This article about co-planning to co-construct assessments is part 6 in the Teacher Collaboration.

In the previous article, we’ve defined  Sustained Co-Planning as a dynamic partnership that allows content and English language teachers (ELTs) to plan a unit from start to finish.  This practice prioritizes teaching content and academic language in tandem.  If the principles of Sustained Co-Planning are truly honored, then the content teacher will seek input from the ELTs on how to best assess all students – not just the ELs.

Why co-construct assessments?

In Sustained Co-Planning, both content and language standards are explicitly taught.  Therefore, it would make sense for both teachers to also co-construct the assessment.

Moreover, co-constructing assessments draw from each teacher’s expertise.The content teachers are experts at discipline-specific knowledge and skills while the ELTs ensure that the language and structure of the assessment is language-friendly.  The ELTs can also prevent the area-specific assessment from becoming a reading test.

Additionally, if we use backwards planning, then creating the assessment isn’t the end of the unit, but it is one of the first steps completed while the unit is being built.  

Finally, co-constructing assessments allows for greater differentiation.  For example, in Mr. A’s 7th grade science class, there is a particular EL (Anny) who is also has been diagnosed with processing issues.  

I initially created one version of the assessment and sent it to Mr. A for review.  Upon reading it, he believed that Anny was capable of answering a few more challenging questions. That’s an additional benefit of co-constructing the assessment.  I, as the language specialist, tend to over-scaffold and over-support ELs.  At times, I run the risk of making the assessment too easy, which is why Mr. A is there to prevent that from happening.

Rely on your expertise

A running theme in Sustained Co-Planning – and collaboration in general – is contributing from our area of expertise.  There are clear responsibilities for each teacher while co-constructing assessments.

Because the content specialist is the most familiar with the content skills and knowledge, then it’s best for them to initially design the questions or assessment.  Co-constructing doesn’t necessarily mean simultaneously.  The goal is to have both teachers shape and provide input in the process of creating the assessment, so that ELTs can contribute anytime during the process.  

If it’s a traditional assessment, then I personally like for the content teacher to provide:

  • the context,
  • the sequencing of the parts of the assessment, and
  • the questions.  

This way, I can easily come in afterward to modify the language as needed.  

The ELT is responsible for:

  • how students will interact with the language in the assessment and
  • considering how students will communicate their ideas.
Ways to Modify an Assessment

Mr. A and I frequently engage in Sustained Co-Planning.  In the ecosystems unit, he first created a traditional assessment.  Then, he asked me to scaffold the assessment’s language.  I’ve attached the modified assessment here for you to compare with the non-EL assessment.  Notice how he incorporated some of the scaffolds designed for the ELs with native-speaking students too.

Below are things that I did that supported all students (including ELs) as they engaged with the assessment:

1. Supplied a Word Bank  

The most important vocabulary words were identified and placed in a word bank.  We didn’t need the ELs to remember the spelling of the words, but we did want to assess their understanding of the words’ meaning.   An example of the word bank is presented below the next strategy.

2. Provided Synonyms

I wanted to prevent the test from becoming a reading assessment, so I provided synonyms to more challenging words when possible.  In the image below, you will see an answer that was originally, “An organism that produces its own food by using light energy”.  I kept the original academic words (“organism” and “produces”) because I wanted the ELs to be exposed to the academic vocabulary but provided a synonym in parentheses.  The synonym is there only if they need it.

ELL strategies creating assessments with content teacher

3. Used Simple Sentence Structure

Simple sentence structure usually consists of a sentence that follows this pattern: noun + verb + detail.  There are no dependent clauses introducing the sentence, and there are no compound sentences that add another level of complexity.  For example, in Mr. A’s assessment, Question 15 was originally written as:

In Hawaii, there’s a very diverse population of colorful birds.  Though these birds have no natural predators, explain what would happen if domestic cats were introduced to the islands?

Notice how these sentences both have dependent clauses leading the independent clause.  This grammatical complexity creates the potential for the question to become a reading assessment instead of a content-based assessment.  Therefore, I used the noun + verb + detail formula to create sentences with more simple sentence structures.  I modified Question 15 as such:

Hawaii has a very diverse population of colorful birds. These birds do not have natural predators. Explain the potential impact of the introduction of domestic cats on these populations.

4. Offered Sentence Stems

I also provided sentence stems to help ELs formulate their ideas more effectively. Sentence stems do not provide the answer; they simply support ELs in producing writing that follows an academic structure.  

We used this simple sentence stem below because we wanted a particular EL to write in full sentences.

Using sentence stems to help ELs access assessment tasks

Jane Echevarria, one of the founders of the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) model, recommends offering sentence stems that are increasingly more difficult so that ELs continue to grow after they have mastered the basics.  Her article on the topic is entitled “Are Language Frames Good for English Learners”.

5. Added Images

We added relevant images, like the one above, to help ELs remember content vocabulary words. While the images contain the answer, ELs still need to write academic sentences to communicate their understanding.

Takeaways

There are many benefits of co-constructing student assessments.  When teachers each contribute from their area of expertise, integrating language and content standards, ELs are the ones who benefit the most.  

To plan together but not assess together is like driving without a destination.  The experience can be fun and memorable, but there are no guardrails that keep content and language aligned on the same path. Pick where you’d like to go, and help each other stay on the pavement.

What’s holding you back from collaborating on assessments?

Next Post

In Articles 43 to 48, I talked exclusively about different forms of co-planning on the Collaboration Continuum.  I’ll devote the next few articles to explaining co-teaching.  These articles will

  • introduce the concept,
  • explain the different forms of co-teaching, and
  • provide suggestions on how to co-teach in various settings.

The very next one is a denunciation of providing “push-in/pull-out” to content teachers.  I write it as a fiery criticism of a long-held practice in the field, and I stand firmly in defense of a more inclusive approach.