Content Area
Assessment Plan
for Languages Other Than English
Robin Rondash
Spring 2011
Table of Contents
Cover Page…………………………..page 1
Table of Contents……………………page 2
Standards and Objectives…………page 3-5
Publication……………………………page 5-6
Preservation……………………….....page 6-7
Purpose and Audience…………....page 7-10
Exhibits…………………………………page 10-11
Exhibits, continued………………….page 12-17
Self-Regulation………………………page 18-22
Evaluation……………………………page 22-24
Standards and Objectives
For my Content Area Assessment Plan, I will be assessing students learning
Spanish at the ninth grade level. The learning unit that will be assessed teaches
about travel. Learning how to meet new people, talk about oneself, and give
or ask for directions are important parts of this unit. The creation of a portfolio
following learning standards put forth by the New York State Department of
Education will serve as a showcase of the student‟s progress throughout the unit.
Both my portfolio and the sample authentic tasks included in this plan will be
guided by specific standards for teachers of Languages Other Than English
(LOTE). My standards are being taken from the New York State Education
Department, from Checkpoint A of the standards for learning languages other
than English. Checkpoint A is aimed at early learners of Spanish, coinciding with
the age group my portfolio is aimed at. The primary standard which I will be
modeling my assessment after is Standard 1 – Communication Skills. The key
marker for success in Standard 1 is stated as follows: Students will be able to use
a language other than English for communication. Within this broad
communication standard, there are two key ideas. The first, taken directly from
the New York State Education Department‟s Learning Standards website
(New York State Education Department Virtual Learning System) is as follows:
“Listening and speaking are primarily communicative goals in modern language
learning. These skills are used for the purposes of socializing, providing and
acquiring information, expressing personal feelings and opinions, and getting
others to adopt a course of action.”
Within this category, there are four performance indicators, three of which
I will be focusing on in the traveling unit portfolio. The three performance
indicators found within Standard 1 and Key Point 1 that I will be emphasizing in
my assessment are listed here:
1. Comprehend the main idea of more extended conversations with some
unfamiliar vocabulary and structures as well as cognates of English words.
2. Call upon repetition, rephrasing, and nonverbal cues to derive or convey
meaning from a language other than English.
3. Use appropriate strategies to initiate and engage in simple conversations
with more fluent or native speakers of the same age group, familiar adults,
and providers of common public services.
The second Key Point listed under Checkpoint A‟s Standard 1 –
Communication is that:
“Reading and writing are used in languages other than English for the purposes
of socializing, providing and acquiring information, expressing personal feelings
and opinions, and getting others to adopt a course of action.”
It is easy to see that Key Point 2 shares the same desired outcomes as
found in Key Point 1, but a different method of expression is used by the student.
Instead of focusing on the actions of listening and speaking, it is focusing on
acquisition of reading and writing skills. The two performance indicators that I
will be focusing on in my assessment from Key Point 2 are the following:
That the student will:
1) Understand the main idea and some details of simple informative
materials written for native speakers
And
2) Compose short, informal notes and messages to exchange information
with members of the target culture.
There are more specific tasks I would like my students to master that fit
inside the broader standards, key points, and performance indicators set forth
by the New York State Education Department. These objectives chosen by me
will fit readily into the guidelines provided in the state standards, as well as teach
the students the important concepts within the Spanish language unit of travelbased vocabulary and expression. The different activities within the portfolio will
reinforce new vocabulary words from the travel unit as well as grammar and
vocabulary that will have been previously taught at the middle school level,
such as sentence structure and question words. My learning objectives for the
travel unit are listed below:
1) The student will be able to ask for directions to popular trip destinations in
both a conversational and a written format.
2) The student will be able to understand direction and distance vocabulary
words.
3) The student will be able to identify cognates of the English language.
4) The student will be able to correctly identify some of the trickier false
cognates, as well as know what their real meanings are in English.
5) The student will show knowledge of how to ask for the nationality of another
person, as well as offer their own nationality.
6) The student will demonstrate understanding of the main idea of a short note.
7) The student will be able to construct a short response after proper scaffolding
and vocabulary reinforcement has been provided.
These objectives will aid the students in achieving success towards
completing the standards which they must meet in order to successfully
understand, speak, read, and write Spanish at the Checkpoint A level.
Publication, Preservation, Purpose & Audience
Publication
Before explaining the purpose of this portfolio, I will first explain the
publication of it. The two main ways of making a portfolio are physically and
electronically. Both options offer many creative and individual ways to explore
the benefits of using a portfolio in the classroom. For purposes of my Content
Area Assessment Plan, the portfolio will be represented in a physical format.
While the benefits of an electronic portfolio are easy to see, especially in today‟s
technologically modern age, knowing that the students in a Checkpoint A level
Spanish class will most likely not have individual access to a computer in the
classroom on a regular basis is what ultimately persuaded me to stick to a
physical format. I can see more benefits being made available to
upperclassmen, for which an electronic form of their progress in a specific class
may prove very helpful. This would especially be true if it happened to be in the
same subject area they are planning to explore further in their life. The
electronic portfolio offers many benefits, such as an ease of sharing and
forwarding, as well as a chance to practice in the uses of technology for
educational purposes. However, physical portfolios also have their benefits.
They are a great way to represent progress and maturation in a more personal
format. I think that especially in the case of a ninth grade level Spanish class, it
would be a great benefit for them to be able to leaf through artifacts that they
have worked hard to succeed in once the portfolio is completed. For those
who may not have computers or do, albeit it with less up-to-date equipment,
the creation of an electronic portfolio may not hold as much meaning as a
physical one. Each portfolio deserves to be considered thoughtfully, for always
accepting the same plan as the right one may eventually become a flaw for
one‟s teaching. Considering the age group and learning objectives of my
students, I felt that a physical portfolio representation would work best in this
case for the reasons mentioned above. In the next paragraph, there are more
specific details on what exactly this portfolio will be made of and how it will be
preserved.
Preservation
Students in my classroom will be given a short list of supplies at the
beginning of the school year. This list will include one heavy-duty expandable
folder that has within it different sections in which students can store their
portfolio entries. These will be kept either in an available filing cabinet or a
portable plastic filing cabinets with two or three drawers that could be kept in a
corner of the classroom or if need be, an inconspicuous location of a faculty
room or desk area. I do not think I would require the students to bring their own
Post-Its, colored paper clips, or index cards, although this could change upon
how many are actually used and needed. These aforementioned items would
be used as the portfolio is expanded, in order to aid in the organization of its
contents and make these items easier for the students and teacher to find.
Paper clips will be used to separate assessments and assignments based
upon unit lesson plans. Post-Its can be used to point out ideas or reflections on
work contained in the portfolio without actually marking individual assignments
up with highlighters and pens. Index cards could be used as a way to outline
general ideas and key points found in each unit-based portfolio or even serve as
a table of contents showing what types of assessments or assignments can be
found in each separated section. One final supply that will be useful in
implementing my idea would be a miniature notebook or tablet, which will be
explained in more detail later in this section.
The portfolio will be kept as neatly and completely as possible. This will
require effort on the part of both the teacher and the students. It will be
updated on a weekly basis at least, although this could be done as often as
necessary. While this may at times prove trying, in the end it will be more
beneficial compared to the more trying process of gathering materials that may
be lost and need to be re-copied, or that still have yet to be completed. The
benefits of organization and attractive display can be taught to the students in
addition to the more content-based learning benefits described in detail below.
For assessments that may include items too large or wide to fit in the folder, an
alternate display option will be provided. Large items such as posters or artistic
creations could have a dedicated place on the classroom wall. They could be
taken down as necessary to be handed in at the time of completion of the
portfolio.
Purpose and Audience
The purpose of this portfolio will be for students, teachers, and parents
alike to see the student‟s progress throughout the year. There will be one or
more samples of work collected for each lesson that is focused on during the
unit the portfolio is based on. For students to be able to see what they excelled
in and what may need more effort will mean more to the students than simply
receiving back a grade, to only to forget about the information and meaning
behind the assignment or assessment completely in a week‟s time. This is not the
only benefit offered to the student from creating a portfolio. The portfolio would
be a handy way for the student to organize all of their unit lessons in one place,
without fear of individual items becoming misplaced or disorganized. In
preparation for mid-term or final exams, the student would be able to easily see
where their strengths and weaknesses lie. The review of past lessons and key
ideas will make preparation and studying for any such exams much easier than
what might have been possible otherwise. There are of course many other
benefits for the student besides those mentioned above. As long as the portfolio
does not become weighed down with too many repetitive exercises or nonpertinent pieces of information, it will be able to serve the student in the future in
terms of review and recognition of strengths and weaknesses. As for how the
students are going to view the portfolios, the students will be able to use and
create their portfolios during paired or group activities. They will also be able
collaborate with their peers and offer feedback to each other before the final
completed version of the portfolio is handed in for evaluation. Presentation of
any posters or other creative activities may be performed in class, although for
this portfolio I do not feel it would be fitting to present each portfolio individually
or as a group presentation. Although one of the purposes of this portfolio is to
encourage creativity and collaboration between students, teachers, and
parents, it may not be as useful for the students to individually present their
portfolios. Especially at this age level, most students are still having trouble with
their pronunciation and speaking of another language. A better effect can be
achieved through discussions and collaboration in pairs or small groups in this
case.
There are, of course, multiple benefits for the teacher in the creation of a
portfolio as well. Many of the benefits are similar to those of the student. For
example, as a teacher it would be extremely convenient to be able to review at
a glance all of a student‟s important and up-to-date assessments of learning
skills and knowledge application for unit sections or even longer periods of time.
When listing the kinds of supplies the students would need for the creation of
their portfolio, it was mentioned that they would need a small notebook or pad.
The idea behind this is that constructive criticism could be given via a minijournal or small tablet notepad that could be kept in each student‟s personal
portfolio folder. Responses could be given and received on specific days of the
week, creating a scheduled check-up of each student‟s individual progress.
Just as for the student, the creation of this portfolio would provide the teacher
with a way to monitor strengths and weaknesses in the learning progress of the
student. The teacher would be able to look at these aspects of learning not
only on an individual basis. They would also be given the opportunity to view
classroom performance on a group level. This practice would come in handy
especially for newer teachers, who may not find a mistake or lack in their
teaching methods until it becomes too late. The portfolios would give the
teacher the advantage of understanding the classroom individually and as a
whole, all the while being able to assess his or her own performance.
Parents would also have access to these portfolios, although perhaps not
as frequently as the students and the teacher. They could be sent home on a
weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis in order to survey their child‟s performance,
successes, and areas where improvement may be needed in more detail than
could be offered with a simple graded report card. Depending on the ability of
students to remember to bring their portfolios back to school with them, the
amount of time between take home periods could be adjusted. These time
periods could also be adjusted to follow the school calendar, with a longer
break necessitating a review of the portfolio by both the student and the parent.
A self-reflective exercise could be assigned during these times, so that the
student would be given enough time to genuinely reflect on the work they have
done and what decisions they will need to make to perform better in certain
areas and stay consistent in others.
Another way in which the parents could view and take part in the
portfolio process could take place at the time set aside for parent-teacher
conferences. Parents would be encouraged to leaf through their child‟s
portfolio. They would be able to gain a greater sense of understanding as to the
objectives and meaning behind it. They would also be able to ask questions
about it. The teacher could even encourage the parent to relate to their child
over the experience of working hard to complete a goal or task. They could
also be encouraged to talk to their children about why they are proud of them
and how progress and improvement in their school work make them feel that
way even more so. I think that trying as much as possible to get the student‟s
parents involved and helping them understand the purpose of the portfolio
would help to further accomplish the self-regulatory and learning strategies it
stands for.
Upon completion of the portfolio parents, students, and teachers alike will
be able to assess learning growth and progress in the subject area. The addition
of a journal between the teachers and the students could prove extremely
useful at this point in time. As students review the journal entries shared between
themselves and the teacher throughout the year, they will be able to
chronologically mark their improvements and personal set-backs. They will be
able to examine assessments and important work assignments from the same
dates side by side with these reflections. This will give their learning meaning on
a multi-dimensional scale and will perhaps have taught them valuable lessons
beyond the rote memorization and implementation of strategies that are
sometimes a necessary part of language learning. This type of personalization
and individualization of the learning process will help to show students that
learning a second (or third, or fourth) language is not something that is
impossible or unimportant, but rather something that takes time, effort, and
dedication. They will also be able to understand more fully the benefits reaped
from the implementation of these learning strategies.
The ultimate purpose of this portfolio will be to show students the
successful strategies and things they have learned that they can put to use
outside of the Spanish classroom. Learning a second language is ultimately a
great benefit for each individual, although the individual benefits can differ
greatly in the end. It increases communication between people of different
cultures and nationalities, just as this portfolio will serve to increase
communication between the teachers, students, and parents that it will be used
to serve. One thing that I think important that the students, teacher, and
parents walk away with from this portfolio experience is a personal feeling of
satisfaction and increased self-worth from witnessing growth and achievement
in the learning environment.
Exhibits
In this unit portfolio assessment on learning to navigate and travel in
Spanish speaking countries, a variety of assessments and assignments will be
compiled before completion. Along with some more traditional assessment
methods used to reinforce proper vocabulary and grammar usage, there will
also be a larger final assessment included. This can be viewed at the end of this
section. Students will choose between other artifacts from the unit to be
included in the portfolio. They will choose at least one from each of the
following example assignments that will have been worked on in the travel unit:
Homework assignments from the travel unit (ordered to show progress)
Personal best vocabulary quiz sample
Favorite student-teacher journal entries and responses
Corrected quiz of any type from the travel unit
Labeled map or maps of the student‟s city and country of interest
Favorite music or video sample from the city/country of interest (may be in
the form of a link sent or given to the teacher or in a physical format)
Travel dialogue created in pairs (to be spoken out loud by another pair)
Completed self-regulation worksheets
Final unit assessment project (shown in more detail on the next page)
The exhibits of student work listed above have the ability to showcase a
wide range of learning styles and strategies. Allowing the student to choose
amongst the assignments completed during the travel unit will provide the
benefit of making the portfolio truly their own. Students will be able to show off
their personal accomplishments and know where their language learning
strengths lie. By including corrected quizzes and changes in understanding of
homework assignments, they will also be able to understand where their
language learning weaknesses lie and see more clearly how it is possible for
them to continue improving their knowledge of Spanish in the future. These
exhibits will give the students a tangible sense of the learning process and of
what works best for them. They will also fulfill the learning standards detailed in
the beginning of the Content Area Assessment Plan. By including assignments
and assessments that cover the four key points of language acquisition (reading,
writing, speaking, and listening), it will be possible for students to relate Spanish
to their everyday lives. Following these standards will further allow students to
know where their language learning strengths and weaknesses lie, which will
help them to learn more successfully in future classes and in real life.
The exhibited assessment that follows includes repetitive practice lessons
that reinforce what will have been learned in class and with other assignments.
While they are scaffolded enough for the students to understand what task must
be completed, they are also open enough for students to have individual
answers that they will have to think up independently. The remaining tasks of
the assessment allow for much more creative license and individuality. They are
also very good for the measurement of effort, creativity, and understanding of
the key concepts that follow the standards being assessed.
Exhibits, continued
An example of a map a student would use for this and other assessments in their portfolio:
Mi Nombre: ____________________
Fecha: _________________________
Pretend that you have friends living in a Spanish-speaking country and that you have been
invited to visit them during your vacation. Choose one of the available maps. This is the city
you will be visiting! After you have chosen the map of the city you wish to travel to, take a
minute to become familiar with your surroundings. Now, before you leave for your trip, you will
need to practice asking for directions – just in case you get lost!
Using your travel vocabulary list, you will complete the directions to the following places. Start
from the black ‘X’. Be sure to use your city map to give the correct directions!
1. Tú:
“¡Perdóname, Señor! ¿Dónde está LA IGLESIA más cerca de aquí?”
Señor: “Para llegar a la iglesia, tienes que:
________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________.”
2. Tú:
“¡Tengo mucho hambre! ¿Dónde encuentro UN BUEN RESTAURANTE?”
Tu amigo: “Es muy fácil encontrar un buen restaurante en esta ciudad. Sólo tienes que:
________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________”.
3. Tú: “Estoy un poco cansado/a. ¿Dónde está EL PARQUE más cerca de aquí?”
Conductor del tren: “El parque mejor no está tan lejos de aquí. Primero, vas a:
_______________________________________________________________.
Después, tienes que: ______________________________________________.”
4. Tú a una amiga nueva: “Quiero ir a UN MUSEO CLÁSICO. ¿Dónde hay uno?”
Tu amiga: “¡Tenemos unos de los museos más fabulosos en el mundo aquí! Vamos a:
________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________.”
5. Tú: “¿Quiero ir de compras en EL MERCADO más cerca de aquí? ¿Cómo llego allí?
Un amigo nuevo: “Hay muchos mercados aquí. Para llegar al mercado más cercano,
tienes que:
________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________.
Now, since you will be meeting new people in the city, you should be able to ask where people
are from. You will also need to know how to say where you are from and what your nationality
is. I will give one example. You must then choose five different nationalities that match the
countries from the box to answer the question: Where are you from? (You may also choose
countries that are not on the list.)
Guatemala
Perú
Argentina
Uruguay
Bolivia
Costa Rica
Puerto Rico
México
Colombia
Ejemplo: “¿De dónde eres tú?”
Honduras
La República
Dominicana
Venezuela
“Yo soy de Chile. Soy chileno/chilena.”
1. “¿De dónde eres tú?”
“Yo soy de _________________________.
Soy ______________________________.”
2. “¿De dónde es Ud.?”
“Yo soy de _________________________.
Soy ______________________________.”
3. “¿De dónde son Uds.?”
“Nosotros somos de __________________.
Somos _____________________________.”
4. “¿De dónde eres tú?”
“Yo soy de __________________________.
Soy _______________________________.”
5. “¿De dónde eres?”
“Yo soy de __________________________.
Soy ______________________________.”
Now try these two, asking about other people. Pay attention to the verbs AND the
nationalities this time!
“¿De dónde son los chicos?”
“Los chicos ___________de _________________.
______________________________________.”
“¿De dónde son Uds.?”
“Nosotros ____________de ________________.
______________________________________.”
Now imagine that you wake up at your friend’s house late one morning after your busy first day
in the city. You find a note on the kitchen table. It is written in Spanish, asking you to meet up
with your friends at the movies later in the day. You can read it below.
To help you understand the note, PLEASE CIRCLE ALL OF THE COGNATES YOU FIND. If you find
any FALSE COGNATES, be sure to UNDERLINE THEM!
12 julio 2011
Nuestro amigo querido,
¿Te divertiste de tu primer día aquí en nuestra bonita ciudad? Ahora tu primo y yo
estamos en la escuela. Sin embargo, después de las clases queremos ir al cine contigo. ¡Tienen
los mejores servicios allí! También van unos amigos nuestros de la escuela. Ellos tienen ganas
de aprender sobre tu vida y tus intereses. Ellos quieren saber cuál es tu parte favorita de la
ciudad. Mi amigo Raúl piensa que es el parque, mientras mi amiga Xiomara piensa que vas a
decir el restaurante nuevo. De verdad, pienso que los dos no son correctos y que tu lugar
favorito es el estadio de fútbol. ¡Vamos a ver quién tiene la razón!
¡Llámame por direcciones al teatro!
Tu mejor amigo,
Andrés
You want to call them to ask for directions and more details, but you are afraid you may forget
what to say to them in Spanish. You come up with a great idea!
First, write what you are going to say in the box below:
Now do you feel ready to call your friend? You will pair up with a partner to read your
responses to each other. Be sure to offer good advice on correct pronunciation, grammar, and
vocabulary!
In the next few days, you will read your note to me, as well. This will help you to see where
your speaking is going well and what needs to be practiced more often.
Your final task for this project is to do some research on one place that you find to be most
interesting about the city. You will create a unique and creative poster displaying the things
you have discovered about this location through research. You may design the poster anyway
you like, but there are some requirements you must follow.
Be sure to give details on the following:
¿QUÉ?
¿DÓNDE ESTÁ?
¿POR QUÉ?
¿QUIÉN?
¿CÓMO?
What is the name of your favorite place?
Where is it in your city?
Why is it your favorite?
Who goes there?
How does this compare to places you have been?
 PLEASE INCLUDE AT LEAST TWO VISUAL AIDS WITH YOUR POSTER 
Self-Regulation
Self-Evaluation Exercise for Students
Place an „X‟ in the box that corresponds to how comfortable you are with
each type of language practice we have done during this travel unit.
Language
Learning
Aspect
Comfort Level
Very
Mildly
Somewhat
Very
Comfortable Comfortable Uncomfortable Uncomfortable
Vocabulary
Word Order
Spoken
Understanding
Reading
Ability
Writing Ability
Verb
Conjugation
Speaking
Ability
This self-evaluation exercise gives students and teachers alike the
opportunity to see how the student feels about their own learning
progress. It gives the teacher a chance to provide advice as to which
strategies the student may find helpful for them to improve in areas of
perceived weakness and how to understand what already helps them do
well in areas of perceived strength. It is also age-appropriate and easy to
understand. The following questions allow for the student to express these
same ideas in a written form. They also ask more specific questions about
the final assessment project, which will be useful for a teacher who may
be using it with students for the first time.
Self-Regulation Questions for the Student
Complete the following sentence:
Some things that I have a greater understanding of after this project are:
Some things I need more help understanding are:
The part I liked the best about this project was:
I liked this part the best because:
The part I liked the least about this project was:
I did not like this part very much because:
I found the most helpful strategies for finding information were:
The most helpful strategies for me in remembering what I learned are:
All of these strategies were helpful to me because:
The above self-reflection questions will teach self-regulation and reflection
by causing the student to actually pause and think about the part that they
play in their learning progress and success. They will be asked not only to think
about which strategies work or don‟t work for them, but also to think about why
that is so. Exercises similar to these questions will also be carried out in the
classroom in order to prepare the students for self-regulation activities such as
this. The teacher could take some time to tell about their own self-regulation
strategies and relate to the students about the ups and downs experienced
while learning a language. By relating to the students and helping them to
understand that learning a language is not something instantaneous, the
teacher will be able to show that rather, it is a life-long commitment and
evolution of learning. I chose the above questions because they fit neatly with
the assessment taken by the students, while not being overly specific. While
being simple questions, they open the door to detailed and helpful answers that
both students and teachers should be aware of. They give the student a true
chance to reflect on their own learning processes, as well as give the teacher
an understanding of the project from the student‟s perspective.
Evaluation
The creation of each portfolio will be maintained and individualized by
each student. The level of effort, creativity, and completeness of the portfolio as
a whole will also be graded as part of the final assessment grade. Individual
aspects of learning the Spanish language will also be included in the evaluation.
The following rubric is detailed according to the range of tasks to be
completed in the student‟s final assessment of the unit. (The one exemplified in
this Content Area Assessment Plan.) The parts of the rubric are woven directly
from the assessment itself, meaning that it is also very closely follows the
standards set out by the New York State Department of Education. Aspects of
language learning touched upon in this rubric include both speaking and writing
abilities. Reading and understanding (listening) skills can be assessed by how
thoroughly the student has followed the guidelines given in the assessment.
However, I did not include specific categories for these language learning
aspects because they are skills that are much harder to judge on a one to four
scale. These elements of the learning standards can more easily be assessed
through teacher observations and evaluation of the portfolio as a whole. The
self-regulation exercises will also help to identify strengths and weaknesses in
listening and reading skills; as long as the student feels comfortable enough
admitting that they are having trouble in these areas. General performance will
be affected by deficits in these areas. This is where the self-regulation exercises
and the student-teacher journal come in handy, allowing for the teacher and
student to work more closely together on improving performance in the areas
where more specific learning strategies are needed to improve performance
and mastery of the Spanish language.
Assessment (Learning Standards) Rubric
4
3
2
1
Directions
Fully relevant
directions given to
all five places you
want to go. People
you meet are now
amazed by your
knowledge of the
city!
You know how to
get to most of the
required places,
but feel kind of
bored because you
could not find them
all.
You got to where
you needed to
go...after asking
somebody else!
Looks like the
people you asked
gave you the
wrong directions.
Unfortunately, all
the directions you
received were
incorrect. You will
have to try harder
tomorrow.
Grammar and
Vocabulary
Grammar and
vocabulary are
correct.
There are a few
simple mistakes,
however the
meaning is
understandable.
There are many
misspelled words
and incorrect
phrasings; hard to
understand at
times.
Yo no hablo inglés.
Sentences are
incomplete or
entirely in English.
Punctuation
There are no
missing or
additional accents
and no
punctuation
missing.
Punctuation is
correct, save for a
few missing accents
or punctuation
marks.
Accents are rarely
used when
necessary.
Questions and
exclamations are
mostly missing in
front of sentences
where they
belong.
There is no correct
usage of accents
or of learned
punctuation marks.
Additional
Research
Research is
thorough and
descriptive.
Relation to the
people and
lifestyle of the city
is explored.
Personal opinion of
the landmark is
included.
Research is
detailed and
sufficient. However,
its relevance to the
people of the city
or a personal
opinion on your
choice is missing.
Research on your
favorite place is
not very thorough.
It is a list of facts
that have not
been used to form
an opinion or a
connection to city
life.
Research on
landmark or
destination is
constructed
haphazardly or is
false.
Cognates
All true and false
cognates have
been identified in
the note.
¡Excelente!
There are one or
two missed
cognates in the
note. ¡Casi
perfecto!
Most of the
cognates have not
been marked.
¿Leíste las
instrucciones? (Did
you read the
instructions?)
Cognate
identification was
not done at all.
¡Ay caramba!
Speaking
You have obviously
practiced very
hard. Your
pronunciation is
almost perfect!
Almost everything is
pronounced
correctly, with some
review needed on
certain sounds.
(See my notes in
your journal.)
Pronunciation
needs to be
worked on, as it
can be hard to
understand what
word you mean
sometimes.
Review of the
sounds of the
Spanish alphabet is
necessary.
CATEGORY
Portfolio (Overall Assessment) Rubric
This is an example of the additional rubric-based criteria that will be used
to evaluate the entire portfolio. While the rubric mentioned before this one
included many specific criteria on areas of language such as grammar, speech,
vocabulary, and level of effort when researching the student‟s chosen city, it
focused much more on the learning standards set forth by the state. I have
chosen the following rubric criteria for the evaluation of the portfolio as a whole
because they exemplify the amount of effort and creativity that students should
strive to achieve while compiling their portfolio. As shown below, these criterions
also include a focus on the aspects that were seen in the self-regulatory
exercises. Completeness is also emphasized as a key part of the portfolio
creation. This will help the student to understand that memorization and
recitation of the subject matter are not the only important parts of being a
successful student. Emphasized are the qualities of individual creativity, effort,
and perseverance that are an important part of learning and success both
inside and outside of school.
CATEGORY
Completeness
Thoughtfulness
Creativity
Neatness
3
2
1
All parts of the
portfolio are
complete, with all
required exhibits
and artifacts
included.
4
All of the required
artifacts are
included.
However, some
individual activities
have not been
completed.
There are one to
three required
pieces missing from
the portfolio.
Some of the
included pieces
may also be
incomplete.
Choice of
exhibited works is
impressive and well
thought out. The
portfolio is
extraordinary as a
result.
Design of portfolio
and activities
inside are unique
and creatively
arranged.
The chosen pieces
show that an
acceptable level
of thought has
been put into the
portfolio.
The exhibits chosen
show that more
effort would be
necessary to better
the presentation of
the portfolio.
The portfolio is
missing more than
half of the required
assignments as
reviewed and
handed out in
class. Some of
those included are
incomplete.
The chosen exhibits
seem to have
been chosen
haphazardly and
are not well
interconnected.
While overall level
of creativity is high,
more effort would
make the portfolio
outstanding.
Portfolio is well
preserved and very
neat in
composition and
arrangement.
Portfolio is
manageable,
however slightly
disorganized.
Design of the
portfolio is copied
from another
student or not
having to do with
the topic we are
studying.
An increased focus
on neatness is
necessary in for
future portfolio
assignments,
Design and
creativity are
lacking
completely,
distasteful, or
offensive.
Portfolio is sloppy
and disorganized.
Contents are also
unkempt and
mixed up.