We know that gathering evidence for learning is not necessarily a straightforward path for students; in fact, it can take on an array of multimodal twists and turns. Therefore, multilingual learners should have opportunities to demonstrate both their conceptual and language development in multiple ways, including their use of multiple languages and modalities. 

Here are some ideas to get started with or continue on your journey:

• Create opportunities for student co-construction of projects coupled with built-in peer assessment, where students critique each other in productive ways, accepting differing perspectives as they move towards a common goal.
   
• Invite students to engage in self-reflection on a regular basis, such as using content-based learning logs, journaling reactions to different situations/ events, or maintaining responses to feedback.
   
• Guide students in showcasing their learning through student-led conferences, where students select samples of their work to share with their classmates, teachers, and family members, describe their accomplishments in relation to their learning goals or targets, and explain how they might further their learning. 

How will we know we reached our destination? Assessment FOR learning

Next, we encounter assessment FOR learning, the approach that sets the parameters of our travels (in essence, by answering all the wh- questions), offering incremental steps for moving from our current location to the next stop.

We might consider how collaboration between students and teachers is vital for building a classroom community. Here are some ideas for relationship building:

• Encourage adoption of software programs, based on student and collegial advice, and to the extent feasible, A1, for oral/written translation and transadaptation of text, videos, or other visualization/ gaming for multilingual learners.
   
• Suggest multimodal ways (oral, graphic, gestural, visual representation) for students to choose from, optimizing their access to rigorous content and negotiating which modes to select to demonstrate meeting their learning goals.
   
• Through ongoing conversations, gain insights into student and family histories, experiences, languages, cultures, and funds of knowledge as a means of creating a meaningful context for interpreting assessment information.

How Can We Showcase Our Learning Over Time? Assessment OF Learning

Lastly, we encounter collaborative assessment OF learning toward the end of our adventure, corresponding to an extended period of learning. There are two interpretations of assessment OF learning, one of which is directly related to results from high-stakes testing. 

However, we address the other interpretation which accentuates consensus building among educators, including teachers, coaches, and administrators, in reaching assessment-driven decisions with input from students and family members. In essence, in this approach we envision communities of practice or professional learning communities collaborating in tackling an issue, formulating a policy, revisiting curriculum for linguistic and cultural sustainability, modifying a prototype, or analyzing large-scale data alongside classroom data to determine the responsiveness of a school in relation to what multilingual learners can do. 

“In assessment OF learning, teachers form relationships with colleagues, school leaders, students, and even families to design assessment and deliberate data. The criteria of success associated with projects, products, or performances, whether presented in the form of a rubric, a set of descriptors, or a detailed project summary, are at the core of this assessment approach.” (Gottlieb & Honigsfeld, 2025, p. 98)

Evaluation is part of assessment OF learning as teachers should have time to collaborate and take stock of the extent to which unit-level goals have been met and ensure alignment between the material and students’ interests, accessibility, and depth of content. 

In their discussions with each other around assessment OF learning, educators should co-create actionable strategies for supporting students, such as:

• Adapt/adopt various prototypes for different instructional activities that can be transferred or replicated for assessment at the close of a unit.
   
• Support grade-level or department teams to investigate a burning issue and delve into action research to answer the question at hand.
   
• Co-design common assessment, for example, for dual language classrooms, around an identical task and scoring protocol.  

Having a partner with whom to share an experience is enriching for everyone involved; when connected to collaborative assessment, both students and teachers benefit. 

Margo Gottlieb, PhD, is co-founder and lead developer for WIDA at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, University of Wisconsin- Madison. Over the last two decades, she has focused on co-creating language development standards for multiple entities, designing student-centered assessment systems, and crafting linguistically and culturally sustainable curricular frameworks. Dr. Gottlieb has over a100 publications, authoring and co-authoring 20 books on language power, academic languaging, and classroom assessment. Margo is proud to have been recently inducted into the inaugural Hall of Fame for Multilingual Education by K12 Summit-NABE.

Andrea Honigsfeld, Ed.D., is a TESOL professor at Molloy University, NY, where she teaches graduate courses related to cultural and linguistic diversity. She is an author/consultant, and sought-after international speaker, whose work primarily focuses on teacher collaboration in support of multilingual learners.  She is the coauthor/coeditor of over 30 books, 11 of them best-sellers.