TSL3123_Lecture2

LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT

TSL3112LECTURE 2

TSL3112 Lecture 1_hhyeoh

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Explain the reasons/purposes of assessment Differentiate between assessment for learning

and assessment of learning Distinguish different types of tests used in the

classroom and compare their respective functions

Appraise the different testing formats available and their suitability for testing various skills

Role and Purposes of Assessment in Teaching and Learning


Purposes of Assessment

What is the purpose of assessment?

... to gather evidence of learning.

1. Preliminary Evaluations / Placement Tests: a. occur in the first day of school b. based on students skills, attitude and physical characteristics c. spontaneous informal observation and oral

questions b. as a basis of expectations thoroughout the year

4 Roles of assessment in classroom

2. Diagnostic Evaluations: a. occur before and during instruction b. concerned with skills c. achievement of instructional objectives d. during instruction – to establish underlying causes

for a student’s failing to learn a skill e. before instruction – to anticipate conditions that will negatively affect learning f. informal assessment mostly

Role of assessment in classroom

3. Formative Evaluations:

a. to establish whether students have achieved mastery

b. to determine the adjustments that need to be made

c. based on continuous informal assessments d. during instruction – listening to what students

say, using oral questions to probe, watching students’

behaviour e. quizzes, homework f. feedback to reinforce learning, correct learning

errors


4. Summative Evaluations: a. occurs at the conclusion of instruction (unit,

month, semester, programme) – finals, UPSR, SPM b. to certify students’ achievement, assign grades c. to group students (streaming) d. help determine changes in teaching procedure

for the following year e. formal assessments


Learning Goals and Objectives

Ongoing Assessment

Post-instruction Assessment

Pre-instruction Assessment

Specific Learning Targets

Evidence of Learning

Interactive Instruction

McMillan, J. (2001). Classroom Assessment. Boston: Allyn and Bacon

Relationship between Instruction and Assessment


Many different types of evidence of learning

are collected. These are all considered forms of assessment:

Classroom quizzes Classroom tests Performance tasks Projects Teacher observations Portfolios of student work Large-scale tests (standardized tests)


Different audiences have different needs for information about learning.

Students Teachers

ParentsSchool

Districts

Different audiences have different needs for information about learning.

Students need feedback on their performance so they know where they are doing well and where they need to place additional effort.

Teachers need information about their students’ understanding in order to make good decisions about what and how they teach.

Parents need information about their children’s learning progress so they know the areas where their children need additional support.

School districts need information about students’ learning so they can know where additional support for teachers and students may be needed.

Both State and Federal Departments of Education need to know about student performance in order to assess the educational status of students in the state/nation and know where additional funding and or programs may be needed to help make improvements.


A few thoughts about Assessment -- What Type? Assessment OF Learning? or Assessment FOR Learning?


Assessment for learning (formative or classroom-based assessment) is different from assessment of learning (summative assessment)

An important aspect of assessment for learning is the formative use of summative data.

Purposes of Assessment


Involves judging pupils' performance against national standards (level descriptions). Teachers often make these judgments at the

end of a unit of work, year or key stage. Test results also describe pupils performance in

terms of levels. Carried out for the purposes of grading and

reporting Time Perspective: Past -> Present

Assessment OF Learning = Summative


While it is not the only purpose, assessment for learning is one of the most important purposes of assessment.

Takes place all the time throughout the learning process

Provides continuous feedback to students and teachers on progress towards achieving standards.

Allows students and teachers to adjust their performance as needed

Time Perspective: Present -> Future

Assessment FOR Learning =Formative


Principles of Assessment FOR Learning Definition: Assessment for Learning is the process of

seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to go and how best to get there.


“When the cook tastes the soup, that’s formative; when the guests taste the soup, that’s summative.”


Types of

Tests

Achievement

ProficiencyDiagnostic

Placement

Aptitude


Global competence in a language

Summative and norm-referencedProvide results in the form of a single score- gate keeping role – no feedback

e.g. TOEFL, iELTS

Key issue : Constructs of language ability

Proficiency Tests


Related directly to classroom lessons, units or even a total curriculum

Limited to particular material addressed in a curriculum within a particular time frame, offered after a course has focused on the objectives in question,

The primary role – determine whether course objectives have been met; appropriate knowledge and skills acquired by the end of the course instruction.

Achievement Tests


Achievement Tests

Often summative – administered at the of a unit or term

Play an important formative role Effective achievement tests-

washback – quality of a learner’s performance


Determined by : The objectives of the lesson, unit or course

being assessed The relative importance( or weight) assigned

to each objective The tasks employed in classroom lessons Practicality issues e.g. time frame for the

test The extent to which the test structure lends

itself to formative washback

Specifications for an achievement test (Brown, 2004)


1 • Diagnose specified aspects of a language

2• Identify students’

strengths and weaknesses

3 • To benefit future instruction

4 • Difficult to construct. Lack of good ones.

Diagnostic Tests


Difference between a diagnostic and a general achievement test

Diagnostic

Elicit information on what students need to work on in the future

Typically offer more detailed subcategorized information on the learner.

General achievement

Analyse the extent to which Ss have acquired language features that have already been taught.


To predict a person’s future success in learning a (any) foreign language

Taken before actual learning Standardized aptitude tests (US) i.e.

Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT) & Pimsleur Language Aptitude Battery (PLAB)

Standardized AT – seldom used today – instead- provide learners with information abt their preferred styles and their potential strengths and overcoming their weaknesses

Aptitude Tests


Purpose – to place a student into a particular level or section of a language curriculum or school

• To assign students classes at different levels

Can be bought – not to be recommended unless the institution concerned is sure – test suits its particular teaching programme e.g. Cambridge Placement Test

• Most successful are those constructed for particular institutions

Come in many varieties i.e. Assessing comprehension and production, responding through written and oral performance, open-ended and limited responses etc.• Ultimate objective – to correctly place a student into a

course or level. • Secondary – diagnostic information on students’

performance and authenticity

Placement Test


Proficiency • What is the learner’s general level of language ability?

Achievement• How much has a learner

learnt from a particular course??

Diagnosis• What are the learner’s

particular strengths and weaknesses?

Placement • Where does this fit in our teaching programme?

Aptitude• Does the learner have the

capacity of learning a foreign language?

Basic questions…


Group work: Discuss and present the various

types of tests and assessment tasks students have experienced.

Discuss the extent tests or assessment tasks serve their purpose.

Tutorial #2

TSL3123_Lecture2

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