Surveys of Enacted Curriculum for English Language Learner Instruction, Standards, and Assessments: Evaluating Language Demands and Language Complexity Edynn Sato, Ph.D. Enhanced Assessment Grant Washington, D.C. December 6 & 7, 2007

2 Overview Content and Academic Language –Content/Topics –Cognitive Complexity –Language Demands –Language Complexity Language Demands—Academic Language Functions Language Complexity

3 What is the nature of the language that students need to meaningfully engage with and achieve academic content?

4 Content and Academic Language What is the relationship? ContentAcademic Language ContentAcademic Language Content

5 Interacting Dimensions of Content and Language Content/Topics Cognitive Demands Language Demands—Academic Language Functions Language Complexity

6 Given the expected student outcome (content, learning), how do we expect students to use (receive, produce) language to acquire/demonstrate understanding of the content?

7 Content and Language: Example Content Comprehension Language Label Organize Compare/Contrast Describe Summarize Analyze Synthesize Variation in: –Length –Amount of detail –Level of abstraction –Vocabulary –Sentence structure –Discourse style

8 Content and Language: Example Content Geometric concepts Language Identify Classify Compare/Contrast Define Analyze Generalize Evaluate Variation in: –Length –Amount of detail –Level of abstraction –Vocabulary –Sentence structure –Discourse style

9 Content and Language: Example Content Demonstrate/Explain Language Label Sequence Describe Explain Summarize Persuade Synthesize Variation in: –Length –Amount of detail –Level of abstraction –Vocabulary –Sentence structure –Discourse style

10 Content and Language: Example Content Memorize Language Label Enumerate Classify Define Retell Variation in: –Length –Amount of detail –Level of abstraction –Vocabulary –Sentence structure –Discourse style

11 Language Demand and Complexity: Example Demand Label Complexity Word or Phrase Level of detail Level of abstraction Level of familiarity

12 Language Demand and Complexity: Example Demand Summary Complexity Paragraph with simple and/or complex sentences Length Level of detail Level of abstraction

According to the tall tale, what indicates that the bear had left the fish for Jennes? A. The bear left the fist in Jennes’ shack. B. The bear batted the fish onto the shore. C. The bear waved his paw to Jennes. D. The bear cleaned up the spilled molasses.

According to the pamphlet, how do fluorescent light bulbs lessen amounts of mercury in the environment? A. by shining brighter than regular light bulbs B. by producing light that makes mercury spills easier to see C. by using less electricity produced in coal burning plants D. by burning longer than regular light bulbs

15 Excerpt from passage related to Item 15: “Well, sir, he had a fine feed, and when he had eaten half a dozen fine big trout, he paused, looked over at the bushes where I was and actually laid the remaining fish in a row. Then he ambled off up the shore and oddly enough kept looking back over his shoulder.” “I walked down to the beach and true enough there were half a dozen wonderful trout. At the edge of the woods the bear stopped and was standing up. As loud as I could, I yelled, ‘Thanks, old man!’ Do you know he actually waved a paw at me and dove into the thicket. I honestly think he left me those fish to pay for my spilled molasses. No, sir, I never shoot bears.”

16 Excerpt from text related to Item 32: Use fluorescent lights. Although they have a little mercury they save a lot of electricity, reducing reliance on coal burning power plants—a major source of mercury pollution.

17 6. The floor of the lobby of a theater is shaped like a rectangle, as shown below. Before a performance starts, a velvet rope is stretched diagonally across the lobby. Which of the following best describes the diagonal length of the lobby? A. between 8 and 9 meters B. between 9 and 10 meters C. between 10 and 11 meters D. between 11 and 12 meters

18 4. The minimum distance from Neptune to Earth is about 2.68 billion miles. What is 2.68 billion written in scientific notation?

A shipping box is in the shape of a rectangular prism, as shown below. It has a length of 12 inches. It has a width of 6 inches. It has a volume of 288 cubic inches. What is the height, in inches, of the shipping box?

A rancher has two water tanks. Each water tank is in the shape of a cylinder. The base of each water tank is in the shape of a circle. Diagrams of the two water tanks are shown below. a. What is the circumference, in feet, of the base of Water Tank 1? Show or explain how you got your answer. (Use 3.14 for π.) b. The circumference of the base of Water Tank 2 is 6.28 feet longer than that of Water Tank 1. What is the diameter, in feet, of the base of Water Tank 2? Show or explain how you got your answer. (Use 3.14 for π.) c. How many more square feet does the base of Water Tank 2 cover than the base of Water Tank 1? Show or explain how you got your answer. (Use 3.14 for π.)