Whole-School Bilingual Education Programs: Approaches for Sound Assessment. NCBE Program Information Guide Series 18 (original) (raw)

Based on research on the features that are found in effective school-wide bilingual education programs, assessment strategies for such programs are offered. The features are in three groups: indicators relating to school context (ethos, management, and resources that affect the attitudes of school staff, students, and parents in language minority communities), school implementation indicators (curriculum and instruction, staff development, administrator responsibilities, and parent role), and student outcome indicators (skills and strategies required of limited-English-proficient students to succeed in whole-school bilingual education programs and attain the performance standards outlined in "Goals 2000"). Each indicator is described as it relates to diverse language populations, and ways to measure the feature for purposes of program improvement are discussed. Sample assessment forms, in the form of checklists and rating scales, are included for each feature or feature group. In addition, the characteristics of a comprehensive assessment plan are outlined, and major administrative issues in program evaluation (time, funding, support, sources of expertise, consistency across the institution, choice of evaluators, and comprehensiveness of assessment) are discussed briefly. Contains 38 references. (MSE)