are key elements in a comprehensive approach to education that is accountable to the needs of learners, the values of scholarly disciplines, and the well-being of society. Assessment and evaluation also provide essential mechanisms for understanding, improving, and demonstrating the worth of foreign language education. AELRC aims to provide leadership, scholarship, and outreach in the practices of FL assessment and program evaluation to foreign language teachers, program administrators, and researchers in diverse educational settings.
Mission and Goals
The AELRC’s primary mission is to facilitate useful assessment and evaluation practices that help foreign language educators innovate and improve their programs, ensure accountability to students and society, and articulate the value of foreign language studies in the world today. In carrying out this mission, the AELRC is currently focused on three primary content areas: expanding the availability and use of our highly successful assessments for Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTLs); supporting the implementation of a ground-breaking approach to useful language program evaluation, and overcoming barriers to effective K-16 program articulation as a high-impact area for expanding national foreign language capacity.