Thornbury (2001:18) defines assessment as “different ways of collecting information about learner’s progress and achievement”. In other words it is the process of gathering, describing or quantifying information about performance (Coombe & Hubley: 2007). Assessment is not only gauging learner’s ability but also about measuring the quality or success of a teaching course, etc. (Richards & Platt: 1992). However, assessment is mistakenly restricted to testing which is, in fact, a component as are interviews, and observations. Assessment can be informal such as based on teachers’ observation of learners in pair/group work or it can be ongoing that can be done anytime during the course. Brown (2004) considers assessment a process rather than a product with the prime objective of ensuring if the course objectives have been met.
2. Basic Concepts
2.1. Informal Assessment
Informal assessment can be prompted or unprompted comments, verbal feedback to students, observing students working in pairs or groups, and so on.
2.2. Formal assessment
Formal assessment is based on activities or procedures which are systematic and provide a measurement of students’ achievement, for example, on a progress test.
2.3. Traditional Assessment
Traditional assessment includes multiple-choice, true-false, and matching items as well as norm-referenced and criterion-referenced tests.
2.3.1. Multiple-choice (MCQs)
The examinee receives a question followed by three to five choices to pick at least on as a correct answer. MCQs have a stem which is usually a question or an incomplete statement, alternatives which are the possible answers, and distracters that are incorrect answers.
2.3.2. True-false
It is an item on a language test where students are ask...
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...ls-of-language-assessment-manual-by-coombe-and-hubley. Reterieved: 20/1/2014.
Fullan, M. (2004 ). The new meaning of educational change (4th ed.). New York and London:: Teacher's College Press.
Henning, G. (1996). Accounting for nonsystematic error in performance ratings.
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Huerta-Macias, A. (1995). Alternative assessment: Responses to commonly asked questions. TESOL Journal, 5(1): 8-11
O’Malley, J.M. & Valdez L.P. (1996). Authentic assessment for English language learners: Practical approaches for teachers. White Plains, NY: Addison Wesley, Longman.
Rea-Dickins, P. (2004). Understanding teachers as agents of assessment. Language Testing, 21(3), 249-258.
Richards, J.C., Platt, J, & Platt, H. (1992). Dictionary of language teaching and applied linguistics. Essesx, Longman.
Thornbury, S. (2001). An A-Z of ELT. London, MacMillan
The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA], describe the content and the achievement standard that each Year level is required to achieve for the purpose of monitoring student progress (ACARA, 2012). This is underpinned by the standard “5.1 Demonstrate understanding of assessment strategies, including informal and formal, diagnostic, formative and summative approaches to assess student learning”. As a pre service teacher, I have been involved in delivering many diagnostic and formative assessments throughout my practicum such as observations, explicit feedback, peer feedback, questioning, written and oral activities. Therefore my assessment practice will continue to include assessment for learning known as formative assessment and assessment of learning known as summative
Assessment has been the greatest challenge in my development as a professional. My coursework as supported my growth in this area, especially in understanding the broad range of assessments used to support students’ growth and development. My courses have also supported my understanding of how ongoing observational assessment and standards-based measures can be used to inform instruction and support the cycle of observation, reflection and planning. Coursework
Assessment is the process of observing, recording and documenting a child’s actions and behavior to measure a child’s development. Assessment is an essential part of teaching and educating, because it can provide a record of cognitive, physical/motor, and language development. Records of this documentation can help identify strengths and weaknesses of the child as well as a helpful tool for the families to see the development of their child. There are different types of methods to use for assessment. Observations, portfolios and standardized test are some of the methods I would incorporate in my teaching. An observation is simply observing what the child is doing and recording what you see. A portfolio is a folder filled with different recorded
In conclusion I feel that using effective assessment methods throughout any course allows tutors to give feedback at the right time to allow the correct progress for the learners to achieve. I have experienced feedback many times as coach and more recently as a teacher and feel it has only helped me to improve and to keep wanting to improve so I can inspire others to achieve.
Standard #6: The teacher understands and uses multiple methods of assessment to engage learners in their own growth, to monitor learner progress, and to guide the teacher’s and learner’s decision making.
Assessment is “the process of collecting, synthesizing, and interpreting information to aid in decision making” (Airasian, 2000, p. 10). Similarly, Payne (2003) defines assessment as “the interpretive integration of application tasks (procedures) to collect objectives-relevant information for educational decision making and communication about the impact of the teaching-learning process” (p.9). This means that assessment is a form of collecting data which has meaning when making judgments on students’ learning. It is an effective way to assist students’ learning, identify their weaknesses and strengths and also to recover the effectiveness of curriculum programs. On the other hand, Moon (2000) suggests that assessment is “a way of providing feedback on learning and teaching” (p.148).
2). As with informal assessment, I feel that this is more flexible and can depend on students’ response to activity, lesson, or content. This can be a faster way for the teacher to see results of the students work. Some students prefer a more planned out way of testing them where the questions are written, and they have an idea of how the assessment is planned out and taking place. Other students like anything but written, long exams and would prefer to be evaluated in other ways. I feel that in my future classroom I will vary my type of instruction and allow for all the different types of unique learners to be assessed in a variety of different ways.
Davis, D. (2008). Informal Assessments, and how I use them in my classroom. Retrieved from Web 24 July 2012. http://www.teachingcollegeenglish.com/2008/10/08/informal-assessments-and-how-i-use-them-in-my-classroom/.
Assessments have always been a tool for teachers to assess mastery and for a long time it was just to provide a grade and enter it into the grade book or report card. Through resources in and out of the course, there has been a breath of new life into the research on how to use assessments. They take many forms and fall within the summative or formative assessment category. Sloan (2016) addresses how formative assessments has traditionally been used by teachers to modify instruction, but when we focus on a classroom that is learner-centered “it becomes assessment for learning as opposed to assessment of learning” (slide 4). The fact is, the students are the ones that should be and are the ones using the data we collect through assessments, since it is our way of providing feedback in order
Richards, J. C., Platt, J., & Plat, H. (2000). Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied linguistics. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.
The ability to test a student’s language skills is essential to have as a teacher. Over the years, classrooms have become much more diverse with a wide variety of impairments being presented on a daily basis. Often, these disabilities contain a language impairment that appears as a side effect of the main disability. Unfortunately, assessing language is not as easy as one may think because it is not clearly defined and understood. Kuder (2008) writes that “…language is not a unitary phenomenon- it is ‘multidimensional, complex, and dynamic; it involves many interrelated processes and abilities; and it changes from situation to situation” (pg. 274). Language also develops at different times for different individuals, thus making language assessment an even harder task for test administrators to grade and evaluate. In order to further understand the language impairment that students present, teachers need to be aware of appropriate language tests that could be administered. In order to assure that the best language test is being issued to a student, several various tests exist to choose from. To test a student’s overall language capability, a comprehensive language test, such as the Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language (CASL) or the Oral and Written Language Scales (OWLS), could be administered. If a teacher wanted to test a specific language skill such as pragmatics, phonology, syntax, or semantics, the teacher would need to find the best test for the student’s unique situation.
Long, M, H. & Doughty, C, J. ( Eds.).(2009). The Handbook of Language Teaching. Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Assessments are according to Edglossary.org (2014), “the wide variety of methods that educators use to evaluate, measure, and document the academic readiness, learning process, and skill acquisition of students”. Assessments can be used to identify several important aspects of learning and development. First, they can be used to distinguish a child’s strengths and weaknesses as well as measure specific knowledge and skills. Assessments can also be used to demonstrate what a child has learned and what they understand (“Assessment,” 2014). My opinion of assessment has not changed; however, now I understand how to use assessments that will help ensure that I am providing the most benefits for my students.
In spite of the importance of assessment in education, few teachers receive proper training on how to design or analyze assessments. Due to this, when teachers are not provided with suitable assessments from their textbooks or instructional resources, teachers construct their own in an unsystematic manner. They create questions and essay prompts comparable to the ones that their teachers used, and they treat them as evaluations to administer when instructional activities are completed predominantly for allocating students' grades. In order to use assessments to improve instruction and student learning, teachers need to change their approach to assessments by making sure that they create sound assessments. To ensure that their assessments are sound they need include five basic indicators that can be used as steps to follow when creating assessments. The first of these indicators and the first step a teacher must take when creating a sound assessme...
Through assessment students and teachers are able to determine the level of mastery a student has achieved with standards taught. Both formative and summative assessment should be purposeful and targeted to gain the most accurate data to drive further instruction (Ainsworth, 2010). While this syllabus does a good job of identifying the need for both formal and informal assessments, the way in which this is communicated does not provide enough detail for understanding. Simply listing assessment types does not give any insight into how these assessments fit in the learning process of this course. While some of the assessments mentioned could be common assessments chosen by the school or district to gain insight into the effectiveness of instruction, the inclusion of authentic assessments is most beneficial to students and demonstrates learning in a context closer to that of a work environment (Rovai, 2004). Unfortunately, this particular course, according to this syllabus, relies heavily on quizzes and traditional tests and essays to form the bulk of assessment opportunities. While other activities, such as formative assessments, journaling and discussions are mentioned as possible avenues for scoring, they are given a very low percentage of the overall grade. This shows that they are not valued for their ability to show progression and mastery. If this is indeed the case, this puts the students as a