Another test in frustration, this time for ESL kids

After last week’s decision that Arizona has not violated federal laws requiring schools to help students who are not proficient in English, NPR asks: How should we teach English language learners? Well, I’ll tell you one we we should not approach this. We should not give little children bubble tests to assess their knowledge. That’s a surefire way to frustrate children as they struggle to learn English and fit in at school.

Surely no one is giving five year olds tests that they are destined to fail? Guess again. This year, Massachusetts began requiring schools to administer the Massachusetts English Proficiency Assessment to children in grades K-2. They all get the same test, which should be a red flag right from the start. This written test is given in English to children who may not be able to read, may not be able to speak English, and who may not even have the fine motor skills necessary to fill in the little bubbles. The state says the test is required by the No Child Left Behind Act.

Think about this. The test, which every single early childhood expert would tell you is completely inappropriate, is given to a population that doesn’t speak up for a variety of reasons. They don’t speak the language. They place undue trust in the schools. Even those who are here legally are reluctant to make a fuss. Administrators are allowed to read the test questions to children who can’t read, but even so, such a test would be an exercize in frustration for any five year old.

Of course we need to assess ESL students to figure out what they need to learn. But those assessments should be age-appropriate. I know of more than one principal who was outraged by this test and complained to the state, only to be told that the test is required by NCLB. Anthony Colannino, principal of the MacArthur School in Waltham, MA, has this to say. “If they gave it to my child, I would say, ‘Tell me what day you are giving it, and he will be absent.”’

Meanwhile, he was forced to allow the test to be administered to other people’s kids. And that’s a tragedy.