Self-Assessment Time!

I mentioned before that the state I teach in offers an online version of Linguafolio for students to self-assess their language levels and track their progress.

In the first week of the course back in January, students self-assessed using Linguafolio to get a baseline of their Spanish skills. Yesterday was the last day of the quarter, so the 7th grade Spanish I class strolled over to the computer lab to re-assess after having had nine weeks of instruction and practice.

Our goal for this quarter was for all students to achieve Novice Mid across the five language skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening, and conversation).  Most students on their initial self-assessment in January scored below a Novice Low (the lowest proficiency level).  73% of students scored Novice Low in one or two areas; only 10% of students scored a Novice Mid in any area on that initial assessment.

Based on the data collected yesterday, 79% of students scored Novice Mid or higher on all five language skills. The remaining 21% scored just one level below goal on only one skill. This tells me that the goal we set was reasonable, and it shows enormous growth.

I don't consider Linguafolio to be the ultimate measurement of students' skills; after all, it is a self-assessment, and there is a certain degree of subjectivity that enters into a group of 7th graders deciding what they're able to do or not.

So I also looked at the data from our class grading system, in which I assessed students based on their ability to perform to the standard. We use this 6-10 scale:

Grades in Spanish Class
And how to move forward

10       I meet or exceed the standard!

I’m ready to move on to the next level in this skill! I should look at my standards packet to see where to go next.

9          I almost meet the standard.

I’m really, really close! I just need to make an extra push and I’ll be there!

8          I’m struggling with this standard.

I need to ask Srta. Elliott to meet with me during class or homebase to explain it again and practice.  I may need to practice on my own at home with materials from Srta. Elliott, which she is happy to offer me.

7          I can’t do this standard yet at all.

This is so frustrating! I need extra help from Srta. Elliott outside of class, and I need to practice on my own with the materials I ask her for.

I WILL ask for help!

6          This assignment/assessment is missing.

I didn’t turn this in and I need to get it in NOW!

I assess each of the five skills individually, then average the scores to get a student's final grade. Using this system, 71% of students earned As (i.e., they meet or exceed the standard), 21% earned Bs (i.e., they very nearly met the standard but were missing something small that held them back from demonstrating complete ability), and 7% earned Cs (i.e., they still struggle with the standard).  For the most part, this lines up with their self-assessed levels, though there is some slight disparity here and there.  I plan to conduct individual conferences with students in which we look at their self-assessed scores and their teacher-assessed scores to determine their strengths and their needs.

In the meantime, I have some possible explanations for the disparity.

1.) The self-assessed scores are higher than the teacher-assessed scores. This may be due to students over-estimating their own abilities in the language, which is par for the course.  It's easy to think, "Oh, I can do that" until you actually have to do the thing. To try to combat this, I tell students not to check off a skill unless they can think of a specific time that they performed that skill in Spanish.  This has been helpful, but students may still be over-estimating themselves in the language.  It happens.

2.) Students had the opportunity to practice their weak skills and re-assess with me.  None of those C-earning students took advantage of that opportunity on any of their five skills.  I feel confident that had they tried, all of them would have improved at least one of their skill scores, and therefore their overall score. This is something that we will discuss this week, as those students may not have thought the effort would be worth their time.

In a group of 38 students, the C-earners account for only three students.  This, to me, is remarkable. This clearly points out which students need more of my attention and help, and which skills they need the most help with.  I can pinpoint exactly how to help those three students and concentrate my efforts to achieve the greatest possible outcome for them.  I will, of course, be helping the rest of the group, too--just because they scored As and Bs doesn't mean they're done with me! But I can use the data I've collected to zero in on which students need help with which skills the most, and as it's based on skill standards, the data is quite reliable and actionable.