Position Statement and Guidelines on Demonstrating Teacher Effectiveness and Documenting Student Growth
Position Statement:
The educator is the conduit for developing learners’ language proficiency and global competence so that learners are prepared to interact and communicate successfully in the global community. Student growth and educator effectiveness are intrinsically connected. The purpose of demonstrating student growth is to show learner’s progress toward higher levels of using language and the educator’s impact on student language learning. Such evidence will also demonstrate for multiple constituencies the value of successful language learning and teaching.
Educator effectiveness is best measured based on frequent and multiple measures of performance over time, tied to and demonstrated by each learner, and indicating growth in language performance that points toward proficiency levels.
Educator effectiveness is best measured through:
 multiple measures of student growth in language performance over time
 balanced evidence across the three modes of communication (Interpersonal,
Interpretive, and Presentational)
 performance assessments pointing toward proficiency levels, aligned to NCSSFL-ACTFL
Can-Do Statements (or progress indicators set by state standards)
Feedback:
Guidelines:
What data should be collected?
 Frequent and multiple measures of student growth based on evidence over time to document progress toward the Student Growth Outcomes-SGOs (state-determined terms also include Student Learning Objectives-SLOs; Learning Targets; Evidence of
Effectiveness)

Pre- and post-assessments (Evidence is gathered from the same student at two different points in time; establish a baseline and then measure overall growth)
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Position Statement on Demonstrating Teacher Effectiveness and Documenting Student Growth

Both formative and summative assessments
 Snapshots of language competencies: review holistically and create a profile of what the learner knows and is able to do with language. This may include interdisciplinary projects or work outside the classroom that may be captured through “Can Do” statements
 Authentic assessments in all three modes of communication, linked to proficiency levels
 Include feedback from rubrics (analyzed and reflected upon, creating a feedback loop)
 Learner self-evaluations to provide evidence of learners’ understanding of learning targets (Student Growth Outcomes or specific state term)

Portfolio of diverse evidence with classroom-based samples of student work: audio files, videos, rubrics of both formative and summative assessments

These multiple measures may be verified/validated through standardized world language assessment (using the results of external assessments aligned with standards for learning languages, on small cohorts of students)

Anecdotal data
Feedback:
How does data impact student learning?
These multiple measures of student growth over time help learners
 establish goals for improvement in using the language
 focus their learning
 chart their progress toward reaching those goals
 be motivated to achieve higher levels of proficiency
Feedback needs to focus on what the learner can do and what communication strategies will lead to improved performance. Such feedback empowers students to be reflective learners by understanding the language goal (SGOs or state term) and deciding where they are and how to get where they want to go with language.
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Position Statement on Demonstrating Teacher Effectiveness and Documenting Student Growth
These multiple measures of student growth over time enable educators to:
 make adjustments to planning and instruction
 make informed decisions in the classroom regarding instruction and assessment
 establish class goals to address skills that are weak.
A variety of data reflects student learning and empowers educators to develop subsequent steps to achieve the stated SGOs (or state term). The data informs the educator’s planning, instruction, assessment, feedback, and classroom environment. There should be a causal link between student learning and educators’ instructional strategies.
Feedback:
Process:
How do educators collect, analyze, and use the right data for documenting student growth and demonstrating teacher effectiveness? The process should reflect the guiding principles of
Understanding by Design (Wiggins and McTighe):
1. Identify desired results
The Student Growth Outcomes need to be based on the standards for learning languages and functional use of language (not on the necessary tools of vocabulary, language functions, and grammatical structures). Institutional support needs to be provided to educators for collaborative learning around how to create appropriate learning targets, building common knowledge and understanding of how performance points toward proficiency, what it takes to move from Novice to the Intermediate level and then to the Advanced level of proficiency, and designing effective feedback tools or rubrics.
To measure growth, key principles include:

Not all learners will move up a sub-level on the proficiency scale by the end of any given period of instruction;
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Position Statement on Demonstrating Teacher Effectiveness and Documenting Student Growth

Growth is documented when more learners have more evidence that was generated more independently and spontaneously at the next proficiency sub-level (and simultaneously less frequent evidence at the starting sub-level);
 All learners might not be able to demonstrate performance consistently at the next level by the end of a course, but growth is demonstrated when more are showing more evidence of that next level.
 Setting a range of performance for the SGO (or state term), such as Novice
High/Intermediate Low, provides a learning target that realistically accommodates learners’ different profiles of strengths and weaknesses across the three modes of communication;
 Not all learners will hit the higher target in all modes in the given time period measured, but growth is indicated when more of each individual’s evidence is at a level higher than when the learner began the course.
Feedback:
2. Determine acceptable evidence
Evidence needs to include multiple measures, frequently collected, including portfolios with samples of student work addressing all three modes of communication and the development of global competence.
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The NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements and the online LinguaFolio tool provide a template for collecting a balance of performance evidence that points toward the targeted proficiency level.
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Highly effective strategies include empowering students to collect, reflect on, and evaluate the evidence of their own learning.
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The responsibility of collecting data is shared between the learners (collect snapshots of accomplished language tasks) and the educator who reviews the profile of demonstrated learning and assists learners in identifying gaps in their language development that need to be addressed.
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Student input provides evidence of how well learning targets have been communicated and embedded in instruction.
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Use of assessments developed outside the local institution serve to validate how well learners are meeting the performance learning targets, and may be carried out
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Position Statement on Demonstrating Teacher Effectiveness and Documenting Student Growth strategically with random groups of students or assessment of different skills at different points in the program sequence.
Feedback:
3. Plan learning experiences and instruction
Following the action research model, or a cycle of inquiry, educators use data to improve student learning. This reflective practice provides another measure of educator effectiveness.
Effective practices include:
 Professional learning communities need to regularly collaborate around data;

Data coaches and peer coaches provide feedback and guide reflection on that feedback;
 Educators adopt the same approach to provide feedback to learners on progress toward the learning goals and guide learners’ reflection on what they need to do to improve their performance;
 Feedback on learning targets informs educators and learners as to the next steps for instruction and reflection for goal-setting;
 Frequent formative assessment informs curriculum, instruction, and feedback to learners.
Feedback:
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Position Statement on Demonstrating Teacher Effectiveness and Documenting Student Growth
Concluding Statement:
The purpose for documenting student growth is to measure progress toward developing learners’ global competence, which contributes to building a multi-lingual and multi-cultural work force that can successfully compete and collaborate in the world. Learning languages is an integral part of developing learners’ ability to continue learning, be college-, career-, and world-ready, and be able to participate effectively in diverse communities at home and around the world. Motivation and engagement are enhanced as language learners reflect on their own progress and see language as a tool to help better achieve their learning goals and a professional proficiency. The evidence that can be captured during a period of learning is only one indicator to demonstrate educator effectiveness. Lifelong learning is the enduring measure.
Feedback:
References:
TELL Domains
Additional references?
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