36.635, Reviews: The Assessment of Multilingual Learners: Cilliler (2025)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-36-635. Wed Feb 19 2025. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 36.635, Reviews: The Assessment of Multilingual Learners: Cilliler (2025)

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Date: 18-Feb-2025
From: Emily B Cilliler [emilycilliler at gmail.com]
Subject: Applied Linguistics: Cilliler (2025)


Book announced at https://linguistlist.org/issues/35-2499

Title: The Assessment of Multilingual Learners
Subtitle: Supporting English Language Learners
Publication Year: 2024

Publisher: Multilingual Matters
           http://www.multilingual-matters.com/
Book URL:
https://www.multilingual-matters.com/page/detail/?K=9781800414969

Author(s): Kate Mahoney

Reviewer: Emily B Cilliler

SUMMARY
The Assessment of Multilingual Learners: Supporting English Language
Learners is a 2nd Edition by Kate Mahoney which expands on the
original version and seeks to offer a more internationally relevant
volume that details assessment results and documentation. The book
takes a well-rounded look at assessment from historical considerations
to assessment standards to special education and accommodations. Each
chapter features a snapshot that gives a real-life situation which
clearly illustrates the chapter’s main points. Additionally, the
author includes end-of-chapter activities that can be used in
undergraduate or graduate courses, making the book function as a
textbook and a practical guide for educators. Mahoney begins with a
modified code from Stiggins (2017) called the “Multilingual Learners’
Bill of Assessment Rights,” which immediately gives the reader a sense
of the principles informing  the text.
Chapter 1 breaks down the acronym PUMI  and explains its relevance for
assessing students. PUMI stands for Purpose, Use, Method, and
Instrument. Using PUMI in decision-making can help teachers and
administrators make more informed choices and evaluate assessments for
multilingual learners (MLs) more effectively. The chapter encourages
educators assessing MLs to shift from the lens of deficit to a lens of
promise. The author highlights the role of the home language and
culture through discussing translanguaging and home language
assessment. Four guiding principles are also laid out. The first
guiding principle is the emphasis on promise, rather than deficit.
Principle 2 states that only high-quality assessments should be used.
Principle 3 asserts the importance of proving validity before using
any assessment. Finally, Principle 4 reinforces the need for
translanguaging as both a beneficial teaching practice and a crucial
part of the assessment of multilingual students. The chapter gives an
overview of formative and summative assessment, giving examples of how
to use PUMI to evaluate an assessment. It also provides  a chart that
will be particularly helpful for monolingual teachers shifting their
assessment to include translanguaging.
Chapter 2 explains the historical background of high-stakes testing
and how multilingual learners have been harmed by practices in the
past. It asserts the relevance of PUMI by focusing on how assessment
scores have historically been used. The word “eugenicist” features
prominently in the first few pages, echoing ideas from Terman’s 1916
book, The Measurement of Intelligence; these ideas are used by the
author to shine a light on the ways in which assessment scores have
been misused. The arguments about deficit vs. difference are described
in order to highlight the ways in which schools became tasked with
sorting children into their proper places in society. Of course, the
chapter also discusses the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). This
edition considers NCLB from a historical standpoint and has removed
some of the content from the first edition of this volume. This
chapter also explains how the  Every Student Succeeds (ESSA) Act of
2015 has tried and failed to change the “consequence educational
culture” (Mahoney, 2024, p.49) of the United States.
Chapter 3 looks at validity in testing and highlights the social
impact of test score use. Mahoney proclaims this to be the most
theory-heavy chapter. Construct-related validity is explained and the
threats posed by language-related validity are discussed; the chapter
also provides a handy bias checklist that educators can use to analyze
their own assessments. Mahoney argues that test scores should not be
used as a tool to assess teachers’ or principals’ effectiveness. A
poignant example is given of a teacher who chose not to be certified
in ESL despite being overqualified, because she feared teacher
evaluations.
Chapter 4 delves into methods of assessment with recommendations for
teachers seeking to choose appropriate assessment tools for MLs
(Multilingual Learners). The “M” and "I” in PUMI are emphasized as the
chapter guides educators through questions they should reflect on
before selecting assessments for their students. Promising vs. deficit
feedback is explained, and the concepts of Assessment for Learning
(AfL) and Assessment of Learning (AoL) are introduced. The author
gives several examples of the Sheltered Instruction Observation
Protocol (SIOP) and adds notes on how monolingual teachers can adapt
the techniques. The chapter next offers a detailed look into several
kinds of assessment methods, highlighting the different uses and
providing sample rubrics to help readers contextualize each method.
Building on this section, the author discusses multilingual rubrics
and checklists, giving practical advice on ways to create and
implement these in the classroom.
Chapter 5 discusses the relationship between content and language and
how teachers can assess them in MLs. Here the Purpose and Use parts of
PUMI become prominent. Mahoney distinguishes between knowledge,
reasoning, key practices, and disposition, suggesting appropriate
assessment methods for each. Mahoney advocates for the use of
translanguaging on assessments to ensure that content can be tested
fairly. The first snapshot shows a math teacher changing word problems
to be more accessible linguistically to MLs and illustrates the fact
that language can be simplified as an accommodation without
simplifying the concepts involved. The rest of the chapter analyzes
speaking, listening, reading and writing and suggests strategies and
considerations for educators.
Chapter 6 is an overview of psychometrics  and explains the complex
topic of scores. The use of test scores is examined critically with an
emphasis on how inherently flawed the norming practices used for
standardized tests are. The reader gains a better understanding of
norm-referenced and criterion-referenced tests, as well as how these
distinctions affect the interpretation of results. The author explains
in detail what each type of score means, in order to help educators
navigate the results they receive from publishers after a standardized
test. The chapter continues with some shocking examples of errors made
in standardized tests in the United States.
Chapter 7 debates the value of accommodations in multilingual
assessments. The chapter opens with the classic cartoon of various
animals being asked to take the same test (climbing a tree). Mahoney
goes on to say that the chapter will question the basis of PUMI and
warns that accommodations can not eliminate all gaps for MLs.
Comparing them to a bandage over a large wound,  Mahoney asserts that
accommodations cannot remedy the larger problem of assessments
designed for monolingual students. Translating into the home language,
for example, may help in some cases, but may be ineffective if the
student has not been taught the content in their home language.
Nevertheless, different accommodations are enumerated, from linguistic
modifications to computer-based supports. Current research is also
highlighted, along with research gaps and the need for further study,
since using accommodations without supporting research is
questionable.  Moreover, using accommodated scores without sound
evidence of their effectiveness and fairness may deviate from the
essence of standardized testing and perhaps decrease the reliability
of the test for MLs.
Chapter 8, which was co-authored by Laura M. Geraci,  focuses on
special education (SPED) and how it relates to MLs. Detailed
information about the Individuals with Disability Act (IDEA)
introduces the chapter.  The authors note that the number of MLs with
disabilities increased by 30% between 2010-2020, so that there is
currently a disproportionate number of culturally and linguistically
diverse (CLD) students being placed in SPED. Response to Intervention
(RtI) is explained thoroughly with a look at the progress made with
this model, as well as the criticisms of it. This section leads into a
discussion of the Multitiered System of Supports (MTSS) which is
similar to RtI but is based on a wider framework. Although most of the
chapter focuses on a US context, the final section features a review
of “Assessing Multilingual Children: Disentangling Bilingualism from
Language Impairment” (Armon-Lotem et al., 2015) and points to
fundamental issues with the types of assessments used to determine
which children have Speech-language Impairment (SLI).
The final chapter addresses accountability and its relationship to
validity. This chapter again focuses on the “Use” part of PUMI and
begins with an explanation of assessment literacy and its importance
to all stakeholders. The chapter also briefly explains the growth
model for accountability and the concept of value-added assessment.
The snapshot in Chapter 9 shares an impactful example of the use of
“multiple measures,” where the school used three standardized tests to
determine that a child, who was an avid reader, had a reading deficit.
The largest section advocates for the use of holistic data, such as
one-on-one communication, quizzes, or portfolios, rather than
standardized results, to drive instructional choices. Furthermore, it
echoes Krashen when he calls for the time and money spent on testing
to instead be directed toward buying books and hiring more teachers.
EVALUATION
The book offers a comprehensive overview of assessment for English
Language Learners. The framework of PUMI helps to organize the book
and bring the reader back to the central idea of the critical
evaluation of assessments. The author states in the introduction that
this second edition is supposed to be more focused on multilingual
learners outside of the US. While it may be true to some extent,
adding more examples and snapshots from multilingual environments
would be appreciated, as the book is still mostly oriented towards the
US and bilingual contexts. Something that stands out in this book is
the thoughtful addition of the web addresses of the resources
mentioned, which will aid teachers in quickly implementing the
suggestions given. Additionally, the author includes tips for
monolingual teachers to help them apply strategies such as
translanguaging, even if they do not speak their student’s language.
This is something that is frequently missing when translanguaging is
discussed, even though  teachers who teach diverse learners can not be
expected to speak every language present in their classroom. All in
all, this second edition serves as a valuable resource for those
seeking to gain a deeper understanding of assessment, as well as those
teaching assessment courses.
REFERENCES
Armon-Lotem, S., De Jong, J., & Meir, N. (2015). Assessing
multilingual children: Disentangling Bilingualism from Language
Impairment. Multilingual Matters.
Mahoney, K. (2024). The assessment of multilingual learners:
Supporting English Language Learners. Channel View Publications.
Stiggins, R. (2017). The perfect assessment system. ASCD.
Terman, L. M. (2022). The measurement of intelligence: An Explanation
of and a Complete Guide for the Use of the Stanford Revision and
Extension of the Binet-Simon Intelligence Scale. Legare Street Press.
ABOUT THE REVIEWER:
Emily Blair Cilliler is a second-year PhD student at the University of
Pannonia in the Doctoral School of Multilingualism and private
teacher. Her research interests include language acquisition in young
learners, online learning, and curriculum development. She has worked
as a teacher in private and public schools in Turkey and Hungary and
served as a Virtual Educator for English Language Programs through the
U.S. State Department. She is currently teaching and working on her
dissertation on the topic of language acquisition and extramural
exposure to English in Young Learners.



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