Monitoring attainment in the Welsh language in schools

Abstract

The work of developing instruments to assess Welsh language skills is set in the context of current concern with assessment of performance in key areas of the curriculum in the schools of England and Wales. The particular context of the Welsh teaching situation is outlined and a distinction made between the priorities of teaching Welsh as a first and second language in primary schools. Plans are outlined to devise instruments to monitor attainment in listening, speaking, reading and writing. An account is given of the preparation of a set of wide‐range tests to assess the Welsh reading standards of both first‐language and second‐language pupils, and the linking of these tests by means of the Rasch model is described.