Most teachers in the American educational system practice a form of the recitation pattern. In this model the teacher initiates interaction, students respond, and the teacher evaluates or provides feedback (Diaz-Rico, 2008, pp. 301-302). This method only serves to exacerbate the gap between fluent English speakers and ELLs (Diaz-Rico, 2008, pp. 310). This type of teaching style robs students who need the English language development the most. It tethers students to BICS and keeps them from developing BICS. In the end students who are designated as language proficient because they managed to acquire sufficient “test-wiseness” and therefore are able to successfully navigate through literacy components of language (Aukerman, 2007, p. 628). In our CELDT driven ELL assessment model we fail to realize that much of what the test measures is beneath our students cognitive ability, but above their “test-wiseness”.
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