When Standardized Tests Fail: Assessing ESL Literacy Learners in California

Abstract

In California, standardized language assessments are typically administered to adult English as a Second Language (ESL) students upon enrollment; students then take these same tests throughout the academic year to demonstrate progress. As these tests only assess listening and reading skills, schools often utilize their own agency-developed assessments to more accurately place students and subsequently to determine level promotion. Engaged in participatory action research, this study interviewed personnel at adult schools and learning centers, documenting the varying assessment policies and procedures employed at each facility, and highlighting the practices of ESL literacy instructors who devise their own measurements to track emerging literacy and oral language development in their students. This study underscores the discrepancies between the state's policies and actual pedagogical needs, and proposes ways to improve ESL assessment throughout the state.