Assessment Requirements
Alberta Education requires language proficiency assessment to demonstrate a student’s need for additional language supports and to inform EAL programming and instruction. Benchmarks 2.0 meets Alberta Education language proficiency assessment requirements. The Funding Manual for School Authorities and the Guide to Education: ECS to Grade 12 language proficiency assessment requirements include the following:
- An initial language proficiency assessment to identify students who need EAL support and to apply EAL coding for identification and funding (see the Funding Manual for School Authorities).
- EAL grant funding is available for up to 5 years.
- Some EAL learners may need support for more than the 5 years of EAL funding eligibility.
- For these students, it is recommended to keep their EAL coding on for as long as they are assessed to need EAL programming and instructional support.
- Language proficiency assessment of these learners’ English language development should continue to inform EAL programming and instruction.
- EAL coding should be removed once a student no longer requires EAL programming and instructional support.
- Annual and ongoing language proficiency assessment to inform EAL instructional planning in all subject areas and to provide timely and appropriate learning supports (see the Guide to Education: ECS to Grade 12).
- Documentation of an annual language proficiency assessment in one or more strands (listening, speaking, reading, and/or writing) must be kept on file at the school and be made available to Alberta Education upon request (see the Funding Manual for School Authorities).
- It is recommended that annual and ongoing language proficiency assessment includes assessment of all four strands (listening, speaking, reading, and writing).
English language proficiency assessment using Benchmarks 2.0 includes both of the following:
- The tracking sheet dated and initialed when the EAL learner has achieved most of the indicator(s) in a key competency at a particular level in a variety of contexts.
- Annual and ongoing language proficiency assessment includes assessment of all three key competencies (vocabulary, sentence structure, and connections and transitions) in one or more strands.
- It is recommended that assessment include all four strands (listening, speaking, reading, and writing).
AND
- One of the following with annotations correlating to Benchmarks 2.0:
- observational notes of student language use and understanding in the classroom
- a sample of student work (oral language, reading, and/or writing in any subject area)
- initial assessment screeners (picture prompts and/or levelled readers with questions, writing prompts)
- Remaining strands and supporting competencies can assist schools with further programming and assessment to inform explicit EAL instruction in all subject areas and to meet students’ individual EAL needs.
- Pre-K–K EAL learners are assessed on listening and/or speaking only.
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