Ashley Kunkle

Week 2 Assignment
CELDT Reflection
Language proficiency is something difficult to measure due to the multiple levels of any
language. When looking at the RTQs for grades six through eight, I noticed students
need to know the language in and out. First they need to have the vocabulary to
understand the directions and provide direction answers. In addition, they must be able to
formulate and articulate their own thoughts after processing what the question asks. The
highest levels of language proficiency I noticed were the students need to make
inferences and elaborate on why they made a decision. Making inferences not only
requires understanding of the words being spoken/read, but also an understanding of how
to make connections not concretely stated. This requires an advanced level of English
proficiency.
This is the first time I have looked over the CLEDT, so it was interesting to see the types
of questions my students are/have been asked. My first observation was for the ELD
standard to execute multiple step directions; when I first looked at the question I thought
it was extremely simple. I had to look at the standard and the question again to see if
there were actually multiple steps. It also mad me reflect on some of my own instructions
for projects and assignments. I will list five or more steps sometimes, so maybe I should
break it up a little more. My second observation was comparing what is said in the text
and the inferences the students have to make. I noticed the percentage correct was lower
for these questions; even fluent English speakers struggle with making inferences. I also
noticed that many of the skills ELs are expected to complete are also skills I teach in my
class. The first skill I noticed was identifying the main idea, along with context clues, and
elaboration. I was very happy to see elaboration on the test. This is a skill I struggle with
teaching the most. I feel the way the CELDT addressed this language skill was very
approachable; I also like how the rubric was set up for this question because it includes if
the student followed directions and if they used proper speaking skills. Finally, I not only
admire all the different components of English tested when taking the CELDT, but I also
appreciate the variety of questions from reading an excerpt, to listening/giving directions
and more. I know some people may not be the biggest fan of the CELDT but personally; I
like the test (even though it is still a test). I think is has a well-developed grading system,
I like how the questions are written by teachers and reviewed; the test actually goes
through a process before it is finalized as described in the CELDT PowerPoint. Overall, I
support the CELDT exam as a form assessment of English Learners.