Learning giant Pearson has created a tablet-based learning assessment to benefit English language learners by supporting an array of the English skills necessary to succeed on assessments.

“With the assessment system, called TELL (Test of English Language Learning), students watch video clips and interact with pictures and words, then answer questions out loud,” reports ESchoolNews. “They listen, write, read and speak—all with no mark-ups or grading by teachers. TELL screens, diagnoses and monitors each ELL student’s progress throughout the school year. Responses—written and spoken—are automatically scored by Pearson’s automated scoring technologies.

From what is described, TELL targets every aspect of a students learning from visual to interactive creating a wide range of learning possibilities. Pearson has also found a way to eliminate grading by teachers by implementing a system of their own that will assess the student’s progress throughout the year.

TELL is acclimated to match Common Core standards and according to ESchoolNews, “the assessment covers all four foundational language skills—listening, speaking, reading and writing.”

The new tablet-based learning system is also diverse in terms of the application. Learning language skills can be targeted to one student, a small group or larger classrooms making it a resourceful tool to any situation.

“English language learners are the fastest growing student population in the United States and 60 percent of those students are in elementary school,” says Alistair Van Moere, Ph.D., head of Pearson’s Assessment Product Solutions.

“When we talked to school and district assessment directors as well as English language teaching specialists from around the country, they emphasized the critical need for a new and engaging approach to measuring English language proficiency that accurately diagnoses students’ needs and monitors their progress.”

Moere is very confident in a product geared to students of all ages but stresses the fact that the majority lies within the elementary level, a crucial time in a child’s education.

Article by Navi Persaud, Education World Contributor