Language Assessment

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Language Assessment

• Chap. 10 Beyond Tests

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Alternatives in Assessment

• Tests are formal procedures, usually administered
  within strict time limitations. Assessments have
  a much broader concept in that most of time when
  teachers are teaching, they are also assessing.
• Additional measures of students include
  portfolios, journals, observations,
  self-assessments, peer-assessments, and the
  like.--- alternative assessment

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Practicality and Washback

• Tests tend to be one-shot performances that are
  timed, multiple-choice, decontextualized,
  norm-referenced, and that foster extrinsic
  motivation. Tasks like portfolios, journals, and
  self-assessment are
• Open-ended/contextualized/referenced/
• intrinsic

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• Formal standardized tests are highly practical
  and reliable while alternatives such as
  portfolios require considerable time and effort.
  Alternative techniques also offer greater
  washback, are superior formative measures, and
  because of their authenticity, usually carry
  greater face validity.

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Performance-Based Assessment

• P-B A implies productive, observable skills, such
  as speaking and writing.
• Reading, listening, and thinking have many
  authentic manifestations, but since they are not
  directly observable in and of themselves, they
  are not performance-based.
• Performance assessment is one of the primary
  traits of the alternatives to assessment.

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Portfolios

• A portfolio is a purposeful collection of
  students work that demonstrates their efforts,
  progress, and achievements in given areas. It
  includes materials such as
• essays and compositions/reports, project
  outlines/poetry/newspaper clippings/presentations/
  journals/tests/ notes on lectures/comments/evaluat
  ions

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• Six possible attributes of a portfolio
• Collecting, Reflecting, Assessing, Documenting,
  Linking, and Evaluating.
• Portfolios can fail if objectives are not clear,
  if guidelines are not given to students, if
  systematic periodic review and feedback are not
  present.

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Steps and Guidelines of Portfolio Development

• 1. State objectives clearly. A portfolio attains
  maximum authenticity and washback when it is an
  integral part of a curriculum.
• 2. Give guidelines on what materials to include.
  Teacher guidance will keep students on target
  with curricular objectives. A sample portfolio
  from a previous student can help to stimulate
  thoughts on what to include.

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• 3. Communicate assessment criteria to students.
  Both self-assessment and teacher assessment must
  be incorporated in order to receive the maximum
  benefit.
• Self-evaluation questions Portfolio project
  self-assessment (p. 258)
• 4. Designate time within the curriculum for
  portfolio development

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• 5. Establish periodic schedules for
• review and conferencing.
• 6. Designate an accessible place to
• keep portfolios.
• 7. Provide positive washbackgiving final
  assessments. Teachers final evaluations should
  emphasize strengths and point the way toward
  future learning challenges.

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Journals

• Journals stresses the importance of
  self-reflection in the process of students taking
  control of their own destiny. A journal is an
  account of ones thoughts, feelings, reactions,
  assessments, ideas, or progress toward goals,
  usually written with little attention to
  structure, form, or correctness.

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Journals

• Categories in journal writing
• Language-learning logs
• Grammar journals
• Responses to readings
• Strategies-based learning logs
• Self-assessment reflections
• Diaries of attitudes, feelings, others
• Acculturation logs

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Journals

• Dialogue journals imply an interaction between a
  reader and the student through dialogues or
  responses. The responses had better take place at
  regular intervals, perhaps weekly or biweekly.
  Teachers can become better acquainted with their
  students in terms of their learning progress and
  their affective states, and thus better meet
  students individual needs.

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Conferences and Interviews

• In conferences, the teacher plays the role of a
  facilitator and guide. The teacher offers
  positive washback and encourage students
  self-reflection and improvement. Questions useful
  in a conference
• What did you like about this work?
• What do you think you did well?
• How does it show improvement from previous work?
• What strategies did you use to figure out . .

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Interview

• Possible goals
• 1. Assessing the students oral production 2.
  ascertaining a students needs 3. discovering a
  students learning styles and preferences 4.
  asking a student to assess performance and 5.
  requesting an evaluation of a course

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Guidelines for Interviews

• 1. offer atmosphere of warmth and
  anxiety-lowering. 2. begin with simple questions.
  3. continue with level-check and probe questions.
  4. frame questions simply and directly. 5. focus
  on one factor for each question. 6. repeat or
  reframe questions that are not understood. 7.
  wind down with friendly and reassuring closing
  comments.

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Observations

• Sentence-level oral production skills
• Discourse-level skills
• Interaction with classmates
• Reactions to students, pairs, and groups
• Evidence of listening comprehension
• Length of utterances