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Session 5. Assessing Fairly in a Second Language
Objective. Rewrite two test questions to cut unneeded language load, mark three pupil answers with separate content and language comments, and add one alternative way to answer.
A mark is a message to a pupil, a parent and the teacher. If the mark says “weak in science” when the real story is “still learning the language”, the message is wrong and the consequences are real: lower expectations, fewer chances and a pupil who stops trying. Fair assessment does not lower the standard. It checks that the test measures what you want it to measure. This session gives you a short checklist for tests and a simple way to mark content and language apart.
Key ideas
Ask what you are measuring
- A science test is meant to measure science. If the question is so wordy that a pupil fails to understand it, you are measuring reading in the second language.
- Sometimes language is the target, as in an English lesson. Decide in advance and tell pupils which one you mark.
- Equal marks for equal knowledge is the standard for fairness, not equal wording.
Cut the language load, keep the thinking
- Use short sentences, one question at a time, plain words, and put the key verb in bold: explain, compare, label.
- Avoid idioms, double negatives such as “which is not incorrect”, and unneeded stories before the question.
- Allow a short glossary, a picture and a few extra minutes. Do not lower the thinking: replacing a “why” question with a “name” question is a different test.
Let pupils show learning in more than one way
- Offer drawing and labelling, tables, matching, short oral answers or a first draft in the home language that the pupil then rewrites.
- This uses translanguaging as an assessment scaffold. Use it for what you are testing, and fade it as the language develops.
- Keep a simple record over several weeks, because one test shows one day.
Mark content and language separately
- Give a content mark for the idea and a separate comment on one language point, for example the connecting word “because”.
- Comment on one language point at a time. A page of red corrections shows pupils only what they cannot do.
- Share the criteria before the test and explain to parents what each mark means.
One answer, two messages
Content mark
What the pupil knows
- Is the idea correct?
- Is the reasoning complete?
- Scored with a clear scale, such as 0 to 4
Language comment
How the pupil says it
- One point at a time
- A word or pattern to try next
- Tracked over several weeks
What is the test really measuring?
Every question has a target, such as explaining why a puddle disappears. It also has a language load: reading the question, understanding the words and writing in sentences. When the language load is greater than the target needs, the result mixes two things and nobody can tell which is which. The Michigan Assessment Consortium paper puts the aim simply: assessment should measure content knowledge without being distorted by language demands, while keeping high expectations.
A good habit is to ask of each question, “If a pupil answered in a drawing or in their home language, could I still see the thinking?” If yes, the language load can be reduced without changing the target. If no, because the language is the target, as in an English test, say so and teach it before you test it.
A practical kit: wording, ways to answer, marking
Wording: short sentences, one question at a time, plain words, the key verb in bold, no idioms or double negatives. Ways to answer: a labelled drawing, a table, matching, a short oral answer, or a first draft in the home language that the pupil then rewrites. Conditions: a short glossary, a picture, extra minutes. These change how pupils show their thinking, not what the thinking must be.
Marking: give a content mark for the idea, and a separate comment on one language point. The EEF notes that the effect of feedback varies widely and depends on the learner, the task and the goal, so keep comments specific. Keep a simple record of both columns over several weeks. A pupil with a high content mark and changing language comments is learning, and that is the story for parents.
Examples from the classroom
A shorter question, the same thinking
Scene. Jasur teaches Grade 7 mathematics in Samarkand. His test question is eight lines long: a farmer has 120 kilograms of cotton and sells one third at the market after paying for transport. He rewrites it in two lines with a picture of a sack: “A farmer has 120 kg of cotton. He sells one third. How many kg are left? Show your steps.” The thinking is the same, and pupils who were stuck at reading now solve it.
Insight. Cutting the reading load kept the mathematics intact and exposed what pupils could really do.
Draw first, then write
Scene. Dilnoza teaches Grade 5 natural science in Fergana. Feruza, who speaks Karakalpak at home, draws the water cycle with arrows, labels it in Karakalpak, then copies the Uzbek words from the word wall. Dilnoza gives 3 out of 4 for content, and the language comment says: “Next time add ‘because’ to one arrow.” Two weeks later Feruza writes a full sentence.
Insight. A home-language draft was a step toward the final answer, not a replacement for it.
Explaining two marks to a parent
Scene. Malika teaches Grade 6 history in Bukhara. Aziz writes an accurate paragraph about the Silk Road with many grammar errors. His record shows content 4 out of 4 and a language comment about past-tense verbs. At the parents' meeting Malika shows both columns. Aziz's father says he now knows what to practise at home: reading the paragraph aloud.
Insight. Separate marks tell parents both what the child knows and what to practise.
Common pitfalls
- Giving a low mark for a correct idea because of spelling and grammar in a subject test.
- Replacing a “why” question with a “name” question and calling it fairer, when it lowers the thinking.
- Handing back a page full of corrections, so the pupil sees only what is wrong.
- Giving extra support on the test but never teaching the pupil how to answer that kind of question.
Fix the Test, Mark Fairly
- Read the five-question Grade 6 science test and the three pupil answers to question 3 in your Activity Kit. All three pupils are in a Russian-medium class.
- In pairs (12 min): rewrite questions 1 and 2 so they measure the same thinking with less language load. Write what you changed and why.
- In pairs (13 min): mark the three answers to question 3 with a content mark out of 4 and a one-point language comment for each. Compare with the traditional single mark.
- As a group (10 min): add one alternative way to answer question 3 (a drawing, a table, a home-language first draft) and agree what the content mark will be for each way.
Your facilitator will guide you through this activity in the session.
Questions to discuss
- Which question wording was the biggest barrier, and what did you change?
- Did the content mark and the old single mark agree for each pupil? Where did they differ?
- What would you say to a parent who asks, “Why is my child’s mark different from the language mark?”
Reflect
- Think of your last test. Which question could a pupil fail because of the wording alone?
- Which pupil could show you more with a drawing or a home-language draft?
- How will you tell pupils whether you are marking content, language or both?
Try it tomorrow
- Take your next test and rewrite two questions: shorter sentences, one question at a time, the key verb in bold.
- Add one other way to answer, such as a labelled drawing or a home-language first draft, and decide what a full-mark answer looks like in each.
- Mark one set of writing with two columns, content and one language point, and tell pupils beforehand what you will mark.
Further reading and links
Decide what you are measuring, cut the language load that is not the target, mark content and language apart and offer another way to answer.