Avant Assessment
PRODUCTSSTAMP Benchmarks
Benchmarks are descriptions of proficiency that structure Avant Assessments web-based tools. These Benchmarks are tied to International Language Roundtable (ILR) and American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Guidelines, but are more detailed as to specific topics and functions that characterize various proficiency levels.
These Benchmarks have been developed over ten years with input from teachers at both the K-12 and post-secondary levels through the Center for Applied Second Language Studies (CASLS) at the University of Oregon. In addition, statistical analysis of assessment data from oral interviews and STAMP data provide empirical support for the validity of these levels.
In some sense, the Benchmarks are arbitrary: There is nothing inherently more difficult about the topic of health, for example, than the topic of community. Yet informed judgments by practicing teachers who created and evaluated the Benchmarks tell us that topics and functions at lower levels are indeed learned earlier than those at higher levels. Empirical data from assessments confirms that the hierarchy represented in the Benchmarks does indeed reflect the order in which most students develop proficiency in these areas.
Click on the link below to download the Benchmarks:
Download Benchmarks (PDF)
Text Analysis Support:
Download Text Analysis Support (PDF)
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