Scaffolding Assessments

Assessments pose extra challenges for EB students, as in addition to content knowledge, they also often require foundational knowledge and skills such as the following:

Proficiency in the English language
Technological competency
Interpretation of diagrams, graphs, & 2D images

When testing for content knowledge, scaffolding the assessment can give EB students a better chance to show what they know by diminishing the additional challenges.

Note that scaffolding does not require making the task itself less rigorous.

Ways to Scaffold

Hover over the boxes below to see how.

Use clear, simple language

Using simple instructions in content areas reduces the burden on students to simultaneously complete, say, a math worksheet and an English language worksheet by focusing on the math.

This has been shown to help not only emergent bilinguals, but also students whose first language is English. (Mahoney, 2017)

How to clarify & simplify:

Eliminate extra words & phrases
Shorten clauses
Use common vocabulary & short words where possible
Reduce complex grammar
Avoid using the passive voice
Use underline, bold text, and bullet points to draw attention to key points and help students parse the text
Use checklists for instructions

Allow translanguaging

In content or skills areas, allowing the students to use translanguaging to answer questions maintains the focus on them expressing the full extent of their content knowledge or skills, while having access to all of their linguistic resources.

Even if you don't speak the home language(s) represented in your class, there are still ways to allow for and encourage translaguaging. (Hover to see how.)

Ways to incorporate translanguaging:

Students can brainstorm in their home language & present in English
Students can present in English and then discuss in pairs in home languages
Students can read or listen in English and analyze in their home languages

Add visuals

Adding visuals can ease the burden of understanding the prompt or task based solely on text, or of completing it with words alone.

Note that this may require teaching students how to interpret these visuals in advance. For example, students may need to be taught that a 3D, somewhat abstract drawing such as a box represents an actual physical box, or how to read a Venn diagram.

Ways to add visuals:

Include icons that match the words in the instructions, such as a check mark for "check the box"
Add clipart illustrations that match the content of the text*
Include diagrams & graphs
Allow the students to answer using diagrams & models

*Make sure to use diverse representation with clipart images

Translate

Translating into home languages helps students understand the task and allow them to better complete it to the best of their knowledge.

In assessing content knowledge or skills such as reading comprehension, speaking the English language is extraneous. Thus, including translations does not invalidate the results but in fact makes them more valid.

Ways to incorporate translations:

Translate instructions
Translate prompts
Add bilingual word banks*
Allow students to use dictionaries or Google translate

Note that translating key words will only help if students already know these words in their home language.

"Dear Department of Education."

(Math teacher of TikTok on why scaffolding is important.)

Scaffolding Samples

Feel free to use these as models for your own scaffolding.

Note that not every scaffolding technique needs to be used, and not all assignments need to be scaffolded in the same way. There are always elements that can be improved upon, but time and efficiency are also important.

TIME

SCAFFOLDING

Example 1: Science worksheet

On the left is a science worksheet about mass. It has been modified and scaffolded in a variety of ways, shown in the following two images. The scaffolding includes translation, explicitly allows for translanguaging, includes more visuals and the opportunity for students to answer without using language, allows for multiple points of entry, and more.

Click to enlarge images & see notes

ORIGINAL

SCAFFOLDED
PAGE 1

SCAFFOLDED
PAGE 2

The scaffolded version of the worksheet was created by Teresa Warkentin and the School of Education at the University of Colorado, Boulder using the SAEBL Checklist (see below).

The SAEBL Checklist

The Science Assessment for Emergent Bilingual Learners (SAEBL) Checklist was created to assist in modifying or designing assignments to better engage emergent bilingual learners. Although it was created for science content, it can be used as a guide in any of the content areas.

The checklist consists of five categories:

1. Culture & Language

2. Task components

3. Alignment & rigor

4. Clear objectives & scoring

criteria

5. Integration of scaffolds

When designing or evaluating an assignment, simply go through the categories and check off criteria that it meets. Then choose areas that are weak to strengthen.

Not every assignment need meet all criteria in every category, rather you can use this as a guide to assess and improve on assignments.

It is available for free here.