The Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy a Zionist Modern Orthodox Gan through 12th Grade Yeshiva in Rockville, Maryland, has been considering administering AVANT Assessments for a long time, at least 7 or 8 years. It has been a long journey, and this is the year that Berman will finally get on AVANT boat and sail. Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy is a pioneer, the first Modern Orthodox school to have their students’ Hebrew language skills assessed through an ACTFL-based instrument so let’s wish them B’Hatchlacha Rabba. Given the centrality of Hebrew language to the mission of Zionist Orthodox schools, it is anticipated that other schools will follow Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy’s lead.
Avant STAMP for Hebrew is a general language proficiency assessment of Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking skills in Hebrew. Developed in collaboration with Hebrew at the Center, AVANT STAMP for Hebrew was originally designed for Jewish Day Schools and heritage learners. Today, Hebrew second-language learners also benefit from this proficiency test.
Member School Highlight met with Mrs. Rene Isser, Hebrew Language Department Chair at Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy to learn about their reasons for wanting to assess all Hebrew language learners and why is it finally happening in the 5785 academic year. Here are excerpts from the interview, in Rene’s own words:
Anecdotally we know we have a successful Hebrew program. We hear it from Berman Hebrew Academy alumni who go to Israel to study for a year after high school. When they come back, they tell us that although they didn’t think they knew enough Hebrew, they were placed in the highest Ulpan level or in the highest Shiur level of their Yeshiva. After they’ve graduated from High School at Berman, they look back and are proud of what they’ve achieved.
We hear these remarks after the fact, and it brings us great pride, but for many years parents have asked, “How do we know that our children are progressing the way you say they are progressing? How are they really doing?” Until this academic year we have had no real data points except for their placement tests for Bishvil HaIvrit, administered as students move from elementary to middle school.
Melvin J. Berman uses the Bishvil HaIvrit curriculum, published by CET, for our middle and high school Hebrew curriculum, and we are happy with it. For those students who complete the advanced units, we offer 11th and 12th graders a choice of either “Honors Hebrew Literature” or a Kolel/Midrasha program taught in Hebrew by a rebbe from Kolel MiTzion in Israel.
We do, however, want to make sure our students are doing as well as we think they are doing and tweak our curriculum here and there, as necessary, to fill any gaps in students’ language skills.
When Rabbi Dr. Hillel Broder came on last year as Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy’s new Head of School, he already knew from his predecessor that implementing AVANT Assessment was an action item on the school’s plan. In our very first meeting, I told Rabbi Broder that there are two things that I want to do: the first is to have our Gan be a Hebrew language immersion program. The second is to implement AVANT Assessment, so that we could finally give our parents answers to their questions and data on their students’ standing, support for our teachers in the areas where our students do not perform as well as they could, and the opportunity for our students to earn the Global Seal of Biliteracy. I told our new head of school that “we just need to find a way to get on this boat and sail with it, and I don’t know how to do it on my own, and I really need your support.”
As a new Head of School coming in, Rabbi Broder really embraced this. He helped me and supported me, knowing that we were taking a risk. We do not know how our students will perform, but we need this data so that we’ll know what to tweak. By becoming Members at Hebrew at the Center, we save 50% on the cost of each assessment, per student, which brings the cost within reach. Our Executive Director, Mr. Shmarya Gasner, was able to procure a grant that will cover a good part of the expense of the testing. So here we are. It is finally happening!
Based on the advice of Dr. Esty Gross, Hebrew at the Center’s Chief of Staff and Director of Education, we’ll be testing students in 4th, 10th, and 11th grades. Beyond Membership, we have also contracted with Hebrew at the Center to analyze our students’ results, which will give us the means to share and present the data with parents, teachers, and the board, and will also give us direction for adjusting our curriculum for even better results in the future. This is one of the reasons we are assessing high school students in both 10th and 11th grades. This year’s 10th graders will be retested next year, and we’ll be able to measure the impact of our curricular and methodological tweaks. This also gives students who did not achieve the Global Seal of Biliteracy at the functional level in 10th grade another chance – and the motivation – to stretch themselves and achieve the Seal in 11th grade. Likewise, it gives students who achieved functional fluency in 10th grade the motivation to work hard and achieve working fluency in 11th grade. I anticipate that this external measure will increase students’ drive for excellence.
Our students have a very strong reputation for their preparedness in Hebrew and it is something that makes Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy’s administration, teachers and me very proud. If our students do well enough on the AVANT Assessment to earn the Global Seal of Biliteracy, and if they can get college credit or fulfill their college Global language requirement, it will be another feather in their caps, and they will have earned it.
For more information on administering the AVANT STAMP in Hebrew, contact Sheila Bong at AVANT Assessment.
For more information on Membership at Hebrew at the Center, including discounts for assessments, contact Dr. Cindy Dolgin, Director of Membership and Data.
