The goal of this project is to identify the needs and challenges related to the assessment of French faced by teachers and administrators of immersion programs (FI) and French second language programs (FSL). We aim to provide practical and informed suggestions on French language assessment that would enable leadership teams to support (a) teachers, (b) students, and (c) study programs.
Through this project, we aim to better understand the situation and the challenges related to the assessment of French and to establish a “state of the art”. We will target the following research questions in three instances:
At recruitment:
- What French language tests are used for recruitment? – Why are these tests used? And how are their scores interpreted?
- What requirements are requested by school boards? by schools?
- What protocol is put in place by the administration team to assess the proficiency in French of candidates for IF / FSL positions?
For continuous improvement:
- What longitudinal evaluation plans are in place to continue training in French for teachers?
- Are there procedures in place to ensure the quality of the teachers’ language? If so why ?
In the classroom :
- What tests do schools use for students?
- What diagnostic and summative evaluation resources do schools make available to teachers?
- How are the test results studied and disseminated to stakeholders (parents, school board, Alberta Education, French-language consortia, etc.)?
- What assessment efforts and / or plans are in place to involve and motivate language learners?