shaylamullaney_journal_two

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Shayla Mullaney 2/12/09 Journal 2 This week in my observation my teacher was going through exams. They looked very official so I decided to ask about them. The students had to take the Access Proficiency Test the week prior. On this test there are three levels: A, B and C. A is the easiest level and C is the hardest. These tests are distributed by grade and are made up of several sections. On this test there is listening, which takes about 25 minutes. Listening includes content such as Math, Science and Social Studies. The teacher is only allowed to read a passage once and students are to answer questions having to do with the passage. Speaking is the next section which is supposed to take about 15minutes, Reading for 35 minutes and writing for about 60 minutes and all these sections having to do with the previous content areas mentioned. I spoke with my host teacher about this standardized nation wide test. She found that there was a huge difference between the fifth and sixth grade assessments. So huge that she found it unfair. She believes that her class will not meet the standard in level of proficiency because of the level of difficulty. “I would not even find this test fair if it was given to a class that is not ESL.” She told me. She found problems especially with the fact that during listening she was not allowed to repeat anything from the passage. “I would never not repeat something for a student unless I knew that they were not paying attention. If it’s a matter of comprehension, not repeating is putting my ESL students at a disadvantage.”