Rendering Growth Visible: Using Formative Writing Assessments to Understand High School Newcomers’ Language Development

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Sunday 1:30 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Advancing Educational Equity for Multilingual Learners: From Community Programs to Formative Writing Assessments (Table 6)

Abstract

Secondary newcomer students’ progress in English is often rendered invisible by standardized English Language Proficiency (ELP) assessments. To better understand newcomers’ language development, we engaged in a longitudinal study of three high school newcomers’ English writing over their first year in U.S. schools. We analyzed formative writing assessments, looking at multiple dimensions of productive language use. Over time, students grew in the extent and depth of content expressed and in their use of discourse structures, connectives, and verb phrases. We offer implications for the preparation and professional development of newcomer teachers, including cultivating a critical perspective toward how assessments conceptualize ELP and building capacity to craft and analyze formative assessments that render growth visible and can inform instruction.

Authors

• Laura Alvarez, Alder Graduate School of Education

• Holly J. Darling, Oakland Unified School District