Responding to change in immigrant English language assessment

Nearly a decade ago, the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) introduced a new outcomes-based curriculum framework, the Certificates in Spoken and Written English (CSWE). The new curriculum brought about a major change in the teacher's role in the assessment of learners, as it requires teachers to assess learner outcomes using teacher-developed and administered assessment tasks. The introduction of an innovation of such scope as this requires careful planning. According to a number of authors on educational change, key themes in the successful implementation of change include the adequate provision of resources, the elaboration of needs-based professional development programs and the setting up of collaborative work cultures. This paper first describes the new curriculum and the impact on the teacher's role in assessment, then describes a collaborative project conducted by the AMEP Research Centre that has sought to develop a bank of assessment tasks and an accompanying professional development program for AMEP teachers. The project is described in the context of key themes and factors that are seen to be crucial in the implementation of change.