How can K-12 educators assess critical reading skills in non-native English speakers?

Critical reading is not just about decoding words; it's about unlocking the deeper layers of meaning within a text. It's an opportunity for students to engage actively with the material, exploring the author's intentions and the broader context surrounding the text. By encouraging critical reading, we empower students to become independent thinkers and lifelong learners. It's about fostering curiosity, encouraging questions, and inspiring a thirst for knowledge. With critical reading skills, students can navigate complex ideas, evaluate information, and form their own informed opinions. It's an essential tool for success in both academics and the real world.

Using rubrics and checklists with clear criteria and performance levels is an effective method for assessing critical reading skills. For instance, a rubric can evaluate NNES on various aspects like identifying the main idea, analyzing tone and bias, and synthesizing information, while a checklist can aid in self-monitoring by guiding activities such as previewing, annotating, and reflecting on the text.

Diversifying the texts and genres encountered by NNES is another effective strategy for assessing critical reading skills. By exposing them to a range of materials that challenge their thinking and require analysis, such as texts presenting opposing viewpoints on contentious topics like immigration or climate change, educators can foster deeper engagement and comprehension.

When possible, we should also assess multilingual students’ critical reading skills in their first language. We know that knowledge and concepts transfer across languages. When we assess students in their home language, we get a more accurate picture of what their true strengths are. If we rely only on English assessments for students who are still learning English, we risk underestimating their true abilities.

We must not underestimate the need for reading and talking about books with children. Assessment is important, but too often skill building and assessment dominate the language arts program and take up time that would be better spent reading to children and giving them opportunities to talk and write about stories and nonfiction books. Working on skills and assessment without having spent ample time reading and talking about books is putting the cart before the horse, so to speak. Dedicate plenty of time for this key to achievement, and you will find that students will do much better on assessments than if this important component is minimal or altogether missing from your program.