Maria Bos-chan Ostler Elizabeth West Wendy Royal Karen-jane Hills (Plagiarized)

8/10/2019 Maria Bos-chan Ostler Elizabeth West Wendy Royal Karen-jane Hills (Plagiarized)

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Assessing Assessment Practices in

English for Academic Purposes

Maria Bos-Chan, Karen-Jane Hills, WendyRoyal, Elizabeth West

Languages Canada, Vancouver BC

Feb 27, 2012


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Outline

Context & RationaleAssessment and PlacementTransition into degree programs

Discussion and Recommendations


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http://www.bccie.bc.ca/eqa/


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Articulation Guide forEnglish as a Second Language Programs

in the British Columbia Post Secondary Transfer

System

Tenth Edition 2010/2011

Prepared for theProvince of British ColumbiaMinistry of Advanced Education

and Labour Market Development

Outcomes basedESL courses

articulated at annualmeetingsUsed for studenttransfer between BC

institutions


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Past projects

An Alignment of the CLB with theBC ESL Articulation Levels (2007)

Benchmarking First Year English(2009)

Assessment Practices in the BCPost-Secondary System (2010)


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Project Goals: Assessment Practicesin the BC Post-Secondary System

To gain knowledge of ESL assessmentpractices in BC

To tighten articulation To foster a transparent and accessible

articulation process

To clarify and facilitate pathways


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Tests for Use in ESL orAcademic Programs


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Disadvantages Noted

Concerns with CLBPTBenefits dont justify change to existing programs Task based and not academically focused enoughCLB bands are too broad and not evenly spacedDescriptors are vague, non-specific and inconsistent

Framework shortens amount of learning timeBenchmarks are not standardized

Role of Canadian LanguageBenchmarks


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Advantages to CLBs Noted

Works as a common language

Facilitates pathways for students

Helps enhance or develop curriculum


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How do programs in BC use CLBs?

Placing or assessing students Administering the CLBPT Using CLB descriptors and/or assessment tools

Developing specialized programs

Enhancing or developing curriculum

Articulating to new Access level descriptors in theBC ESL articulation guide re-written based on CLBdescriptors


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The National Consultation on the

CLB 2000 2008 - 2010 CCLB began the nationalconsultation on the CLB

Final report is now available on the CCLBwebsite

Draft of revised document available to somestakeholders


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In-house Placement

41%59% In-house test only

In conjunction with astandardized test


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Administration of ProgramAssessment

Administration Interpretation Other Factors

by non-dedicatedfaculty or staff

by assessment

centre

by dept assessors

by non-dedicatedassessors

by dept assessors

by assess centre

Yes No


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Comparison of Exit Criteria amongESL Programs

86% use grades for progress to next level 14% use complete/incomplete

Wide discrepancy over min. pass grades & %:Passing grades range from C- to B

(with C the most common)

% range from 50% to 85% (with 60% the most common)

Grades & % equivalencies also inconsistent:B grade = between 75% & 80%


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Comparison of BC Public Post-SecondaryUndergraduate English Proficiency Thresholds

(from Kwantlen Polytechnic University English ThresholdsProject Report, May 2011)


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Prerequisite ESL level for Admission toFirst-Year English


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General AdmissionCompared to First Year English Entry

(from Kwantlen Polytechnic University English ThresholdsProject Report, May 2011)


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Recommendationsfor ESL Programs

Monitor the use of assessment andplacementTrack students for success andretentionAdvocate for policies regardingaccess and standardsRefine the use of standardized testscores


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Recommendations forInstitutions

Review admissions policiesTrack students who move into

universityLobby for consistency of gradesWork towards more transferability

and transparency in assessment &placement


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Starst.jpg

Starst.jpg


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Projects

ESL Articulation Guide 2010/2011http://bccat.ca/pubs/ESL%20Articulation%20Guide%201011.pdf

Benchmarking First-year Englishhttp://www.bccat.bc.ca/pubs/ESL-Benchmarking-

1st-yr-English.pdf

Assessment Practices in the BC Post-Secondary Systemhttp://www.bccat.bc.ca/pubs/ESLphase3Final%20

Report.pdf


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Contacts

Maria Bos-Chan [email protected]

Karen-Jane Hills [email protected]

Catherine Ostler [email protected]

Wendy Royal [email protected]

Elizabeth West [email protected]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Questions/Comments

Maria Bos-chan Ostler Elizabeth West Wendy Royal Karen-jane Hills (Plagiarized)

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