Assessing Student Progress

The goal of this curriculum is language and communication. This being the case, student assessment of the outcomes is best tied to the acquisition of the ability to communicate in a meaningful and appropriate way with users of the nēhiyaw language. Although there may be some focus on teaching students the vocabulary and the patterns of language, the assessment is in how the students use the language in order to communicate with others or how they communicate when participating in cultural activities. “Knowing how, when and why to say what to whom” (Standards for Foreign Language Learning, n.d.).

Assessment for Learning and Assessment of Learning

Assessment for learning is also referred to as formative assessment, and is characterized by the ongoing exchange of information about learning by emphasizing the role of the learner, not only as a contributor to the assessment and learning process, but also as the critical connector between them. The learner is active, engaged and a critical assessor and can make sense of information and relate it to prior knowledge, and master the skills involved. Assessment for learning involves specific, descriptive feedback but is not included in performance grade. Assessment for learning promotes students’ understanding of how they are doing in relation to learning outcomes and competence in setting personal learning goals. If students are to become competent users of assessment information, they need to be included in the process. The main focus is on classroom assessment that contributes to the learning, by the teacher (for learning) and by the student (as learning).

Assessment of learning also referred to as summative assessment is intended to certify learning and report to parents and students about students’ progress in school. Assessment of learning checks what a learner has learned at a given point in time. It most often occurs at the end of a period of instruction, (e.g., a unit or term, and takes the form or tests or exams that include questions drawn from material studied during that time). Assessment of learning information is designed to be summarized in a performance grade and shared with the learner, parent, and others outside of the classroom that have a right to know. Teachers make professional decisions to determine which type of assessment strategy is most appropriate at any given time.

Assessment of the Strategies Outcomes

As learners progress through the year, they should develop an awareness of a range of strategies and begin to apply them to assist their learning of the nēhiyaw language. As students engage in the performance tasks, it is recommended that teachers note students’ emerging awareness of language learning and language use strategies to assist their comprehension and enhance communication.

The performance tasks in this curriculum provide the learner with experiences that encourage them to use a variety of strategies: e.g., use body language and gestures to aid comprehension, ask for clarification and participate in group work or activities to complete tasks. Learners’ use of strategies can be evaluated by learners through self-assessment and by teachers as they observe and conference with the learner.

Much work is currently under way in the area of holistic student assessment. The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching and assessment (2006) states “holistic assessment looks at different aspects which are weighted intuitively by the assessor. Analytical assessment is looking at different aspects separately. The two ways in which this distinction is made: a) in terms of what is looked for; (b) in terms of how a band, grade or score is arrived at. Systems sometimes combine an analytical approach at one level with a holistic approach at another” (p .190).

The following suggestions for assessment may be useful:

• Base student assessment on individual progress according to the continuum of learning provided in the outcomes sections of the curriculum, particularly in the area of personal development
• Involve the learner in developing authentic means of assessing student progress
• The student progress in language ability to their use of language in social and cultural settings or activities
• Develop descriptive tools, such as rubrics, to provide “pictures” of how students integration of language and culture might look at different levels
• Assess student progress continuously, rather than only as the summation of a unit of study
• Involve students in the assessment of their own learning
• Share the results of assessment in a holistic manner, rather than as a mark or letter grade alone
• Use the data from student assessment to continuously evaluate and enhance the program
• Use a variety of assessment techniques that clearly reflect the communicative, learner-centred, task-based approach to learning a second language. For example, when using a task-based approach, written interpretation would be tested by having students use the information in a written text to carry out a task, rather than by having students answer comprehension questions
• The percentage of the mark allotted to each component of the curriculum should reflect the amount of time that the students spend on that component in the classroom. For example, if students are spending 70 percent of their time on oral activities, 70 per cent of their final mark should be determined by oral evaluation
• Assessement criteria should be clear and consistent with the outcomes desired. For example, if students are being tested for aural interpretation and the test requires that they write down information they have understood they should be marked on whether or not they have understood, not on whether the information written was correctly spelled
• Evaluation should take place in the context on meaningful activities. For example, grammar points dealt with in the course of a unit can be evaluated by looking at whether or not they are correctly used in the task the students are doing, not in fill-in-the-blank or other decontextualized Exercises
• Different kinds of learning outcomes should be evaluated in different ways. For example, knowledge-related outcomes can be assessed by objective tests; attitudes are better assessed by observation
• Students should be involved in determining the criteria, or be given the criteria (e.g., a marking rubric) that will be used for evaluating their work. This can be part of the planning process at the beginning of each unit
• Students should have a clear understanding of the evaluation procedures that will be used throughout the unit

The nēhiyawēwin curriculum will provide an opportunity for dialogue and research in the area of student assessment in language and culture programs. Content in the nēhiyaw classroom may be adjusted to reflect the reality of the classroom and their communities.

Each nēhiyawēwin curriculum needs to identify specific cultural content from a nēhiyawēwin perspective in order to bring the curriculum to life, and to bring the language and culture together in the program. The content must come from the cultural community in which the program is being delivered. In any type of language program, the use of themes can be particularly beneficial in planning the units of study. Themes allow for the integration of cultural understandings, cultural experiences, cultural skills, but with a focus on the language skills and student reflection.

Articulation between cultural activity and language skill development is not easy, either in planning or teaching, even once the content has been identified. In situations where programs are not given more time than the usual additional language allotments, it will be especially important to plan and use the time well so that maximal language growth occurs while teaching the language along with cultural content. This curriculum will assist planners and practitioners in bringing nēhiyawēwin and the culture together in a seamless and authentic manner.