Teacher expectations of multilingual students’ achievement

Can teachers accurately predict science performance on a linguistically accommodated test?

Authors

  • Fauve De Backer Ghent University
  • Wendelien Vantieghem Ghent University
  • Koen Van Gorp Michigan State University
  • Stef Slembrouck Ghent University
  • Piet Van Avermaet Ghent University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jmtp.19513

Keywords:

assessment, assessment literacy, accommodations, multilingualism, teacher expectations

Abstract

Assessment is a powerful tool for both teachers and students to get more insight into students’ competences. However, multilingual learners may be underperforming on tests because linguistic barriers hinder them in demonstrating their content knowledge. In this study, we investigate whether multilingual assessment holds the potential to adjust erroneous teacher expectations of multilingual students. We discuss a randomised experiment in which 1,154 students in 5th grade (age 9 to 12) were randomly assigned to one of four test conditions: (1) a bilingual test, (2) a bilingual test with additional read-aloud accommodation in both the language of schooling and home language, (3) read-aloud accommodation in the language of schooling and (4) a control condition without accommodations. Flemish teachers were asked how well they expected their students to perform on a science test. By using chi-square tests, we examine the accuracy of teacher expectations and investigate whether this differs according to students’ linguistic backgrounds and test accommodations. The results suggest that when multilingual students use read-aloud accommodations in their L1, they more often tend to do better than expected by their teachers. Implications for testing culture, test accommodations and teacher expectations are discussed.

Author Biographies

  • Fauve De Backer, Ghent University

    Fauve De Backer has a Master’s degree in Educational Sciences and obtained her PhD in Linguistics in 2020 at Ghent University, Belgium. Her research interests include multilingualism and assessment in primary and secondary education. She has published articles in Language and Education, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, Language Assessment Quarterly and Journal of Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice; and co-authored a chapter on ‘Functional use of multilingualism in assessment: Opportunities and challenges’ in Research Notes 78: What does plurilingualism mean for language assessment? (Cambridge Assessment English, 2020).

  • Wendelien Vantieghem, Ghent University

    Wendelien Vantieghem is Assistant Professor at the Centre for Diversity & Learning (Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Arts & Philosophy – Ghent University). Her work focuses on inequity in education based on gender, sexual orientation, multilingualism, socioeconomic background, ethnicity and disability, as well as teachers’ attitudes and competences with regards to diversity.

  • Koen Van Gorp, Michigan State University

    Koen Van Gorp is Assistant Professor in the Second Language Studies and MATESOL programs, and Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTL) Coordinator at Michigan State University. He also serves as a Research Fellow at the Centre for Language and Education (KU Leuven). His research interests are task-based language teaching and assessment, language-in-education policy, multilingual awareness and multilingualism. He is founding co-editor (together with Kris Van den Branden) of TASK: Journal on Task-Based Language Teaching and Learning. 

  • Stef Slembrouck, Ghent University

    Stef Slembrouck (PhD Lancaster 1992) is Senior Professor of English Linguistics at Ghent University (Belgium), where he is also Director of the university language centre. He has published extensively on interaction and language use in institutional and professional contexts across a range of social domains (social welfare, health, administration, education) and often with reference to globalisation-affected multilingualism. His publications include an edited collection of essays on jazz-in-context (Meer dan jazz, 2017).

  • Piet Van Avermaet, Ghent University

    Piet Van Avermaet is Professor in ‘Language and Diversity’ in the Linguistics Department of Ghent University, Belgium. He is also Head of the Research Centre for Diversity & Learning (CDL) at the same university. His expertise and research interests cover topics related to multilingualism in education, social inequality and equity in education, language policy and practice in education, language policy and practice in contexts of (social) inclusion, language assessment, diversity and inclusion, integration and participation, and discrimination in education. He is co-editor (with Kathleen Heugh and Christopher Stroud) of the book series Multilingualisms and Diversities in Education (Bloomsbury).

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Published

2021-12-07

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Vol. 2 No. 2 (2021)

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How to Cite

De Backer, F. ., Vantieghem, W. ., Van Gorp, K. ., Slembrouck, S. ., & Van Avermaet, P. . (2021). Teacher expectations of multilingual students’ achievement: Can teachers accurately predict science performance on a linguistically accommodated test?. Journal of Multilingual Theories and Practices, 2(2), 207–232. https://doi.org/10.1558/jmtp.19513