Our new group member Guy is faced with the impossible task described below. We have discussed it here before. Pls. contribute what you want – he can get little pieces of answers from everybody. If you know where we can find some of the good answers from before, pls. send us the links. Guy I would start with the Assessment categories and start pulling stuff. And once we have pieced together some material, then you have to decide how badly you want to put on the gloves and go a few rounds with your colleagues on that common assessment option. You may want to access this page as well:
https://benslavic.com/thoughts-on-pacing-guides.html
I hope we can make this a group response.
Hi Ben,
It’s Guy, I met you at NTPRS in Vegas. I joined the blog the other day. From the bottom of my heart I thank you for doing what you do. I have been teaching Spanish using TPRS for two years. I got my start with project COACH in So Ca (where I purchased your PQA and TPRS books.) These last 2 years have been the best so far of my 24 yr teaching career. I feel like I am finally starting to get it right. I have set aside the textbooks, worksheets, and the funky, phony DVD’s that came with them. My students and I don’t miss them. I even threw out my homemade board games that I once considered integral to the teaching of Spanish to young people. Some of the kids miss those, I think.
Anyways, now I am getting flak for not using the book, you know the story…
My problem is this; I need to give benchmark assessments (at least 2 per year) for each levels (1, 2 and 3) in my Spanish classes. They must have 40 (minimum) multiple choice items keyed to CA World Language Content Standards. The district has purchased software that does item analysis so that we can figure out what the students have not mastered. (I am biting my tongue here.) The benchmark assessments that we currently have are closely tied to the text. When I used to teach the book, it was like shooting fish in a barrel.
The book-based test items, which mostly test grammar points and non-essential vocabulary, are not aligned to standards and do not adequately assess the language my students acquire now that I have improved my pedagogy. The good news is that these benchmark exams can be rewritten. The other news is that all of us have to use the same test. So, we must rewrite them together. We must somehow agree on what kinds of items to put on these benchmark tests.
Obviously, we need to align the tests to current California World Language Content Standards. The department members say that the multiple choice items should include assessment of listening, reading, and culture. Writing and speaking assessments by their nature would have to be assessed separately… or perhaps not at all (only m/c items can be crunched, lol).
My question is this; how do we (Traditional and TPRS teachers) go about creating relevant, fair m/c question items that will demonstrate student learning in different areas at each level for these benchmark tests? Are there other teachers/departments who have done something like this already who can shed some light on this path? Any examples? I don’t feel highly qualified at writing m/c benchmark assessments!
Thanks,
Guy