I get so excited watching my students focusing so hard as they take the AAPPL. However, immediately after the test, the students seemed stunned, mentally spent, and slightly overwhelmed. I worried at first that this was caused by the test being too difficult for them, but then realized that it’s the result of the stamina […]
Continue readingLearning from AAPPL Results
I cried real tears the first time I received my students’ AAPPL scores. I had much to celebrate: great accomplishments on the Interpretive components, with several students obtaining scores high enough for our state’s Seal of Biliteracy, and those “surprise kids” performing better than expected. But they weren’t just the happy kind of tears; for […]
Continue readingBackward Design and the AAPPL
By Chris Lemon, Northmont High School, Clayton, OH (Spanish Teacher, Department Chair) Comprehensible input. Movies. Language Clubs. Guest speakers. Pirates. Conversations. Fly swatter vocabulary matches. Video Pen Pals. Study abroad. A language program can take many forms and have some—or none—of these. But how do you achieve one that is authentic, fun, and successful all at […]
Continue readingUsing AAPPL Topics to guide curriculum planning: An educator’s perspective
Recently, ACTFL put out their comprehensive list of topics for the AAPPL. These topics offer excellent preparation for the test. I’ve also found them to be valuable in other aspects of my curriculum building and unit planning. I began my teaching career in the formulaic era of Realidades and Paso a Paso‘s thematic chapters about […]
Continue readingTop 10 Tips Before Administering the AAPPL
In preparation for your fall AAPPL testing season, we have pulled together a list of Top Ten Tips to help ensure that your AAPPL experience this year is a smooth one. 1. Choose your proctoring mode and think through the steps you will need to take to set yourself and your students up. These resources can […]
Continue readingPlan Now for AAPPL
The beginning of the school year provides teachers and students alike, a fresh perspective and endless possibilities for changing the way things “have been done.” The AAPPL offers teachers an external measurement as their student move towards proficiency, which can be used for a multitude of different reasons.
Continue readingImprovements to AAPPL Shorten Test Segments
Starting April 1, 2016, ACTFL has launched new updates to AAPPL, The ACTFL Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages. The changes shorten test segments by 10 minutes and impacts all three current levels that include: Novice, Intermediate and Advanced. Due to these improvements, the test segments are now 20 minutes instead of 30 minutes. Each level (Novice, Intermediate, and […]
Continue readingUsing Real-World Tasks to Assess Student Performance
Aimee Mack came to a quick realization last spring as she and colleagues pored over Connecticut’s new teacher evaluation system: Their jobs would depend on being able to share evidence of their language learners’ growth with the entire school community. “We knew that as a department we were going to be looking at data as […]
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