Examining My Assessment Literacy Instruction Practices with Teacher Candidates

In this self-study, the author examines her teacher education practices in preparing teacher candidates to assess the literacy of English learners (ELs). According to Lee (2007), disciplinary literary is essential to supporting students in becoming active in democratic pursuits. Conceptualizing literacy in this broader way for teacher candidates and then promoting the exclusive use of tools like fluency exercises and comprehension inventories for their classroom practice seems like a mixed message. The author identified three concepts from the course materials that she determined were important for teacher candidates to consider in assessing literacy development in ELs. These were (a) notions of ELs preexisting literacy in their native languages, in particularly in content area subject matter for curriculum-making, (b) fundamental understandings about second language acquisition, and (c) knowledge of measurement practices as an avenue for advocacy. These three ideas framed the literature reviewed for this study and positioned the author to use narrative accounts of her teaching as data which yielded findings.