Assessment Modifications

Assessment Modification
Definition: Assessment modifications are changes made to an assessment in order to fairly gauge
a student’s capabilities when the standard format conflicts with specific student inabilities.
Specifically for ELL students, when you want to test their knowledge of science or math, using
English creates a greater struggle for them than other students. Because the test is not supposed
to test their English ability, modifications can help students reveal their depth of knowledge if
appropriately applied.
Examples
Translation: By translating the test material to the student’s native language, the barrier of English
ability is removed. The students can respond in their native language, which can be translated back
to English. However, this modification is only useful if the child is literate in their first language. One
major issue with working with ELLs is that many lack literacy skills in their first language. Also, when
using automated translation, the recreated version may use awkward phrasing or uncommon wording.


Lengthened Test Time: A simple modification that is often required is allowing extra time to a student
to complete the exam. Most programs define extra time as time and a half. Therefore you should allow
15 minutes for a 10-minute test. For most students, the extra time can make a meaningful difference.
However, be wary of student wasting the extra time to avoid taking the test or postpone other activities.
Shortened Test Length: By removing redundant questions from the test, you still assess the students'
knowledge just with fewer items. The cost of consistency can be worth the time saved, and grading
becomes easier, too.


Giving/Limiting Options: Fill-in-the-Blank items should always come with word banks. Seeing the
different choices and using multiple strategies to solve the problem can be helpful to ELLs. However,
overloading the student with options can be too much for the student. Therefore, on multiple choice
questions, you might want to mark out red herrings, especially ones that are obviously incorrect. This
helps the student save time in mentally process English.
There are many more possible options and modifications, including reading the test allowed, forgiving
writing errors when content is clearly correct, or allowing study guides during the test.

For a longer list of possible ideas, check out: https://www.esasd.net/Page/2252

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