EDC 385GThe Texas Accountability System Fails Our English Language Learners
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Transadaptation of the TAKS from English to Spanish
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The Texas Education Agency's official terminology for the conversion of the English language tests to Spanish is called "transadaptation" (not translation). This neologism masks the reality that English is the primary language of interest for the test developers and that the conversion to Spanish is an afterthought. This creates serious ramifications in test performance for Spanish language speakers.

Below you will see examples of questions from the 2004 5th Grade Science TAKS, with the Spanish version placed side-by-side with the English. Circled sections point out where there are discrepancies in the language or plain errors. Below each section there is a description of the highlighted language and how it unjustly penalizes the Spanish test-taker.

Question 7: "weathering" is best translated to "desgaste" in Spanish. "Degradación ambiental" is a highly technical, little-used term.

 

18. "most responsible for" is translated to "la principal responsable de que" - This is an akward translation which clouds the intent of the question. A more easily understood phrasing would be "¿De las siguientes fuerzas, cuál es la más responsable de que.."

27. In English, "the water dripped out." In Spanish, it "salió" - simply "left" or "escaped," with no notion of dripping or from where. A more comprehensible rendition would be "El agua que salió de los recipientes se recolectó y se midió. De acuerdo con la información en la siguiente table..."

36. The meaning of the English sentence beginning "They stay in these tight groups most likely because" is changed, roughly, to "The most probable thing is that they remain very joined in these groups." The original emphasis on they (the penguins) is changed to the probability (Lo más probable) in Spanish. To restore the clarity, it should be written, "Estos pinguïnos permanecen en grupos probablemente porque...."

37. "freezing rates" is mistakenly transadapted to "el tiempo de congelamiento." "Rate" connotes passage over time ;"tiempo" connotes a fixed point or duration of time. The Spanish version is asking for the amount of time the water took to freeze or the time at which it froze, not the rate at which it froze. This is very confusing. A possible translation that would denote passage over time would be "el tiempo que tarda en congelar es el mismo..."

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Testimonials

A third grade bilingual teacher in central Texas discussed the effects of the high-stakes accountability system on her students.   Her concerns, shared by many bilingual teachers, address the previous schooling or lack of schooling of students, the rapid transition to academic English which does not reflect language acquisition theories, and the translation, or "transadaptation" of the tests that result in more difficult questioning on Spanish-translated exams: "The Spanish TAKS is so much harder than the English TAKS in third grade.   There are some words that are being used that are unidentifiable to my kids.   Some of the vocabulary used is even beyond my Spanish.   I constantly have to look words up.   They are taking a story that may be third grade level in English, but once it is translated, or 'transadapted', it is too hard."

       The teacher went on to state: "I am very stressed this year.   Our motto is...no playing at school...we only work, work, work.   If I do take time out of our schedule to watch a short science video or do a non-reading activity, I feel guilty.   Today we started our Dia de Los Muertos activities and I kept thinking that I should just be doing another TAKS practice."

     "The third grade team did a benchmark test a couple of weeks ago.   I gave my children the test and they started crying.   I had one little boy lay his head on his desk and say that he was nothing but a stupid kid.   I quickly picked up the tests and put them away.   I feel the pressure and they feel the pressure.   Most of the children are in the transitional stage and they will have to be tested on grade level.   I would like people to see the faces of these children.   Eight-year olds stressed about passing a test.   I had no concept of tests at eight.   Did you?"

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