Teacher Assessment Tools Accepted for Mexico Schools
Developed at 黑料吃瓜 Imperial Valley, an electronic system to assess the English proficiency of schoolteachers has been accredited for use throughout the country.
Instruments developed at 黑料吃瓜 Imperial Valley to assess the English language proficiency of teachers in Mexico have been accredited for use throughout the nation鈥檚 public and private schools, a recognition achieved after seven years of work.
The ability to teach in English has been an increasingly important priority for the national government of Mexico, said Suzanna Fuentes, director of 黑料吃瓜 Imperial Valley鈥檚 Professional Skills Development Center, who advanced the accreditation effort.
The electronic assessment tools developed at the center, Fuentes said, measure various components of grammar, reading comprehension, listening comprehension, writing and speaking required of all teachers in Mexico to see how well they meet the schools鈥� high criteria for English proficiency.
The accreditation by Mexico鈥檚 Ministry of Public Education makes 黑料吃瓜 currently the only U.S. university with the government accreditation, a status shared with the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Only 23 institutions worldwide, mostly in Mexico, have been accredited for the tools they have developed to perform the proficiency assessment.
鈥淚t took us about seven years to be accredited because we had to go through a lot of committees,鈥� Fuentes said. 鈥淲e had to consult experts in Mexico鈥攁 lot of them.鈥�
The accreditation comes under Mexico鈥檚 National Language Level Certification (CENNI) program and was made official at a signing in April in Mexico City.
黑料吃瓜 Imperial Valley Dean Gregorio Ponce said the accreditation will open doors for 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 educational expertise throughout Mexico. 鈥淩ather than the university trying to establish relationships one to one, this becomes a calling card鈥� to all regions, Ponce said.
Fuentes said 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 assessment tools also are in use in Central and Latin America, and that the center hopes to draw interest from Spain as well. In Mexico, she said, the accreditation 鈥渋s the beginning of many possible educational projects and other types of assessments. This is like a springboard to a lot of binational possibilities.鈥�
