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Oral Proficiency Assessment of English‐Proficient K–8 Spanish Immersion Students
Author(s) -
FORTUNE TARA W.,
TEDICK DIANE J.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the modern language journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.486
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1540-4781
pISSN - 0026-7902
DOI - 10.1111/modl.12275
Subject(s) - immersion (mathematics) , psychology , language proficiency , mathematics education , medical education , pedagogy , medicine , mathematics , pure mathematics
This cross‐sectional study used assessments developed by the Center for Applied Linguistics to examine the oral proficiency of 218 K–8 English‐proficient students in 4 Spanish immersion programs. Following a comprehensive review of assessment results for English‐proficient immersion learners, the article reports findings from statistical analyses. Ratings of student proficiency were significantly higher between Kindergarten and Grade 2 and between Grades 2 and 5; however, no significant differences were found between Grades 5 and 8, lending empirical support to the plateau effect identified in earlier immersion studies. Furthermore, positive moderate to strong correlations were found between teacher ratings and ratings assigned by trained assessment administrators. The article discusses implications for assessment tools and practices, immersion program design, and pedagogy.