English language learners (ELL) are faced with various challenges when taking content and standardized evaluations. To avoid failure, it is the duty of educators to assist students to overcome these issues. The first issue faced during the assessment is the lack of English literacy. The students may have difficulties reading and writing in English, and that will hinder understanding of the assessment questions promoting failure. A situation where a learner is being tested about the solar system in a different language, for instance, where they understand the concept but passing the assessment becomes a problem due to the language barrier. The other issue is the lack of academic vocabulary required in academic tasks (Rivera & Collum, 2014). During the evaluation, the students are required to use words, terms, and phrases that show academic knowledge. A student may have an understanding of a question but may lack the academic words to express their ideas, which affect the assessment. ELL students should receive bilingual education, which will assist them in learning about the native language, thus providing language proficiency needed during the assessment.
Lack of cultural familiarity is another assessment issue faced by ELL learners. Understanding a certain culture is essential as it relates to concepts and aspects that are assessed in schools. Since ELLs are not familiar with a certain culture, for instance, on rites of passage of a group of people, it increases the chances of failure during evaluation. Schools should have cultural integration programs where the students learn about existing cultures, their practices and, concepts. It will equip them with the knowledge needed during the assessment. The assistance of teachers can help solve these interpretive issues, preparing the ELL students to pass their evaluation.
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Reference
Rivera, C., & Collum, E. (Eds.). (2014). State assessment policy and practice for English language learners: A national perspective . Routledge.
