1. The Missing Link:
Student Learning Outcomes & Language Proficiency Assessment
TESOL Convention 2010, March 26, 2010
Kevin Staff, Palomar College & Cuyamaca College
I. Introduction to Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)
•SLOs as measurable course objectives or exit skills
•A brief background to the administration of SLOs, and my (lack of) interest
II. General Proficiency Scales, and the Problems of Assessing Writing
•The ACTFL scale (basis of the California Pathways documentation that influenced CB 21 coding)
http://www.sil.org/lingualinks/languagelearning/OtherResources/ACTFLProficiencyGuidelines/contents.htm
•The ILR Scale www.govtilr.org
•Common European Framework of Reference for Languages http://www.englishprofile.org/
•CASAS, and its ESL & ABE (Adult Basic Education) descriptors
www.casas.org/home/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.showContent&MapID=562
III. CB 21 Coding and More Specific Scales for Basic Skills and Community College Contexts
•California Community Colleges Chief Instructional Officers Guide for Proper CB 21 Coding
www.ccccio.org/documents/Rubrics.doc (really just a long-winded version of the links below)
•California Community Colleges Basic Skills Initiative “ESL Writing Rubric” and “Non-Credit ESL
Writing Rubric” (these are downloadable documents from the link rather than direct links)
www.cccbsi.org/cb21-information
IV. A Backdoor Approach to Articulating SLOs
•Four proposed assessment instruments:
(1) In-class essay
(2) Student portfolio
(3) Oral skills assessment
(4) Discrete-point grammar test
•Matching SLOs to proficiency levels
•Specifying Task Conditions and Needed “Scaffolding”
V. Writing Samples, and the Problems of Grading (In-class vs. Take-home, Individual Proficiency Profiles)
VI. Annotated Bibliography. For a copy, email me at kstaff@palomar.edu
