Many people associate the IPA with an adult beverage. However, the IPA stands for Integrated Performance Assessment. It is used in world languages classrooms all over the United States. Basically, the IPA is a cluster of assessments that covers the interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational modes of communication at the end of a unit of study.
The three modes (interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational) are aligned with a single content focus using real-world tasks. IPAs are used at every level of learning: novice, intermediate, and high. Each section of the test is purposely planned to elicit the language interaction students need to complete the task in each mode.
I have often heard the IPA called the IP-yay! I like this description of the assessment, but I am not sure all the students agree with my enthusiasm for it. I don’t call myself an expert on this topic and I have not had any formal training. What I am going to share with you is what I have tried in the ASL classroom and what has worked for me. I hope this will help others to try this testing format and understand it better.
What You Need To Do
- Decide what you want to test. This is the basic principle of backward design. Write your assessment, then create your lessons based on the final outcome. Basically, teach what you test. If it isn’t on the test, it probably isn’t that important. IPAs are proficiency-based and what we assess is how they communicate across the three modes of communication.
- Choose an authentic video for viewing (the interpretive task). This one can often be very hard for ASL teachers. I get it. I always do my best to find authentic sources, however, it is not always possible. So I have learned that sometimes I have to let go and just what I can for the viewing section. Do note that novice learners are dependent on visuals and context clues so I try to incorporate pictures, infographics, and other visuals into the video when possible. Intermediate level students can handle lengthier videos, however, you may need to slow them down to 75% to help them better understand.
- Write the questions for your interpretive task video. These can be multiple-choice, matching, or summarizing. It really depends on the level and what has been taught. You can always use a combination of any of these things. The questions should see what students can understand without using memorized language. In other words, don’t just rephrase what was presented in the video in the question. Savvy students will easily be able to answer without really knowing the material.
- Create the interpersonal task. I think many people have students communicate in dialogues but they are not true interpersonal communication. Interpersonal communication is unrehearsed, not planned, communication. In this portion of the test, students should be able to hold a conversation on the topic you provide. Communication in the interpersonal mode requires students to ask and answer questions. So if a student is just answering questions, they are not truly in the interpersonal mode. Students struggle with forming questions so it is very important that in your lessons, you provide opportunities for students to practice this. At the novice level, interpersonal communication is difficult and really should not be scored during the first half of the year. Some people believe this can’t take place for year one. I disagree. I do believe students can practice this during class time and be given feedback on their ability, however, I highly suggest you NOT grade them. For the IPA, the interpersonal prompt should connect to the viewing activity.
- Create the presentational task. The presentational task is the last in the assessment and should show higher-level linguistic skills. The task again is connected to the interpretive task. I try to use this part of the assessment to mimic the prompts I would give for the Seal of Biliteracy exam. Therefore, these prompts are generally persuasive in nature or used to make cultural comparisons.
To Sum It Up
- The IPA works with the three modes of communication.
- The tasks should all intwine and have a single focus.
- The tasks should be real-world focused.
- The assessment should be what the students have learned and practiced during the unit of study.
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