Alberta Education Curriculum & Assessment Practices
While Alberta's ESL Program of Studies and English Language Arts (ELA) Program of Studies are both designed to develop both English proficiency and literacy, at the high school level especially, ESL focuses more on proficiency while ELA focuses more on literacy. The table to the left compares the general outcomes of each program.
|
Additionally, it's important to recognize that the ELA Program of Studies develops competency in these outcomes over the course of twelve grade levels in alignment with the K-12 system (with ELA 10, 20, and 30 divided into the -1 stream and the -2 stream, each with different requirements for text study and creation), while the ESL Program of Studies develops competency according to five English proficiency benchmark levels. Thus, it is possible for a seventeen-year-old ELL student to be recognized as a 'grade 12' student, to be assessed as 'benchmark level 5,' and to be placed in an ELA 20-2 class. There are many different strategies for organizing high schools to accommodate ELL students.
Teachers can assess English proficiency on an ongoing basis by evaluating samples of students work with reference to the Alberta K–12 ESL Proficiency Benchmarks; however, standardized assessments can also be useful for providing additional information and insights for planning and programming. Standardized assessments that test overall language proficiency (speaking, listening, reading, writing, vocabulary) include the Idea Proficiency Test (IPT) and the MAC II Test of English Language Proficiency, both of which, according to Calgary's circle of ESL teachers, have been recommended for use (P. Mahtani & C. Gould, personal communication, October 9, 2014). Kingsland, the intake centre for all ELL permanent residents in Calgary, uses the MAC II. Teachers are cautioned, “Many assessments have been developed and normed on native English speakers and, therefore, great caution must be taken when interpreting results when used with English language learners. It is recommended, where possible, to use assessment developed for and normed on populations that include English language learners” (Alberta Government, 2014b).