Avant Assessment.

Avant Assessment

Which needs can assessments address?
Placement (For Grades 7 – University) A quick, efficient way to assess students for accurate placement into courses Web-based Completed Anytime / Anywhere (computer lab, off campus, etc.) *SHL Placement assessment also available for Spanish heritage speakers to address their unique placement needs *SHL requires proctored environment Proficiency (For Grades 2 – University) A thorough measure of student progress towards real-world proficiency for use in: Measuring student progress Program evaluation Credit by Exam Seal of Biliteracy Award Creating and Monitoring Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes (SLO’s and SGO’s)

For which languages are assessments available?
. ** ** **Coming Soon 3

Proficiency Avant STAMP 4S and 4Se

Snapshot - Let’s Talk About Avant STAMP 4S and 4Se
STAMP 4S (Standards-Based Measure of Proficiency 4 Skills) Multi-Stage Adaptive Algorithm Efficiently measures proficiency on real-world language tasks ~2 hours to complete, can be taken over sessions Elementary Grades 2-6 Grade 7-Higher Education Proficiency Reports Provides a variety of data reports for student evaluation, class and group distribution, and learner reports for use in conferencing with students and parents. Aids in measuring student progress, program evaluation,

Focusing in specifically on Avant STAMP 4S (Middle School, High School, Higher Education)
Grade 7-Higher Education

Diving Deeper - What does a learner experience
Diving Deeper - What does a learner experience? Logging In and Self-Evaluation Student Login Username and Password are Avant-Generated Full Name entered by student and must be identical name if stopping the test and logging in again to “continue test”.

Diving Deeper - What does a learner experience? Student Profile
Student Data Collection Student data collected for extra information for teachers and program administrators.

Diving Deeper - What does a learner experience? Student Profile
Student data collected for extra information for teachers and program administrators. Aids in providing extra information for decision-making and to understand the background of students in the class. Does not inform the test in any way, but is visible within Excel “Line Item” report

Diving Deeper - What does a learner experience?
READING LISTENING 30 Questions – minutes 30 Questions Minutes Reading results inform the test for writing questions Listening results inform the test for speaking questions WRITING SPEAKING 3 Questions – 25 Minutes 3 Questions Minutes ~ 2 hours

How Does the Assessment Work?
Multi-Stage Adaptive Test Engine For reading and listening, all students begin the test on the medium test form for the first 10 questions and then adjust up, down, or continue with medium depending on their score. Novice students are encouraged to do their best for these first 10 questions even if they may be challenging and that the test will adjust to their level

Reading Comprehension
Realia-Based and Proficiency-Based content Real-world items require learners to read for comprehension and not simply for interpretation. This involves scanning, locating information, and making decisions based on the visual print. A range of content complexity addresses learners at different levels. Novice Advanced Intermediate

Writing Easy Novice Easy Easy Advanced Hard Intermediate Medium Medium
Realia-Based and Proficiency-Based content Learners respond to a real-world writing prompt. Includes a list of language characters that can be used when typing. Examples including writing a letter about yourself to a friend in a foreign exchange program, comparing and contrasting career options, and writing to an e-pal about weekend plans. The writing sample is viewable for instructors inside the reporting system. Easy Novice Easy Easy Advanced Hard Intermediate Medium Medium

Listening Intermediate Novice Advanced
Realia-Based and Proficiency-Based content Learners can listen to the prompt up to two times and choose the accurate answer. Listening tasks increase in length and complexity and question choices reflect this as well. Intermediate Novice Advanced

Speaking Advanced Novice Intermediate
Realia-Based and Proficiency-Based content Real-world speaking prompts include example such as asking students to describe surroundings, share about friends, or discuss job candidacy. Learners record their speaking sample. They can stop and listen to playback, stop and add more to the sample, or start over and re-record. Advanced Novice Intermediate

Viewing Reports as an Teacher / Administrator

Reports Class/Group Report
Shows student distribution across each skill domain and graph for a quick visual overview and a sense of how students are doing as a group. We can visualize for the group how many students in the class and the number and percentage that are proficient at different levels. A scoring key is available above the report for quick referencing.

Below the report shows each student with login name, first/last name and scores in each domain. The system does not give a composite score. Just individual scores in each area of Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking. Individual Report Hyperlink

Individual Learner Report
Uses ACTFL inverted pyramid. As student moves up on the proficiency scale, they need to be able to do more and more tasks in the language. Student’s Writing and Speaking samples are hyperlinked to show a digital portfolio. Both the question prompt and the student’s samples are shown or available to be heard. Great for student-teacher or parent-teacher conferences where we can have a discussion about the student’s strengths and next steps. This is the 4Se report. We should use the 4S one that shows the right pyramid and levels. Also, there are only two responses for writing and speaking in 4Se and 3 in 4S, this would be confusing.

Student’s Writing Sample in response to the prompt
Student Writing Sample (Includes question prompt for context) Prompt Student’s Writing Sample in response to the prompt

Student’s Speaking Sample in response to the prompt
Student Speaking Sample (Includes question prompt for context) Prompt Student’s Speaking Sample in response to the prompt

Avant STAMP 4Se (Elementary Grades 2-6) Engaging Content for Younger Learners Content and a variety of question-types are geared to younger learners who may be familiar with video-game like features Reading Comprehension Listening Zone-click Zone-click Comic book item types Writing Picture-click Speaking

Proficiency Avant STAMP 4S and 4Se

Snapshot - Let’s Talk About Avant STAMP 4S and 4Se
STAMP 4S (Standards-Based Measure of Proficiency 4 Skills - Elementary) Multi-Stage Adaptive Algorithm Efficiently measures proficiency on real-world language tasks ~2 hours to complete, can be taken over sessions Test Items Consist of Realia-based content in Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking – Using real-world language in the real world to accomplish real tasks Elementary Grades 2-6 Grade 7-Higher Education Proficiency Reports Provides a variety of data reports for student evaluation, class and group distribution, and learner reports for use in conferencing with students and parents. Aids in measuring student progress, program evaluation,

Focusing in specifically on Avant STAMP 4Se
Elementary Grades 3-6

Diving Deeper - What does a learner experience? Logging In
Student Login Username and Password are Avant-Generated Full Name entered by student and must be identical name if stopping the test and logging in again to “continue test”. Same as with the 4S..... Use the correct login information.

Diving Deeper - What does a learner experience? Logging In and Orientation to Content Orienting to Audio and Microphone Audio is present throughout, so this gives students a chance to check that earphones are functioning adequately. Likewise, microphones must be adequate for the speaking samples. Students are offered the opportunity to orient to these features.

Diving Deeper - What does a learner experience? Logging In and Orientation to Content Flexible Assessment - Choose a Starting Point All assessments are independent of one another and can be completed in any order and in several sessions. This is helpful if the test needs to be taken over time to allow breaks or to fit classroom schedules. In addition, some schools have students take turns where half the students are using available microphones for speaking while others are taking tests in reading. 30 Questions ~ Minutes 2 Prompts ~ 10 Minutes 30 Questions ~ Minutes 2 Prompts ~ 10 Minutes ~ 1 to 1 1/2 hours

Diving Deeper - What does a learner experience? Logging In and Orientation to Content Orientation Introduction to a child tutor with a child’s voice to orient the student to the test format and where to click

How Does the Assessment Work?
Multi-Stage Adaptive Test Engine For reading and listening, all students begin the test on the medium test form for the first 10 questions and then adjust up, down, or continue with medium depending on their score. Novice students are encouraged to do their best for these first 10 questions even if they may be challenging and that the test will adjust to their level

Overview Avant STAMP 4Se (Elementary Grades 2-6) Engaging Content for Younger Learners Content and a variety of question-types such as zone-click and picture-click are geared to younger learners who may be familiar with video-game like features Reading Comprehension Listening Zone-click Zone-click Comic book item types Writing Picture-click Speaking

Realia-Based Content Real-world items require learners to read for comprehension and not simply for interpretation. A range of content complexity addresses learners at different levels.

Writing Realia-Based and Proficiency-Based content
We ask learners to respond to a real-world writing prompt. The written directions are spoken in English as well so that a student’s reading ability does not interfere with understanding the task at this elementary level. There are two prompts. Includes a list of language characters that can be used when typing. The writing sample is viewable for instructors inside the reporting system.

Listening Realia-Based Content
Learners can listen to the prompt up to two times and choose the accurate answer. Listening tasks increase in length complexity and question choices reflect this as well.

Speaking Realia-Based and Proficiency-Based content
Learners record their speaking sample. They can stop and listen to playback, add more, or start over and re-record. The prompt is spoken in English to eliminate confusion.

Shows student distribution across each skill domain and graph for a quick visual overview and a sense of how students are doing as a group. We can visualize how many students are in the class and the number and percentage that are proficient at different levels. A scoring key is available above the report for quick referencing.

Below the report shows each student with login name, first/last name and scores in each domain. The system does not give a composite score. Just individual scores in each area of Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking. Individual Report Hyperlink

Individual Learner Report
Uses ACTFL inverted pyramid. As student moves up on the proficiency scale, they need to be able to do more and more tasks in the language. Student’s Writing and Speaking samples are hyperlinked to show a digital portfolio. Both the question prompt and the student’s samples are shown or available to be heard. Great for student-teacher or parent-teacher conferences where we can have a discussion about the student’s strengths and next steps.

Student’s Writing Sample in response to the prompt
Student Writing Sample (Includes question prompt for context) Prompt Student’s Writing Sample in response to the prompt

Student’s Speaking Sample in response to the prompt
Student Speaking Sample (Includes question prompt for context) Prompt Student’s Speaking Sample in response to the prompt

Avant PLACE

Snapshot - Let’s Talk About Avant PLACE
Quick, Semi-Adaptive Design Identifies learners at different levels through self-evaluation and assigns appropriate test form for quick, accurate assessment ~40 minutes Hard Test Items Consist of Realia-based content in Reading, Contextualized Grammar, Writing, and Speaking (signs, newspaper articles, radio and TV samples, and other real-world language experiences) Medium Easy Provides a suggested placement level into campus courses Avant placement levels are based on ACTFL levels and align with most campus course offerings, but can be tailored to unique campus needs

Diving Deeper - What does a learner experience? Logging In and Self-Evaluation Student Login Username and Password are Avant-Generated Full Name entered by student and must be identical name if stopping the test and logging in again to “continue test” as shown Teacher Login For viewing reports

Diving Deeper - What does a learner experience? Logging In and Self-Evaluation Student Self-Evaluation Student data collected for extra information for teachers and program administrators Does not inform the test in any way, but is visible within reports and aids in providing extra information for program management

Assigning Appropriate Content for Quick, Accurate Assessment
(Learner Self-Evaluation) Semi-Adaptive Locator Block Assigns the Appropriate Test Form Students assess their own language abilities based on very descriptive “Can-Do” Statements in 5 areas. They rate the different receptive and productive things they can do and we assign an appropriate test block. Can-do scores are visible within reports. 5 Can-Do Areas Interpretive Mode of Listening Interpretive Mode of Reading Interpersonal Speaking Presentational Speaking Presentational Writing Hard - (Intermediate Mid / Intermediate High) Medium - (Novice High/ Intermediate Low) Easy - (Novice Low/ Novice Mid)

After Self-Evaluation, Students Start the Test

The Structure of Avant PLACE Test Items
Test Items Consist of Realia-based Content signs, newspaper articles, radio and TV samples, and other real-world language experiences) Reading Comprehension 16 Questions Contextualized Grammar 14 Questions ~ 40 minutes Writing 1 Question Speaking 1 Question

Realia-Based and Proficiency-Based content Real-world items require learners to read for comprehension and not simply for interpretation. This involves scanning, locating information, and making decisions based on the visual print. A range of content complexity addresses learners at different levels. Novice Low/ Mid Intermediate Mid / High Novice High / Intermediate Low

Intermediate Mid / High Novice High / Intermediate Low
Contextual Grammar Realia-Based and Proficiency-Based content Embedded grammar tasks within the context of real-world examples such as guidebooks, postcards, and recipe cards are engaging and keep students interested. A range of content complexity addresses learners at different levels. Intermediate Mid / High Novice Low/ Mid Novice High / Intermediate Low

Writing Realia-Based and Proficiency-Based content Learners respond to a real-world writing prompt. Includes a list of language characters that can be used when typing. Examples including writing a letter about yourself to a friend in a foreign exchange program, comparing and contrasting career options, and writing to an e-pal about weekend plans. The student’s writing sample is then viewable for instructors inside the reporting system for review. Intermediate Mid / High Novice Low/ Mid Novice High / Intermediate Low

Speaking Realia-Based and Proficiency-Based content Real-world speaking prompts include example such as asking students to describe surroundings, share about friends, or discuss job candidacy. Learners record their speaking sample. They can stop and listen to playback, stop and add more to the sample, or start over and re-record. Intermediate Mid / High Novice Low/ Mid Novice High / Intermediate Low

Results Summary Class/Group Report (all students)
Suggested Placement Level Avant score corresponds to a placement level.

Suggested Placement Levels
Provides a suggested placement level into campus courses Avant placement levels are based on ACTFL levels and align with most campus course offerings, but can be tailored to unique campus needs A star means the student may be able to function at the next higher level, and you may want to look a bit more closely at writing, speaking, previous education, etc.

Detailed Report (one student)
Assessment Scores Includes associated number and % correct, weighted category scores, and overall average score Demographic Self Evaluation Data Includes the extra information students provided at the beginning of the test as well as breakout ratings and overall average for each of the “can do” abilities statements Avant Level Placement level for courses on a scale of 1 to 6. Student rated herself a 3 from the scale of 1-10 on overall proficiency. This student indicates she has taken the STAMP test. Both the speaking and writing samples are hyperlinked to the report.

Reports Detailed Learner Report
Writing and Speaking Samples These are hyperlinked from each learner report so that an instructor or program administrator can see and hear the writing and speaking submissions given by the student. This is especially useful and important when deciding where to place advanced students to discover further where their strengths and challenges lie and whether they can be included in higher courses based on their abilities. Speaking Sample Writing Sample

Detailed Report (online view in an account)

Avant Spanish Heritage Learner Test (SHL)

History of our Spanish Heritage Learners (SHL) Placement Test
The University of Houston in Houston, Texas has a large Hispanic Studies program, and includes a specific program track for the unique needs of heritage learners who grew up in Spanish-speaking environments and are able to communicate, to some extent, in more than one language. Some students are immigrants who have recently arrived in the US and have had extensive schooling in their native countries. Others are first, second, or third generation bilinguals whose abilities in the heritage language vary widely. While some are highly proficient in Spanish, others only possess basic speaking and listening skills, or merely understand the language. The main goal of this Program is to develop academic language skills through materials and activities specifically designed for Spanish heritage students. Dr. Marta Fairclough at University of Houston designed the backbone of our SHL placement test for learners in their program who needed an accurate method of assessment for placement into Spanish Heritage courses. Avant adopted and enhanced the test with specific features.

Snapshot - Let’s Talk About Avant’s Placement Test for Spanish Heritage Learners
Initial Design out of University of Houston - Adopted at Avant and Enhanced Avant enhanced the content and added early-exits for time efficiency and to lower frustration for those heritage speakers that may have a some ability but could benefit from being placed in more basic courses to address skill gaps and to improve academically in the language. The skills areas are designed to efficiently assess heritage learners’ abilities which present differently from students learning Spanish as a second language. SHL Test Sections Self-Assessment Lexical Recognition (100 items) Early Exit 1 Dictation (20 items) Partial Translation (10 items) Sentence Completion (25 items) Verb Conjugation (30 items) Early Exit 2 Speaking (1 item) Writing (1 item) Vocabulary 15 minutes Deeper Elements of Grammar Deeper Elements of Grammar 45 minutes Advanced Tasks requiring summarizing, interpretation of ideas, and explaining opinions Advanced Questions requiring summarizing what and interpretation of ideas and explaining opinions 30 minutes

Diving Deeper - What does a learner experience? Logging In and Self-Evaluation Student Login Username and Password are Avant-Generated Full Name entered by student and must be identical name if stopping the test and logging in again

Diving Deeper - What does a learner experience? Logging In and Self-Evaluation Student Self-Evaluation Student data collected for extra information for teachers and program administrators. If they have studied Spanish formally or taken other assessments, we want to know. If there are other speakers in the family, we want to know. And we ask a student to rate his own proficiency which speaks to his confidence. Does not inform the test in any way, but is visible within reports

Learner Self-Evaluation
Can-Do Statements in 5 areas Students assess their own language abilities based on “Can-Do” Statements in 5 areas Does not inform the test in any way, but provides more information on student confidence and perceived ability in each area. This feedback available in reports. 5 Can-Do Areas Interpretive Mode of Listening Interpretive Mode of Reading Interpersonal Speaking Presentational Speaking Presentational Writing

Lexical Recognition (Vocabulary)
Student Instructions Task We are measuring single-word vocabulary recognition. We are not asking students to define a word, only to recognize if a given word a real word or not. This is a quick way to measure vocabulary knowledge. Students are presented with 100 words and asked if they know the meaning of each. 40 of those words are not real words, but pseudo words that were developed in concert with expert linguists to mimic patterns and parts of speech of the Spanish language. If they check a real word, they gain a point. If they check a pseudo word, they lose a point. They are not penalized if they say they do not know a word. All real words are based on standard Spanish and are carefully chosen not to interfere with regional language differences that may occur between different cultures. 100 Words 60 Real Words Real Word Real Word 40 Pseudo Words Gain 1 Point No Penalty Lose 1 Point No Penalty

Early Exit 1 20% Correct Threshold Students must meet this threshold for the test area of Lexical Recognition to advance to the next sections of the assessment. If not, they exit early and the test is complete. This lowers frustration and is an efficient experience while providing effective data for appropriate placement into academic courses. Students that do well move on to assessment areas in the deeper aspects of grammar.

(Vocabulary and Basic Grammar)
Dictation (Vocabulary and Basic Grammar) Student Instructions Task Students are asked to listen to a spoken sample and fill in the word to dictation. Spelling and the use of accented characters does factor in to scoring because we are measuring a student’s abilities in both receptive listening as well as the academic ability to use the language appropriately on paper in a productive format. This is looking at their formal instruction in the language. A student can click play twice to hear the sample spoken two times.

(Deeper Elements of Grammar and Vocabulary)
Partial Translation (Deeper Elements of Grammar and Vocabulary) Student Instructions Task Students are asked to think about translating while speaking with a person who speaks Spanish only and does not speak English. They are asked to read an English sentence and then translate the underlined English part into Spanish. This is a basic cloze exercise where a part is missing and the student is asked to choose the most appropriate from a multiple choice set of three. This examines the student’s knowledge of the nuances of the language, including vocabulary, grammar, and appropriate use and is a more challenging task than initial test sections.

Sentence Completion (Deeper Elements of Grammar and Vocabulary) Student Instructions Task Students choose the Spanish phrase out of three options that best completes the Spanish sentence. This is a harder task than basic grammar. This missing word or phrase was designed based on Avant’s research including data from Spanish textbooks, student writing samples from the University of Houston, and four separate studies on Spanish Heritage speakers. (Lipski 1993, Sanz 2000, Colombi 2002,, Martinez 2007)

Verb Conjugation (Deeper Elements of Grammar and Vocabulary) Student Instructions Task Students are actually creating with the language by typing in the verb in its appropriate, conjugated form within the context of a passage. A variety of verb tasks is required including verb tenses of present, preterite, imperfect, conditional, and simple, in both subjunctive and indicative moods. This section also includes regular and irregular verbs (stem changes and spelling changes). So students must read and understand what is happening and when (today, yesterday, tomorrow) in order to accurately create with the most appropriate tense. Again, accented characters are available for spelling accuracy. We are really moving into more complex language tasks that indicate the experience of formal language instruction beyond the experience of simply being a fluent heritage speaker. *Sample item only. Actual test items include two separate passages with 30 verbs to conjugate in context.

Early Exit 2 Students who do well enough to meet the threshold of the first two sections of basic vocabulary along with the elements of grammar continue on. Otherwise, they exit early.

Speaking Student Instructions
Task Students click on the play button and may hear a 2-minute news report up to two times. Then they will be asked to summarize it in their own words and with their own voice by speaking into the microphone. They will also be asked to expand on their thoughts and give an opinion in response to specific questions that are included in print. In recording their voice, they can stop and start over, stop and start to continue to add to their response, and stop and hear the playback. Student submissions are graded by independent raters.

Writing Student Instructions
Task Students read a full-page internet passage in Spanish and are asked to summarize and write the opinion stated by the author as well as state their own opinion and support it. They are told it needs to be at least two paragraphs long and about words. Capitalization, punctuation, spelling, accented characters, vocabulary, grammar, and all aspects of language come together for this task. Student submissions are graded by independent raters.

Demographic Self Evaluation Data Includes the extra information students provided at the beginning of the test as well as breakout ratings and overall average for each of the “can do” abilities statements Assessment Scores Includes associated number and % correct, weighted category scores, and overall average score Avant Level Placement level for courses on a scale of 1 to 6. Hyperlinks to student’s speaking and writing submissions. This student indicates she has taken the IB test, evidencing formal instruction in Spanish. Student rated herself a 9 from the scale of 1-10 on overall proficiency.

7 Test Areas (Lexical Recognition, Dictation, Translation, Sentence Completion, Verb Conjugation, Writing, Speaking) Zero scores indicate the student had an early exit and wasn’t assessed on these skill areas. Avant Score The Avant Score corresponds to a placement recommendation into courses based on course descriptions and typical campus course progression Self-Evaluation Out of 6 point “can do” scale. The higher the number, the stronger the student confidence in his abilities.

Writing and Speaking Samples These are hyperlinked from each learner report so that an instructor or program administrator can see and hear the writing and speaking submissions given by the student. This is especially useful and important when deciding where to place advanced students to discover further where their strengths and challenges lie and whether they can be included in higher courses based on their abilities. Speaking Sample Writing Sample

95% or above on each section
Suggested Placement Levels Full Credit Awarded Starred Level A star means the student may be able to function at the next higher level, and we may want to look a bit more closely at her writing, speaking, previous education, and other demographic information. 95% or above on each section University of Houston Has a large heritage program with many specific courses, where other campuses may group learners into fewer courses. Avant can help as needed to work with campuses in associating placement levels with unique campus offerings.

Thank You!

Avant Assessment.

Similar presentations

Presentation on theme: "Avant Assessment."— Presentation transcript:

Similar presentations

About project

Feedback

Log in

Auth with social network:

Avant Assessment.

Similar presentations

Presentation on theme: "Avant Assessment."— Presentation transcript:

Similar presentations

About project

Feedback