What is Fair? Case Study and Analysis of Second Language Acquisition and Assessment

Indianapolis, IN

Most Frequently the word ‘fair’ is defined as In accordance with rules or standards. In this context, fair is similar to equality; the goal is for all students to have an equal opportunity to represent what they know and can do. It is of the utmost importance to ensure that all assessments generate trustworthy results and are fair to any and all test takers regardless of the content area. If an assessment does not meet those prerequisites, then it is not reliable or valid for use with all students. Based on this idea, there is a gap or inequality in the assessment of English Language Learner (ELL) or Multilingual students, because almost all of the presently used assessments do not account for their knowledge or abilities in any language other than English. It could be hypothesized that by not providing ELL and multilingual students with the opportunity to represent their literacy skills beyond English is not a fair assessment or true measurement of their skill or knowledge. The principle researcher plans to support this theory with evidence from a research analysis and in-depth case study of the assessment of Spanish and English literacy skills of 2-3 ELL students in the third grade at Gard Elementary In Beardstown, IL.