Presenter: Rachel Geer and Elizabeth Hall, Department of French

Title:  Assessing students' progress through Integrated Performance Assessments (IPAs) in Intermediate French

Description:

In the fall of 2023, we began piloting a new approach to student assessment in French 2010 and French 2020.  Students no longer take tests in our intermediate French classes; instead, we assess their progress in French proficiency through Integrated Performance Assessments.  Developed by ACTFL as a standards-based model for language evaluation, integrated performance assessments measure the progress students make in language proficiency in all the three modes of communication: presentational, interpretive, and interpersonal. Through a cluster of tasks revolving around a theme or content area and focusing on models of comprehensive input and scaffolded and process-oriented output, students acquire language in simulated “real-world” situations.  We will discuss how we adapted this model to our courses, as well as the challenges and benefits of a major revision of our assessment model.