Proficiency Tests
One of the key difficulties teachers face when they are first given an ESL student to work with is determining what their proficiency levels are. There are multitudes of tests one can find on the internet which can become overwhelming. For a teacher who is preparing his/her lesson plans as well, there doesn't always seem to be enough time to find the test that would best suit their student.
In Alberta, one of the ways one can test ESL proficiency levels is by using the Alberta Proficiency Benchmarks (http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/eslapb/search.html). These are used as a way to identify the student's proficiency levels based on observations, create meaningful activities which will promote growth in the needed areas, and to show progress made over the school year to the school, student, and parents. In addition to a list of the benchmarks themselves, the website provides tracking sheets based on the grade level of the students which provide key goals and an area to record when they were seen to be accomplished. Finally, they provide various exemplars showing the work of students at each level. This aids teachers who are not fully clear as to what each level would look like and provides a framework to better grade their ESL students.
The tests which will best assess your students will vary on an individual basis. It is up to the teachers discretion to find and implement the test and decide how to fully assess the results. This may be difficult, but teachers may find aid through various websites or library resources. LearnAlberta provides a chart which may aid teachers in finding the best assessment tool. It can be found on page 9 of the following resource: http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/eslapb/documents/language_proficiency_assessment.pdf
In addition to providing the tests best suited to kids, it also provides a visual showing which key areas (Speaking, writing, reading, comprehension) each test assesses. It then goes on to explain what each proficiency test entails, what is provided and how students are graded.
In order to best decide what test will suit their students, teachers must consider what their expectations of their students will be. In addition, they must recognize the backgrounds of each of their students. These points may affect the students results on their exams which in turn would provide an inaccurate representation of their skills. For example, LearnAlberta provides the following background points which must be considered before testing:
• proficiency and student achievement in first language
• prior schooling experience
• trauma due to war or other factors
• health, physical and other characteristics that may impact learning
• involvement of parents and guardians
• family and cultural values.
In addition to testing the proficiency levels of their students in English, teachers may also want to search for resources in which they may test the language proficiency of their students in their native languages. This will help determine student's literacy levels and their previous knowledge. These levels will provide teachers with an idea of how effective incorporating dual language resources will be.
The following are a list of other English Proficiency tests which may be considered by teachers:
TOEFL - Test of English as a Foreign Language
PTE - Pearson Test of English
For those who are looking for actual tests to give their ESL students, the following websites provide those resources:
Transparent - a English vocabulary, comprehension and grammar quiz which is done online.
http://www.transparent.com/learn-english/proficiency-test.html#.UWwk-Mp42So
Stanford ELP- Stanford English Language Proficiency: This website provides information about the test which sorts students into the following five categories: Pre-Emergent, Emergent, Basic, Intermediate, and Proficient.
https://www.pearsonassessments.com/HAIWEB/Cultures/en-us/Productdetail.htm?Pid=015-8429-206
In Alberta, one of the ways one can test ESL proficiency levels is by using the Alberta Proficiency Benchmarks (http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/eslapb/search.html). These are used as a way to identify the student's proficiency levels based on observations, create meaningful activities which will promote growth in the needed areas, and to show progress made over the school year to the school, student, and parents. In addition to a list of the benchmarks themselves, the website provides tracking sheets based on the grade level of the students which provide key goals and an area to record when they were seen to be accomplished. Finally, they provide various exemplars showing the work of students at each level. This aids teachers who are not fully clear as to what each level would look like and provides a framework to better grade their ESL students.
The tests which will best assess your students will vary on an individual basis. It is up to the teachers discretion to find and implement the test and decide how to fully assess the results. This may be difficult, but teachers may find aid through various websites or library resources. LearnAlberta provides a chart which may aid teachers in finding the best assessment tool. It can be found on page 9 of the following resource: http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/eslapb/documents/language_proficiency_assessment.pdf
In addition to providing the tests best suited to kids, it also provides a visual showing which key areas (Speaking, writing, reading, comprehension) each test assesses. It then goes on to explain what each proficiency test entails, what is provided and how students are graded.
In order to best decide what test will suit their students, teachers must consider what their expectations of their students will be. In addition, they must recognize the backgrounds of each of their students. These points may affect the students results on their exams which in turn would provide an inaccurate representation of their skills. For example, LearnAlberta provides the following background points which must be considered before testing:
• proficiency and student achievement in first language
• prior schooling experience
• trauma due to war or other factors
• health, physical and other characteristics that may impact learning
• involvement of parents and guardians
• family and cultural values.
In addition to testing the proficiency levels of their students in English, teachers may also want to search for resources in which they may test the language proficiency of their students in their native languages. This will help determine student's literacy levels and their previous knowledge. These levels will provide teachers with an idea of how effective incorporating dual language resources will be.
The following are a list of other English Proficiency tests which may be considered by teachers:
TOEFL - Test of English as a Foreign Language
PTE - Pearson Test of English
For those who are looking for actual tests to give their ESL students, the following websites provide those resources:
Transparent - a English vocabulary, comprehension and grammar quiz which is done online.
http://www.transparent.com/learn-english/proficiency-test.html#.UWwk-Mp42So
Stanford ELP- Stanford English Language Proficiency: This website provides information about the test which sorts students into the following five categories: Pre-Emergent, Emergent, Basic, Intermediate, and Proficient.
https://www.pearsonassessments.com/HAIWEB/Cultures/en-us/Productdetail.htm?Pid=015-8429-206
Resources
Alberta Government. (n.d.). Alberta Proficiency Benchmarks. Retrieved from http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/eslapb/index.html