Blog Post 3
Hey everyone! In my third blog I interviewed Melinda Cox. Mrs. Cox is a 7th and 8th grade teacher in the county I live in who was generous enough to sit with me and answer some questions about her experiences with ELL students. Mrs. Cox is currently in her 12th year as an educator and is still very passionate about the work she does.
When I asked Mrs. Cox about high-stakes testing, she did not seem very pleased with how they are structured toward ELL students. She mentioned that they do benefit students, seemingly more so with their English studies than in other, in a way but addressed flaws with their design as well. Something that stood out to me, when discussing these forms of test was when Mrs. Cox mentioned that it's commonly accepted that the ELLs will fail this first time around. She mentioned that the students are generally aware of this, as well as the teachers. A reason for this is that, as Wright wrote, "Among the many other problems with state high-stakes tests is that they provide just one piece of evidence about what students know and can do." (Wright, 2015, pg. 144) While students may speak seemingly very fluently in and out of the classroom, their written skills and conceptual understanding of English is not yet near mastery. Mrs. Cox also mentioned that the only assistance students, ELLs included, can receive during these tests is to have the questions read aloud to them, nothing else. Wright tells us that, "Although reading aloud is important for all students, it is even more important for ELLs." So, while it is unfortunate that they are not provided with any further support, despite a general lack of understanding for the material, even having the problems read aloud to them can be incredibly beneficial to ELLs.
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Link to Video: Blog 3
When I asked Mrs. Cox about high-stakes testing, she did not seem very pleased with how they are structured toward ELL students. She mentioned that they do benefit students, seemingly more so with their English studies than in other, in a way but addressed flaws with their design as well. Something that stood out to me, when discussing these forms of test was when Mrs. Cox mentioned that it's commonly accepted that the ELLs will fail this first time around. She mentioned that the students are generally aware of this, as well as the teachers. A reason for this is that, as Wright wrote, "Among the many other problems with state high-stakes tests is that they provide just one piece of evidence about what students know and can do." (Wright, 2015, pg. 144) While students may speak seemingly very fluently in and out of the classroom, their written skills and conceptual understanding of English is not yet near mastery. Mrs. Cox also mentioned that the only assistance students, ELLs included, can receive during these tests is to have the questions read aloud to them, nothing else. Wright tells us that, "Although reading aloud is important for all students, it is even more important for ELLs." So, while it is unfortunate that they are not provided with any further support, despite a general lack of understanding for the material, even having the problems read aloud to them can be incredibly beneficial to ELLs.
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Link to Video: Blog 3
Ryan, thank you for your post. I would have to agree with your interviewee, Melinda Cox that are countries almost laser focus on high stakes testing is detrimental to the results of our English language learners. It does not measure their knowledge appropriately, only how well they can take a test in English. I agree with the book that accommodations are needed to ensure the ELLs true knowledge. Wright (2015) explains, “Tests in the home language appear to be the best accommodation… should have a better chance of demonstrating what they know and what they can do ” (p.129). This truly levels the playing field between ELLs and native English speakers to where ELLs have a chance to let their knowledge shine and not be held back by a test they cannot read. The book does say that this is difficult because “creating a test in the home language is time consuming and expensive” (Wright, 2015, p. 129). There is theory and there is the real world, and sadly the real world does not accommodate everyone as it should.
ReplyDeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
I think so too, Jauclene, and thanks for watching! In fact, I believe many aspects of our standardized tests are detrimental to students other than English language learners, as well. I agree that a test taken in the native language might be more effective, especially for lower level learners, as they are still working to further enhance their comprehension.
DeleteHello Ryan, thank you for your post. I have found two extremely common themes after watching some of our classmate’s interviews, and from my interview as well. They are that most teachers do not believe high-stakes testing is particularly beneficial for ELL students. and that it is essential for students to receive accommodations, such as having tests read aloud to them. Wright states, “Tests in the home language appear to be the best accommodation,” (pg 129, 2015). It was mentioned that the only accommodation your teacher could give her ELLs was oral administration. I am curious if that is a school or possibly a district policy, or if giving her ELL students the tests in their home language would just not be fitting for where they are at and what they need.
ReplyDeleteThanks for watching, Christine! I have noticed this theme, as well. I think that there are many faults, in fact with the testing we have in place right now. As things are, we, as educators, are primarily made to teach to a test rather than teaching to inherently educate. I feel as though this is massively hindering children's education.
DeleteHi Ryan! Thanks for posting an awesome interview. I noticed some similarities with Ms. Cox’s opinion in high stakes testing and how my mentor teacher felt about it. My mentor teacher also thought that it was too stressful on ELL students, and it doesn’t help the students at all with learning the language. Wright stated that “high stakes testing made [ELL students and teachers] look like failures” (pg. 144, 2015). High stakes testing didn’t measure the students growth from the beginning to the end of the year. Which makes me think that high stakes testing should not be organized for ELL students, but instead collect data from work that the students have done over the course of the year.
ReplyDeleteHello Taylor, I agree I think high stakes testing is to stressful for ELLs as it is for all students. I particularly do not believe in high stakes testing because it causes to much stress on the teacher and the students. Teachers have told me it takes all the fun out of learning when you have to teach for your students to pass a test. Therefore, I would imagine it is much more difficult for ELL students especially when they are still trying to learn English.
DeleteThanks for watching Taylor! They certainly are too stressful, I'm not entirely certain that there is absolutely no benefit present in regards to the student learning the language, however I think that they definitely seem to present more harm than good for the students as they are developing a better understanding of the language.
DeleteHi Ryan, I enjoyed reading your post. The biggest thing that caught my eye was the point about high stakes testing. Recently, I went to a meeting about the STAAR test. The teachers recommended students that either needed more time or have passages read to them. Ten of the students recommended are ELL students. I agree that items need to be read to them and they should be given more time, but they need more accommodations if the state really wants to test what they have learned over the years. According to Wright, “a problem with high stakes testing is that they only focus on one genre and when it is narrowed to only one genre students lose out” (Wright, 2010, p. 230). Students should be given opportunities to write about things and experiences that are native to their language and or country. They should also be given a Spanish to English dictionary. Many of the students I work with struggle daily to understand and communicate. Better accommodations need to be provided to help ELL students, they should not be limited.
ReplyDeleteHi Anna, yes I agree there should be more accommodations for STARR testing because every student is different and may need certain accommodations especially ELL students. ELL students should be given more time while taking high stakes tests, also more modeling and explaining especially since they are still learning English and may not fully understand it yet.
DeleteHey Anna! Thanks for watching! I think more accommodations should certainly be in place. The absurd difficult level of the STAAR test needs more of a balance. When even students who are not English language learners have such a low standard for passing, how can we expect ELLs to benefit from the test? I think that the STAAR is a poor reflection of most students annual learning, and therefore certainly should not reflect the learning of students who we already know have a lesser understanding of the language. Excellent point, thanks!
DeleteThanks for This Blog Ryan!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ms.Cox, Its very unfortunate that students arent tested based off ablilty but based off of what the state considers adverage. I feel for he students and Im happy she sees a problem with the system and along with her I would love to see accomidations inforced for more students that need it, to ensure NO student is left behind.Even through my observations I see teachers struggle with combining fun and test ready lesson plans making it harder for the teachers to determine If their students are learning and also enjoying it at the same time. I feel that teachers are given so much to teach in such a small window of time, they are overwhelmed and do the bare minimum to ensure the students skate by. I feel that we shouldn’t have students just "skating by", we should take pride in making learning enjoyable, only a select few can do that and that’s why they become teachers; we should embrace that instead of stressing them out for a certain score on a silly test.