Anthology Chapter 33: Assessment

As I started to read chapter 33 about alternative assessments, I struck very early on by the third paragraph! The chapter goes over about how alternative assessment is different- obviously- but the part I was first struck by is when it says, "Alternative assessment is different from traditional testing in that it actually asks students to show what they can do. Students are evaluated on what they integrate and produce rather than on what they are able to recall and reproduce." It goes on to say that alternative assessment is more culturally aware, reflects the curriculum, shows strengths and weaknesses of students, and gauges progress. So then I got to thinking, isn't this what assessment should be in general? Why is there another term for something that measures what all 'good' assessments should be able to indicate? Can there not be valid, reliable, and objective testing in an alternative form?
I found while reading this section in-particular that alternative testing is incredibly valuable to student, teacher, and schools alike. Not only would alternative testing consider and include linguistically diverse learners, it would also lessen the pressure students feel towards the number score they receive. These types of assessments also seem to provide a more accurate picture of student progression over time. I like to compare this to any other academic assignment we do- especially in higher education. For example, when we write papers, it is not enough to just make a claim, you must have examples, from creditable sources. I think alternative assessment works in this way. When we assess our students, I do not believe providing a number is enough. Where is the evidence? Sure you might say, "student A answer 13 questions incorrectly...etc." but that does not provide any context, I want materials! This is where things like the nontraditional assessment such as portfolios come in. I would suggest that a teacher could provide indication of progress using the students work as evidence, and then further be able to challenge that student by using what exactly there personal progression or even digression needs. Furthermore, teachers can even use portfolios as a means of classroom management, to meet with students individually, to get to know, understand, and have a relationship with the students. Dialogue journals and etc. could also provide this type of knowledge.

The oral component of a primary school, discussed in chapter 35, is something that must be considered. However, I think this chapter lacks discussing the possibility of taking content tests in their first language which is something I would have been interested to read about in a TESOL text. I often wonder how many more schools would be meeting AYP requirements and how many more students would be considered at grade level at least in subjects like science, math, etc.

In conclusion, I think I'm an advocate for alternative and nontraditional testing. I also think that standardized testing, overall, provides some very reliable scores but I disagree with the amount of weight, we as the educational world put on these scores. I also think it would be interesting to study research done on students performance in their first language.    

Kuma Chapter 12

As I started reading chapter 12 I was reminded of a particular "cultural teaching" moment I have recently been challenged with. A good friend of mine from Spain is planning on visiting this summer and "seeing America". He has plans to drive to certain cities in the U.S with an American friend or two and then other buddies from Spain. He is always speaking of the "cultural experience and learning" he will be able to do so that he can finally understand Americans. I keep thinking to myself, "Ok he can drive from Chicago, to Denver, to Vegas, and whatever other one or two more cities he has planned, but he won't even be close to having a true cultural understanding of America." For example, I say to myself- I am from Chicago, right? So I am, technically, apart of this culture. However, consider all the other subtypes which Kuma mentions such as, the suburban lifestyle vs. the urban lifestyle, the African American culture vs. the typical white american culture. Or, you could simply think of the Northern vs. Southern cultural norms which includes discrepancies in dialect, food, and an overall way of life. Or from East to West, Native Americans, etc. The list is never ending within this one country!

So then, how can we ever truly include these multicultural cultures that exist within one culture? Now that's a lot of culture! As future educators, we are told over and over again how important it is to have our students connect, relate to, and to almost empathize with the content- in this case- the culture in which they are studying. I think Kuma makes a valid point, that this restricts the language learner into forming an almost subconscious  judgement of a culture because it lacks the the rich diversity  L2 learners bring with them. However, I think Kuma needs to take a little further and say that this not only ignores the diversity L2 learners bring with them, but also the multicultural variations within one culture. It may be expecting too much because it seems that this is almost never ending, not every person is the same even if they are from the same physical or linguistic environment, obviously.

I think the answer is that we must then create a critical cultural conscious awareness which he suggests. This, as Kuma states, can allow inherent culture and learned culture to blend and form some sort of negotiated meaning. I think it could be argued that this is being done on at least one level for every citizen of our world who has some sort of technological access such as T.V., internet, phones, etc. Our students, whether language learners or not, are constantly being faced with global issues that they must, at some point, take on a perspective. If this is true for mono lingual students, than it must be especially true for bilingual, or multilingual students. It is therefore, almost obligatory that our language learners are exposed to and aware of the multicultural varieties within one place. Knowing ones own culture and finding such an identity in our growing world is essential to the understanding of others.