Sample Response – Heritage
1. What information does Elena want to know?
- Because Elena has a mixed Russian/English heritage classroom, she will first need to have a satisfactory idea of the extent and diversity of her students’ skills. This can be achieved through observation and engaged interaction with students, and can help her choose an assessment that best reflects students’ current abilities, and their relation to the classroom learning outcomes.
- Elena might also want to know her students’ language exposure and experience with the language and culture.
2. What decisions might be made based on this information?
- Formative assessment can be used to determine instruction for the remainder of the unit, semester, or school year. As formative assessments provide feedback on students’ progress, the results of this assessment might also be used as a benchmark for planning next year’s course, or as an evaluation of the program and Elena’s instruction overall.
- Formative assessment can help both Elena and her students reflect on progress and learning outcomes. The results can be used as evidence for staying with a topic or a task, looking at it from a different perspective, or moving on. Formative assessment can also determine the need for differentiated instruction, support, or intervention for students.
For more heritage learner scenarios, see the Heritage Language Assessment Module.
