The assessment practices that evaluate English language learners often underestimate the academic and cognitive abilities of the Spanish-speaking students. If the education system is dedicated to developing the biliterate and bilingual pupils in the schools, then the tutors and administrators must analyze both dialects. The outline provided by Escamilla and Coady provides samples of texts written in Spanish by the students who are writing and reading in Spanish. The chapter also gives examples written in English from those learning in English and texts from the Spanish learners who have just commenced their schooling in English. This paper looks at how Escamilla and Coady go about the creation of suitable assessment tools for Spanish-speaking pupils.
The writing rubrics provided in English require modification once they are utilized to evaluate Spanish samples and English texts. According to Escamilla and Coady, a bilingual learner brings to an assessment linguistic repertoire that cannot be examined using one dialect. The current writing models assess the outcomes of monolingual pupils (Escamilla & Coady, 2001). The assumption that the structure is universal makes educators adopt the same strategy to evaluate bilingual learners. The aspect is not valid since the Spanish language has a different linear logic, conventions, punctuations, and spellings. The deduction thus emphasizes the need to modify the assessments to accommodate the Spanish speaking students.
The rubrics should be revised in the two languages to capture the divergent rhetorical models, learning styles, and discourse patterns. There should also be a balance between the content and mechanics to penalize the Spanish learners on an equal weighting. Teachers often utilize the phonetic regularity of tutoring the bilingual pupils to read that makes it challenging to learn to write (Escamilla & Coady, 2001). The Spanish writers must have the chance to control the rules that dictate the use of dieresis, tildes, and accents.
Reference
Escamilla, K. & Coady, M. (2001). Assessing the writing of Spanish speaking students: Issues and suggestions. In J. Tinajero and S. Hurley (eds.), Handbook for Literacy Assessment for Bilingual Learners. Boston: Allyn & Bacon
