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ASSESSMENT & TECHNOLOGY FORUM June 19, 2004

2004 Gallery Walk Projects Title: Test of Emerging Academic English: Listening and Speaking ("TEAELS") Organization: Minnesota Department of Education Web site:  http://education.state.mn.us/html/mde_home.htm

Contacts / Presenters:	Diane Gamm, ELL Technology Specialist - diane.gamm@state.mn.us
What purpose does your assessment tool serve?	TEAELS is a computer delivered, statewide assessment being developed to assess the academic English listening and speaking skills of students who are “English language learners.” It is being developed with funding from a Title VI federal grant for “Enhanced Assessment Instruments” to improve the validity and reliability of current practices which rely on teacher observation, as well as to meet the requirements of No Child Left Behind legislation.
Please indicate the category that best describes your project:	Technology as an Assessment Tool: _X_ NCLB Statewide Assessments (Preparation, Delivery, Analysis) ___ Classroom Assessments (tests, quizzes) ___ Electronic/Digital Portfolios ___ Computer Scored Essays ___ Information Management Systems ___ Tools for Observation of Student Work/Behavior ___ Special Needs/Alternative Assessments ___ Other:________________________   Assessing Technology Skills (NETS * S and NETS * T): ___ Digital Transcript ___ NCLB 8 th Grade IT Literacy ___ High School IT Graduation Requirements ___ IT Certifications (Cisco, Microsoft, etc.) ___ 21 st Century Skills ___ Other:________________________
How long has this assessment tool been in use within your organization?	We just finished testing a fully functioning “prototype” with 100 students this spring, and will develop versions for pilot testing spring 2005.
Who is the audience for this assessment tool?	Grades 2-12 (and possibly K-2) in Minnesota . South Carolina and Nevada are partners in the project also.
What technology is used? (Please indicate hardware, software, and networking requirements)	The prototype was delivered on laptops, with results later uploaded via the web to a master database. Macromedia Flash was used to create the test. Carnegie Speech software was integrated to test the feasibility of scoring oral responses automatically. A connection to the internet and a browser is used to access student oral responses for scoring by human raters.
Approximately how many people are currently using this system?	150 K-12 Students (current year) Please indicate grade level(s):_ 9-12_____ 20 raters K-12 Teachers   Teacher education students   Teacher education faculty   Other
What professional development (for students or assessors) is required to use the tool?	There is a brief practice section built into the assessment. Raters, currently made up of our Teacher Advisory Committee, attend an in-person training before rating student's oral responses.
To use the tool effectively, what else should the school have in place?	Larger scale administration is still being developed. Eventually, a practice test will be given to ELL classrooms beforehand. Special headsets will most likely be needed to get good quality recordings.
If you haven't already addressed it, how does your tool help students or teachers demonstrate that they are meeting standards?	The first part of the grant included writing standards for English language proficiency. The assessment is being developed based on those standards. It will also be used to demonstrate progress in the English proficiency skills of listening and speaking.
What questions would you like participants to address?	What has been the process for developing the assessment to this stage? Why did you choose Flash and Carnegie Speech software to create the prototype? What did you learn by testing out the prototype on the 100 students? What are some of the anticipated problems in fully implementing this type of computer delivered assessment statewide? What are the next steps in the process?