As French teachers, administering French proficiency tests is how we can measure our students’ success and help fill in their gaps. Without clear data on our students’ abilities, it’s hard to know what proficiency level students are at, and how to curate content accordingly.
In this guide, I’ll talk about the what, why, and how of diagnostic assessments in French. PS – want to know more about assessments? Check out this post about how I set up my assessment binder.
What are diagnostic assessments?
A diagnostic assessment is an evaluation of a student’s knowledge on a certain topic. It gives you a clear idea of what your students know, and what areas they are struggling in.
Diagnostic assessments are great for the beginning of the year because it helps you know where to start the year. A lot of times we look at scores from the year before to make content decisions, but our students may have grown or declined in the gap between school years.
I also recommend administering them at the beginning of a unit, the middle, and the end. This helps you show a clear pattern of student growth, or offer evidence of content that needs to be addressed.
Why should you use diagnostic assessments and French proficiency tests?
Proficiency exams are great to give periodically throughout the year to see how you students are intaking and processing the language. It’s an opportunity to assess students’ prior knowledge as well, so you know where to begin teaching.
Diagnostic exams are similar, but can be narrowed down to unit specific content. These are great for tracking students proficiency and knowledge of specific language and vocabulary development, or a specific unit.
How do you administer a French proficiency test or diagnostic exam?
These tests can be administered in a variety of ways depending on students ability, age, grade level, etc. You can administer the test orally or written.
You can also assess students using a variety of methods. Students can fill out a sheet with information, such as writing the word to match an image. You can also record what your students say or their performance as you administer the test.
In the end, it really depends on the content you are testing, and what will successfully demonstrate your students’ knowledge.
After the administration of the assessment, I like to highlight the students’ missed questions. I send it home so that parents know what to focus on with their child.
Where do you find French diagnostic assessments?
You can find free and paid assessments online, but you want to make sure they are appropriate to your students capabilities and grade level. I was struggling to find French proficiency tests for students, so I made my own French assessment!
This French proficiency test is best for Kindergarten and Grade One. Students will be assessed on basic French language skills, such as letter names, letter sounds, numbers to 20, sight words, and colours.
This particular test is done orally because that style of test works best with this age group. It comes with flash cards you will use to ask your questions. Then, you are provided with a recording sheet to record and evaluate your students’ proficiency.
