Editor,s Note: veteran ranguage ed.ucator paul sandrock has written a new book for AcrFL entitled rhe Keys to

Assessing Language Performance: A teacher's manual for measuring student plogress' This manual provides

language teachers with a step-by-step approach for desiqning performance assessmenfs, developing effective rubrics'

and using them to evaluate and track student progress in a standards-based program- we feature some excerpts here

to give you a glimpse o/ this valuable resource for language educators' The book is available to order online at the

ACTFLBookstore dt wl'vw.actfl.org for only $22-95 (member price), special bulk quantit-v pricing is avail'ible'

Fi ln. : f f iantei i :

Constructing a Road MaPfor Teaching andLearning

"Does this count?" "ls this goin;i to be on

the test?" Students constantly ask these

questions. Why? They want to know how

their teachcr rs going to cvaluate them

Thev want to know the real goals of ttre

days lesson and the course. These are

ccrtainly rcasonable reqrrests, but how

c:rn a te lc l r t r i lnswcr thc: ' ' quc>t ions i r r a

rvay that will shape studcnt leaming and

focus teachrng on what rcally matters?

Tlus book is desiencd to gr-tlde the usi:t

through tlroughtfui stePs necessary to

clevelop pcrforntance assessments anr I

eflective rubrics so teacltcrs can answcl

thr:sc str.rrl,:nt cluestions

40

Students are not alone in asking such

questions- Since the 1990s wrth the

begrnning of the national discussion

of standarcls, the American public has

rntertwined standards with a scrutiny of

assessment. to determine i[itudenis are

measuring up. i[ students are achieving

those standards.tThe notion of account-

ability has become rntegrated with tire

iclenti{lcation of what students shor'rld

know ,,rtr , l bc eblc to t lo- Assessmcttt is

at the ]reart of the pubhc conversal ron to

improve student achtcvement-

Languagc teachers, howel'er, exPress

frustration with' assessments tfrat crnpha-

size or.rly lowlevei rccall of vocabulary"

maniprrlatiort of granrmatical structures

by filling in blanks, and other substltit

tions for real communtcatron When

they look at wa)'s to meastrre student

use o[language, the main cnterion often

becomes grammatical accuracy' which

relegates language use to ,i focus on torrn'

The transition to performance assess-

ment focuses both students and teachers

on communication The messagc that is ,,

beirrg communicatcd becomes t lre cri t i

cal cornponent rather than gralrrrn2lt lcal

acculac)', keeping tir mind that pt'rfect

acclrracy is a lifelong go;il

Wh1' do \\re assesli our studentsl Eclr-rca

tors wanl to use assesstlrent to i l i fotrn

irrstruct ion at ld to prolrclc lccclback thaL

wil l l relp students in'rprove . Tladit ior.r-

alh', educators havc ttscd assessrlent to

find out *'hat stttclcnts have ancl l'iave

THL LANGUAGE Eoucnton ' inuun )011

t . ,

not learned, presenled as letter grades or

numerical scores to later calculate quarter

or semester gredes. Tcachers con:lant Iy

struggle to balance using assessment to

capture and describe the past (i.e., what

students have learned) and using assess-

ment to shape the future ( i .e.. sett ing goals

for improvement),

A coherent an,1 transparent system of

assessmcnl and evalurt ion is requtred to

locus both leachers and students on ap-

propriate program goals and outcomes.

Through step-by-step guldance and ex-

amples, thls book will demonstrate how to

design pcrformance asscssments thal cap-

ture language samples in rvhich students

are motivated to use language to accom-

pl ish real purposes Next th is guide wi l l

detail a process to design rubrics that focus

on those aspects which truiy help improve

student language proficlency. Teachers and

students alike can benefit from this road

map for teaching and learning.

Why Develop Performance

Assessments?Assessment is a tool, To develop effective

assessmenis, teachers need to ask:

. Why am I assesstng my students?

. What information do I hope to learn

through this assessment?

. What do I plan to do with the

inlormation gained through this

assessment?

Ansrvering these queslions will seL the

teacher on a course ol matching the need

for and use of the information r'vith the

right assessm,::nt mechanistn. Different as-

sessment str:lirlgies are neecled for differcnt

purposes.

If the answers to these three questions

identify the goai of assessme nt as measur

ing student r,se of languaqc in real-life

'sltuations, then the assessment mechanisrn

nnrsr Lome rs c lose as posr ib lc to thar

authentic use. Performance assessments ask

students to use language [or rcal 'ptrrposes:

sharing new information, exchanging

opinions, presenting ideas to a specific

audience, preparing a letter of apphcation

or introduction, understanding the point of

r.iew of a speaker or author and comparing

it to one's o1vn, or skimming a rvebsite to

f ind needed in[ormat ion. A wel l -de' igned

performance assessment task lvill gener-

ate these genuine acts oI communtcat jon-

The teacher then can focus on what really

counts by providing feedback to students

based on this evidence of their authentic

use of language. \ ludenrs wi l l know much

more than how rveli they did on a test:

They will know how well they can perform

w'hen actual communication is needed.

Assessment plays a critical role in lan-

guage education: to help students learn

to use their new ianguage, to help teach-

ers focus their instruction to maximize its

effec[iveness, and to provide the public

with the evidence it needs to enthusiasti-

cally support language programs. Clearly,

assessment is at the heart of the discussion

around improving student ability to use the

language. With such high stakes, assess-

ment must shorvcase the performanccs

that are at the heart of proficient use of the

language. Performance assessment clarifies

the goals and provides critical feedback to

students as lhey seek to mark their prog-

ress and improve their performance.

From Chapler z:Basing'Assessmenton Standards

Key Lessons Learned for Designing

Pe rfor m a n ce Asse ssment Tasks. Fot us the tasks .,, ithin the contcxt

ol a unit of instructron

. lclentify learning outcomes by

st arting u'ith sLr,nclards

. Target rhe Ianguage level

[ :NZt

l$SlEI From Chapter 3:'|slt=$HI= Step'by-5tep:

Designing PerformanceAssessment Tasks

Seven Steps forDesigning PerformanceAssessment Iasks

z

Create a rich and engaging

thematlc focus

ldentify w'hat students need to do

to demonst rale their learning

Evaluate tasks agr inst the targeted

level of proficiency

Sort performance tasks as

formative or summative

Fine-tune and integrate the

summative performance tasks

Incorporate other standards to

enrich the unit of instructiort and

performance lasks

Pllot u,ith students and use the

results to ad'yust the assessment

tasks

Sort the potentiai performance tasks into

those that are formative and those that are

truly summative. In formative assessment,

teachers use learning checks, guided activi-

ties, and applications of skill and knowl-

edge to measure student progress toward

rhe learning goals. Teachers initially provide

more intervention and support, anci then

gradually reduce the level of assislance so

students move toward a more independent

performance. In summative assessment, . ,teachers elicit evidcnce of what students

shorrld be able to ilo on their o\\'n as a

resulL of the unit oi instruction. Summative

asse ssment ln the context of the process .

descr ibed and practiced in this publicati.on

needs to capture the learning goals for the

unit. Although the summalive assessment

ol difterent modes of communication often

occurs near the end of the unit, thcse as-

sessments may occur at an1, point r,r''here

that goal has been r cached in the unit,

THE LANGUAGE Eoucnron r iANUART 2011

Tue Krys ro Assesstue LeNcular Prnronnat'tct

S a m p I e F o r m at iv e Assessrnenrs

Ticket to leave: To make sure that each

student has learned a key element for the

day, the teacher designs a "ticket" to leave,

a word or phrase which each student either

says to the teacher or writes down and

hands to lhe [eacher on exiting class. The

ticket could be a summarizing question

on vocabulary, such as to tell two ways

to say goodbye or r.vrite a descriprion of

one animal. The ticket could be proof of

internalizing a grammatical concept, such

as "Tel1 me to do something"(e.g., give me

a piece of paper), or "Write down one thing

you did yesterdaY"

Quick oral checks: As formal ive assess-

ment, a task can be ad;usted to the expand-

ing abilides of the students. Teachers move

from yes-no questions (e.g.' "Does a good

friend trelp a friencl with homervork?"),

ro forced-choice questions (e g., "When

a friend is being bullied, should a good

friend step in to fight back' go get help,

or escort the friend to where there is an

adult?"), and finally lo open-ended ques-

tions (e.g., "How can a friend be helpful

without doing the work for the friend?")'

Ask students ei ther or quesl ions. thus

modeling the right answer and structure

and allowing the student ro identify the

correct response and repeat it. Another

approach is to have students finish a

sentence, where the beginning stem gwes

a clear indication of rvhat is expected,

whether it is a single word or a phrase,

(e.g., "Tomorrow you are going to bring to

class your , ;,.

or "When the weather is

really cold, b"efore going outside I am going

to put on . . . "). Numerous ansrvers can be

elici"ted from students in this r'vay

S a m p le Su m m ativ e As s e ssrnents

Interpersonal: Based on t l le current unit '

a pair of students has a specific amount of

time to try io accomplish a conversational

Lask. Tasks might include finding oul how

much they lrave in commorl on the topic'

comrng lo agreernent on a reiated issue, or

48

identifpng as much as they know together

about a topic. The amount of time should

be sufficient to gather the language sample,

but not so long as to exhaust studenls'

language repertoire. In the IPA project, stu-

dents produced solid Novice-level language

in a two-minute conversation, intermedi-

atelel'el language in four- to five- minu[e

conversations, and Pre-Advancedlevei

language in eight- to IO-minute conversa-

tions. Students might be able to continue

the conversation beyond these limits, but

the language level produced did not change

when the time limit extended longer than

these suggested times.

Interpretive: Students might be asked to

summarize the lnformation found from

three different websites to foim a more

complete response to a question or to pro-

vide a summary of a topic. For exampie,

Pre-Advanced students are given websites

for newspapers from l0 different counlries

(in the target language). The task is to iden-

tify a national story of importance in the

students' hometown newspaper' search for

that same story in three different foreign

newspapers' lvebsltes, and then to compare

the level of importance given, the longevity

of the sLory ln the foreign press versus lhe

local press (i.e., how many days the story

continues to have prominence), and the

similari t ies or dif lercnces in the way thc

story is presented (i.e., any differences in

political slant or cultural attitudes).

Presentational: Students cirganize in-

formation and wnte a postcard or letter

to a potential host family or a studoirt to

be hostercl, using the target language lbr a

meamrilful purpose. The teacher t:rr-gets

the tasks to fit the language level, sludent

developinentai level, rnd the current unit

of instr-uction. Example: Intermedlatc

studenrs r,vrite a letter to a potential foreign

student that their family u'i1l be hosting,

explaining differences in responsi.liilities

and house rules that could be anticipated,

kno*,irig the cultural differences. Novice-

leve1 students on an imaginary trip abroad

M

lvrite a posrcard back to their language

teacher about what they did on the trip,

using memorized language, but in new and

creative apPlications.

From ChaPter 4:Designing Rubrics toAssess Performance

Step-by-9tepProcess for DesigningRubrics

i l. tdentify what makes a qualitY

] p.rfot*uttc"

I 2. Evaluate the quaiities against rhe

I chatacteristics of the targeted

I level ofProficiencY

i 3. Descrlbe the Performance that

i *".tt your expectations with

i the specificitY and claritY that

i will focus Your instruction and

i ,tnd.nt learning

i 4 Descrlbe the performance that

i exceeds your expectalions and

the performance tlLat does not

meel Your exPectal ions

i l. Pilot with students and revise

i bated on student work and' leedbackl

i 6. Det.tmine how You will

i ao**unicate the assessment

i ,"sr-,lr, (including using rubrics

in grades and incorPoratingj feedback into your instructlon)

THE L.\NGUAGE EOUCATOt . ,ANU RY 2011

Step One: ldentifyWhat Makesa Quality PerformanceIn prol'rding feedback, the criterla must be

appropriate to rhe task. What really matters

for effect ive communicai ion I By examin-

ing the purpose behind what students are

asked to do in the'assessment tasks, the

teacher can better identify the

appropriate criteria. The teacher must

consrder the mode of commttnicat ion: in-

terpersonai, interpretive, or presentational.

The criteria need to be generated by r,vhat

makes for effective communication in the

speci f ic mode of communicat ion.

Rather than treat ing alJ speaking as the

same skill, or trying to use the same

measures and evaiuation cntena for a1i

speaking tasks, consider how speaklng for

an interpersonal purpose (e.g., agreeing on

when to meet) has very different require-

ments or expectations from speaking for

a presentational purpose (e.g,, telling

classmates about a recent trip). For an

interpersonal purpose, critical elements in

the evaluation include how well students

maintain and sustain the conversation, ask

[or c lar i f icat ion. and negot iate meaning.

The criteria for evaluating a presentational

task would include language accuracy,

organizat ion of the presentat ion. appro-

priateness for the targeted audience, and

the impact on that audience. The instru-

ment used for evalua[ion needs to fit the

Tur Ktvs ro AssESstNG LeNcunee Prnronmnucr

communicative purpose. Rubrics need to

be"developed based on the requirements of

the communicative task.

\,Vhen identifyng r.vhat makes a qualrty

performrnce for students, consider the

perfomances that you have experienced in

tte past. Use real samples o[ student work

'to ldentify rvhat makes a quality perfor-

mance. Focus on the characteristics of use

of language and try not to be influenced by

factors such as neatncss or use of color rn

presentational lasks, humor in interpersonal

tasks, and over-reliance on specific details

in interpretive tasks, These factors are not

essential to the langr"rage performance and

may distract from what really counts.

These descriptors are designed to hetp you buitd your rubric for a specific performance assessment task. These are sampte categories and de-

scriptors across several "tevets" from Novice to Prq-Advanced students. The mode of communication is impodant to consider as that communi-

cative purpose changes the expectations concerning accuracy and completeness.

Novice

Says"Huh?"or usesg.stures and facialexpressions toslrow confusion

Repeats what wasnot unde15L' lo0;,qk< <ntraLtrr 1o

repeal or 5 fw

down

Pr^\ , i . lp< norroirrpd

mo:r i lnd rFnal l<

-^! - ! ! - - +-^

orLU duu) d Ldg

questron to snowunderstanding

Asks simplequestions to cl ' r i lyrreaning

Provides al lerna-t ives, ex,,mples, topoini oLrt what isnot unr lr.rrstood,asks for a definitionor explanation

Paraphrases tovi: . i [ ' what waSu noerStooo

Adds ownInterpretatr!)n toverify what vrasunderstooJ

I nter pe rson al- M ai ntai n i ng an d Su stci ni n g the Conversation

Uses transit ionphrases to sigrialchanges in theconversation'5direct ion; workswith partner Ioexplore topics indepth

Mainly in a reactivemode, sticks toorrect anSwer5;able to init iateconversation witha few originalquestrons; gener-al ly uses yes/noquestrons

tlsps circunlocr-, I Asf <'ol low "p

i ion to sroy ,n I quc: t ;ons and

lhe tonrersa{ on; I inse ts reloindersmaintains conver- to maintain thesat ion,&i th "give ] conversat ion and

and lake"v . tur n I stav on top:ctaking; uses informational questions(who, what, where,when)

to nelp partnerrespond)

heios parrner bv I P o' idet o*r)upp

' inq wotds or I I6soon:e) [o

f inishing sentences ] prompt partner

^r rh^r r-hi< I lmnrJpl rA\non\c\

| ' " " ' ' ' r " ' '

Responds whenprompted orasked, usually tohigh-frequencycues; ini t iat ion isl imlted to memo-rized words orph rases

I nte rp e rso n a I -Aski n g for Cl o rifi cati o n

TUE LaHr,irnet Eoucaron ' lnuulnv 20'11 49

ffi

Tnr Krvs ro AsstsstNe Lnne unat P*ronmnt'tcr

From ChaPter 5:Engaging, Motivatirig,and Involving Students

To help students understand what is

expected, involve them in the design of

the assessment task's rubriqp. Start from

[he same beginning point as for the design

of the task: What are the characteristics

of this language performance in the real

world? The task reflects what people do in

purposeful communication and so, too, the

rubric should reflect the qualities that mat-

ter in the real context.. For example, whal

matters most in conversations is express-

ing one's point and engaging the other

person in the topic. Accuracy and complete

sentences help, but are not of primary

concern in the speakers mind. When ac-

curacy f lal ters and hinders communication'

strategies for dealing with the resulting

miscommunication are essential. Remem-

ber the native speakers who said that they

focused on the message and not on how it

was being conveyed. Mirroring these same

criteria from real-world conversations, the

teacher's rubric should provide feedback

on engaging and maintaining interest in

the conversation and strategies to deal with

communication breakdown.

From Chapter 6:lmpacting Instructionand Program ArticulationThrough PerformanceAssessments

Using PerformanceAssessments toEnhance Programs

Identlfy how students will

demonstrate progress toward

essential targets across levels,

schools, and the district-wide

proglam

Use performance assessments to

focus curriculum design

Use performance assessment

feedback to focus design of

instructional units and dailY

lessons

Develop district- or department-

wide performance assessments

through an ongoing Process of

review and refinement

When a PK-I2 or a postsecondary pro-

gram's curriculum is based on performance

assessments, the spiral nature of the cur-

riculum can be made clear. The program

curriculum should show the introduction

of some spbcific language element (e.g.,

vocabulary grammar, function); then the

practice of that element and the gain of

some manipulative ability; then the grow-

ing independent use of that element; and

finally1the "mastery" or fluent and less-

conspious use of that element- The next

step is to envtsion. develop. and imple'

ment performance tasks to check student

progress alcing rhis continuum ol learning,

staiting with formative learning checks and

moving to end-of-unit assessments. This

curriculum spirai is vastly differen[ from a

curriculum based on Srammar items and

discrete item vocabulary Such a curricu-

lum leads to discrete achievement tesiing,

substituting knowledge about the language

for knowledge to use the ianguage.

When student progress is measured

through performance assessment and

effective feedback, students know what

they can do in the new language they are

acquiring and what they need to do to

impror,'e their proficiency and increase

their confi.dence in using the three modes

of communication. This is the road map to

guide language teaching and learning

PauL Sandrock is assistont diredor of the Content

and Learning Team ot the Wisconsin Department of

Public Instruction. He wos ACTFL president in 2006-