Collaborative Assessment for Multilingual Learners and Teachers

"‘I no longer feel that I need to know and do it all....that’s what colleagues are for... to share the responsibility for teaching our multilingual learners.’ This quote, from a seasoned educator, is at the heart of Margo Gottlieb’s and Andrea Honigsfeld’s new book. When it comes to student assessment, teacher candidates are taught to rely on standards and standardized testing, often at the cost of their own intuitive understanding of students and issues of equity, social justice, and cultural diversity – specifically multilingualism. Teachers need a new road map. The design of this book as a collaborative journey – complete with road signs, roadblocks, and yes, even pit-stops – is not only engaging, but mirrors teaching and learning as an interactive and on-going process. The belief that throughout this journey we must have multiple opportunities to meet-up with and collaborate with our colleagues, makes me eager to go on this journey along with my students."

-- Alice Ginsberg

"Gottlieb and Honigsfeld build upon assets-based approaches, family engagement, and student voice; these values are close to my heart as an educator, therefore I immediately felt invested in this book. The vignettes make it easier to understand how the collaborative assessment ideas in this book could be implemented in my own building. Finally, this book is fun!!! I love how it is written like a journey that is meant to be engaged with. This text will make an excellent book study for co-teaching teams or any team that wants to grow their collaborative assessment practices."

-- Berth Harju

"At NYS TESOL we believe all educators are educators of ELLs/Multilingual Learners. This book is an ideal tool for all teachers and administrators in many ways. High-quality systems, inclusive school culture, and the gradual release of responsibility are motifs throughout its pages. Furthermore, the asset-based ethos throughout this book can undoubtedly enhance school collaboration. As an educational leader and an ENL co-teacher, it is clear to me that this book will help to build new and improved veteran relationships between co-teachers and other educators. I say "Yes!" this book is everything I’d like to communicate to colleagues. It is put so eloquently and succinctly via a metaphorical journey with vignettes of various school collaborative experiences. Thank you, Margo and Andrea for putting this out for our schools... and truly, our society at large."

-- Christine E. Seebach Ed.D.

"Embarking on the journey of collaborative assessment, readers of this book are the heroes being guided by the authors.  A journey into collaborative instructional assessment cycles supports educators in learning to navigate the unfamiliar territory of interconnectedness and interdependence among multilingual learners, teachers, and families. Margo and Andrea inspire educators to launch a transformative quest. Along the way, they introduce readers to friends traveling the same journey, supporting educators through obstacles and options. Reaching the destination, teachers have had experiences with integrating language and content, balancing instruction and assessment, and collaborating in implementing student-centered approaches. What a ride!"

-- Tamara J. Coburn

"This book looks GREAT! It is really needed in the field. I get so many questions from teachers of bilingual students about appropriate assessments, and this book lays it out clearly in an approachable, well-written volume. So much of the discourse around assessment focuses on (English-centered) accountability and reflects a monolingual perspective -- narrowly judging multilingual students’ capacities by only counting what they can demonstrate in English in a summative test. This volume centers around honoring multilingual learners’ unique skills and identities, and helping educators learn how to work together to give students access to their full linguistic repertoire to demonstrate what they know and can do throughout their learning experiences."

-- Deb Palmer, Ph.D. (She/Ella),

"Margo Gottlieb and Andrea Honigsfeld, renowned for their expertise in assessment and collaboration, show us how to support multilingual learners’ language, academic, and social-emotional development using state-of-the-art collaborative assessment practices.  Whether you are new to teaching or a veteran educator, this book should be front and center for building student success."

-- Debbie Zacarian

"Using "journey" as a metaphor, Margo and Andrea pool their extensive knowledge and experience to both zero in on and expand the day-to-day rhythms of collaborative assessment for multilingual learners. These urgently needed assessment practices, collected into their book, and illustrated via vignettes; engender curiosity, collaborative conversations, and enquiring attitudes in teachers, students, and their families.  This contrasts with the overreliance on one-and-done, high-stakes tests for accountability that often deflate and discourage, placing us all - especially multilingual students - into a deficit-oriented mindset rather than into a joyful journey of learning and growing together."

-- Debra Cole, PhD

"Collaborative Assessment for Multilingual Learners and Teachers is a must-have treasure for those who take on challenging and sometimes lonely journeys of trying to unpack data and connecting numbers to practical ways of supporting multilingual learners in daily instruction. This book is based on research-based practices and is designed as a fun but goal-oriented travel companion that is sure to stop and smell the roses along the way. Filled with colorful graphics that make reading easy and content comprehensible, this book is created with multilingual learners’ success in mind. The collaborative assessment guide was created with the collaboration of the two phenomenal authors at its best!"

-- Dr. Inna Slisher

"Margo and Andrea have delivered again! In a time when many schools are unsure of assessment practices for multilingual learners, this book empowers educators to collaborate, share expertise, and co-create assessment policies that truly serve all students. It is an essential resource for educators committed to creating equitable educational experiences and championing the strengths of diverse student populations."

-- Rob Greenhaw

"This book provides a framework for collaborative, equitable, and culturally and linguistically responsive assessment practices, helping educators to empower multilingual learners and create pathways for their success. Grounded in research-informed ideas that highlight the power of collaboration, this practical guide gives educators a roadmap for supporting school-wide changes in assessing multilingual learners. Honigsfeld and Gottlieb offer a wonderful example of the power of leveraging two areas of expertise (collaboration and assessment, respectively) in their first co-authored book. This practical guide can serve as an entry point for educators who seek to enhance assessment practices for content learning, language development, and literacy skills within an instructional cycle through collaboration. Never has there been a such a need for collaborative works such as this one; Collaborative Assessment for Multilingual Learners and Teachers: Pathways to Partnerships will help educators of multilingual learners apply evidence-based strategies to their teaching practice, and as a result, promote and support equitable assessment practices for this ever-growing population of students."

-- Gretchen Oliver

"As we strive towards a new and necessary season of education where multilingualism is the treasured norm, this book will guide our collective passion to collaboratively and effectively serve our brilliant students and families who have been historically marginalized by ineffective assessment systems.  Beginning in early childhood and lasting through high school graduation, we can and must do better, together, and this resource will enlighten the journey"

-- Kari Keith

"This book offers practical and thoughtful resources to guide pre and in-service K-12 teachers in planning and implementing collaborative assessments as, for, and of learning. Given the strong emphasis on assessment in the current educational climate, and how daunting assessment can feel for teachers, this is a much needed resource advocating for a culturally sustaining approach to the assessment of multilingual learners!"

-- Dr. Kathleen McGovern

"Setting up an equitable playing field isn’t always easy for teachers, so Drs. Gottlieb and Honigsfeld provide clear and explicit answers to issues related to best practices in assessing multilingual learners. As we put adaptable classroom-ready templates and tools into practice, we can rest easy knowing that we are not only effectively addressing the assessment needs of our students, but we are also nurturing their overall academic and social-emotional needs. Their work is systemic, flexible, and inspirational because it provides multiple pathways for a collaborative assessment journey."

-- Katie Leven

"Educators who need a comprehensive and practical resource on collaborative assessment will find this book to be invaluable, especially for their multilingual learners. Drawing from classroom examples, scholarship, and evidence-based teaching, Gottlieb and Honigsfeld guide readers on a "journey" through collaborative assessment, illuminating key issues, challenges, and opportunities. This book is a must-read for teachers and other educators who are committed to supporting multilingual learners in K-12 settings."

-- Ilka Kostka, PhD

"Drs. Gottlieb and Honigsfeld, Margo and Andrea, brilliantly crafted this book to guide educators regarding collaborative assessment practices--with student agency at the center. Now, more than ever, our field must move beyond the widespread, inequitable decisions made based on high-stakes test data that, by design, repeatedly fall short in capturing MLs’ true capabilities. Margo and Andrea offer real-world pathways to adopt collaborative, evidence-based assessment practices that showcase the countless dimensions of linguistic and cultural splendor MLs bring to our schools and communities."

-- Dr. Joan Lachance

"Bringing together Margo Gottlieb’s equitable assessment practices and Andrea Honigsfeld’ s effective collaborative strategies, this book takes the reader on a stimulating learning journey to develop a practice of collaborative assessment. This valuable text is a must read for educators in schools implementing collaborative teaching models. It is also an excellent book for those interested in exploring new pathways toward multilingual learners’ academic success. To transform your practice, get an extra copy for your partner."

-- Lori M. Edmonds

"Margo and Andrea′s book, "Collaborative Assessment for Multilingual Learners and Teachers: Pathways to Partnerships," is a timely and valuable resource. It tackles two crucial issues for K-12 language specialists:

• Fostering seamless collaboration between content and language teachers to facilitate effective content-based language learning.
•  Elevating the role of assessment to provide actionable data for immediate, short-term, and long-term instructional decisions.

"One of the book′s unique strengths lies in its emphasis on leveraging the combined knowledge of educators, students, and families. This collaborative approach, presented through an engaging "Journey" theme, equips teachers with practical strategies to seamlessly integrate assessment into daily routines. This minimizes disruption while maximizing learning opportunities. The book′s clear and accessible presentation makes it easy for educators to grasp the concepts and readily apply them in their classrooms."

-- Lynn Shafer Willner

"This powerful duo cleverly links assessment with collaborative practices for a more equitable and assets-based approach. The creative artistic signals used along the way will help the reader tread and ponder over critical points of the framework. That will help facilitate reflection and implementation. A wonderful book on multilingual learner assessment!"

-- Margarita Calderón

"How can collaborative teaching for multilingual learners happen without collaborative planning? It cannot. And how can collaborative planning and teaching happen without authentic, embedded, and equally collaborative assessment? It should not. Gottlieb and Honigsfeld definitely fill a logistical gap with this book, providing accessible, practitioner-friendly ideas for ways in which educators of multilingual learners can – and do - collaborate with their colleagues and their students to make assessment what it can be and should be. This book’s journey towards collaborative assessment is one that positions planning, teaching, and assessing all as parts of the same collaborative endeavor, one that is done for and with multilingual students rather than to them. But it also asks all educators to truly see and value multilingual students for who they are and what they bring as assets to schools and communities everywhere."

-- Miriam Ehtesham-Cating

"As our district of over 1000 multilingual learners invests ina strengthened, inclusive EL Program Model focusing on co-teaching and integrated ELD, equitable assessment practices for multilingual learners has become a priority topic. This timely, relevant and easy-to-read text by Gottlieb and Honigsfeld is a must-read for educators at all levels who aim to enhance their assessment practices through an assets-based approach! From practical tips to adaptable templates, educators will be equipped with powerful tools to use right away. The authors weave vignettes from various educators around the United States and beyond throughout the text bringing the research and theory to life! We have seen the incredible impact of collaborative practices in various instructional settings, and we are anxious to roll up our sleeves to strengthen our collaborative assessment practices based on the combined expertise of Gottlieb and Honigsfeld!"

-- Pamela Schwallier, PhD.

"Margo Gottlieb and Andrea Honigsfeld have written a must-read K-12 practical guide for those of us who want to support multilingual learners’ academic, linguistic, cultural, and social-emotional development through asset-based collaborative instruction and assessment. Read this book and join the extraordinary learning full of evidence-based strategies, ready-to-use tips, adaptable te