The Principles of Assessment

Belinda Cerdá, Cambridge English

Who are you?

Primary School children Secondary School children0

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Do you teach:

Series1

Tests the level and is not too difficult and not too easy

Realistic, authentic and

meaningful

Student friendly

Should be pretested and well constructed

Relevant

Motivating

Gives students and teachers info about what they can do

What makes a good exam?

Must test real life skills and

language

It must measure what

it claims to measure

What makes a good exam?

Cover the four skills

Not too long

Clear

Relevance and significance for

people

They have to be fair and

objectiveReliable

Tests students´ knowledge fairly and accurately

It must teach not only grade

Precisely tailored and interesting questions that

motivate students and allow them to be creative at the

same time

Is a mix of open and closed questions

How can we be sure we are getting it right?

VRIP

Validity = fitness for purpose

Measurement scale

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

Intermediate

Preliminary

Breakthrough

Standards consistently applied

Test 3

Test 1

Test 2

Tests at appropriate level

Item bank links all levels

. .

. .

. .

Learners located on scale

An item banking system

VRIP

Validity = fitness for purpose

Reliability = repeatability

Exam day

Examiner assessmentRecruitment

Certification

Training

Standardisation &

RecertificationMonitoring

Examiner Administration

VRIPValidity = fitness for

purpose

Reliability = repeatability

Impact= effect on individuals and society

Practicality = Cost? Time? Resource?

VRIPA candidate´s essay is marked by 2 different examiners and gets

wildly different results

A test of English that contains a mathematical

problem

Tests that cost too much to deliver

The high % of candidates receiving an ‘A’ grade

means that universities cannot choose between

the candidates

VRIPR = A candidate’s essay is marked by 2 different

examiners and gets wildly different results

V = A test of English that contains a mathematical problem

P = Tests that cost too much to deliver

I = The high % of candidates receiving an ‘A’ grade means that universities cannot choose between the

candidates

Question paper production cycleCommissioning of material

Pre-editing

Pretesting & Trialling

Pretest Review

Test Construction

Exam Overview

Editing

Rejection Revision

Examiner assessmentRecruitment

Certification

Training

Standardisation &

RecertificationMonitoring

Examiner Administration

What do you want to take from this event?

Knowledge and strategies to further teaching English as a foreign

language

New ideas to improve the way I assess my students, to share with

colleagues the way we assess

Practical ideas to assess the students more efficiently

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What do you want to take from this event?

Find out how teachers are feeling about bilingualism

Sharing experiences and resources

Strategies to prepare my students for the exams

An unforgettable experience

Questions