As the number of multilingual learners in educational contexts in both the US and abroad increases, a key question for educational stakeholders is how best to assess these learners who bring multiple linguistic repertoires to the classroom in ways that contribute to their academic success.

In this symposium, panelists explore what a multilingual orientation to language assessment might look like; what multilingualism is and how it impacts on assessment—including approaches to large scale assessment in both the United States and overseas; how educators and teachers support their multilingual learners using assessment; and which contexts are well-suited for the introduction of multilingual approaches to assessment.

Panelists:

• Micheline Chalhoub-Deville, Professor, Educational Research Methodology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG)
• Liying Cheng, Professor and Director of the Assessment and Evaluation Group (AEG) at the Faculty of Education, Queen’s University; Chair, Center for Applied Linguistics Board of Trustees
• Justin Kelly, Senior Director, Test Development, Center for Applied Linguistics
• Aida Walqui, Director, National Research and Development Center to Improve Education for Secondary English Learners; Director, Quality Teaching for English Learners, WestEd

Moderator:

• Keira Ballantyne, Vice President, Programs and Development, Center for Applied Linguistics