Are We Missing Part of the Picture? Multimodal Assessment of English Learners in Science

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 6
  In Roundtable Session: Policies and Assessment Mechanisms Affecting Bi- and Multilingual Learners

Abstract

Whereas nonlinguistic modalities (e.g., visuals) have typically been thought of as accommodations for English learners (ELs), the latest content standards in U.S. K-12 education expect all students, including ELs, to demonstrate their content learning using multiple modalities. This mixed-methods study investigated the extent to which science assessment tasks that elicit responses in visual, written, and oral modalities provide information about students’ science learning that traditional written language assessments do not and whether this is particularly the case for ELs. By expanding purely linguistic conceptions of what “counts” as evidence of learning, these tasks could provide a more complete and accurate picture of what all students, and ELs in particular, know and can do in the content areas.

Authors

• Scott Grapin, University of Miami

• Lorena Llosa, New York University

• Okhee Lee, New York University

• Sharon L. Weinberg, New York University