and state legal requirements for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse students and families.
- Investigate current national and state laws for identification, reclassification, and exit of ELLs from language support programs to ensure equality for all students.
- Synthesize and provide a rationale for district implementation of national and state requirements for reclassification and exit of ELLs from language support programs using state-mandated summative assessments.
- Justify the importance of national and state legal requirements for the protection and quality of public education.
Formative Assessments
In course 2, you will gain an understanding of the different types of formative assessments teachers can use in the classroom and how they can affect English Language Learners in the public-school setting. You will learn what formative assessments are, why they are important, how to use them to monitor and adjust instruction in the classroom, and how to incorporate formative data with instruction.
- Demonstrate understanding of key indicators of assessments through discussion, creation, and application of formative assessments during classroom instruction.
- Create and implement formative assessments to monitor students’ understanding of content during classroom instruction.
- Modify and adjust instruction based on formative assessment during classroom instruction.
- Apply course content to classroom practice through the implementation of formative assessments that enhance learning and success for culturally and linguistically diverse students.
Differentiation and Accommodation
In course 3, you will learn about the importance of accommodations and differentiation for English language learners in assessments. During this course you will also learn the importance of using English Language Proficiency Standards and content standards when planning for the varying needs of English language learners.
- Describe the inherent limitations of assessments for ELLs and justify the use of accommodations to mitigate those limitations.
- Use various instruments and techniques to assess content-area learning (e.g., math, science, social studies) for ELLs at varying levels of language and literacy development.
- Understand the appropriate use of norm-referenced assessments with ELLs and utilize the information gained to plan for accommodations and differentiation in the classroom.
Discount Requirements
Requirement to qualify for the discount covered by grant funding:
- Currently be in a professional educator role in the state of Arkansas
If you do not meet this qualification and are interested in this course, please contact us for registration and payment information. training@uark.edu or 479-464-5024
Related Programs
Instructors
Dr. Janet Penner-Williams
Associate Professor, Curriculum and Instruction, TESOL Program
Kimberlyn Gibson
Project CONNECT Director
Shelly McKeever
Project SOAR Director