BUKU | SAIDNA ZULFIQAR BIN TAHIR (VIKAR)

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H a n d b o o k s fo r t h e E n g l i s h C l a s s r o o m

Assessm ent

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M ACM ILLAN HEINEM ANN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING A division of M acmillan Publishers Ltd M acmillan Oxford, Betw een Tow ns Road OX4 3PP

ISBN 0 435 28252 2

otherw ise, w ithout the prior w ritten permission of the publishers. Designed by M ike Brain

Cover illustration by Jacky Rough Illustrated by: Nick Hardcastle

Geoff Jones

The authors w ould like to thank Pauline Rea-Dickens, Alex Teasdale and Annie M cDonald for helpful suggestions, Christina and M aria José for support and patience.

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INTRODUCTION

What is assessm ent ?

This handbook deals w it h assessm ent . It is very im port ant t o m ake a clear dist inct ion bet w een assessm ent and evaluat ion. As t eachers, w hen w e carry out assessm ent , w e have t o m easure t he perf orm ance of our st udent s and t he progress t hey m ake. W e also need t o diagnose t he problem s t hey have and provide our learners w it h usef ul f eedback. Evaluat ion on t he ot her hand involves looking at all t he f act ors t hat inf luence t he learning process, such as syllabus object ives, course design, m at erials, m et hodology, t eacher perf orm ance and assessm ent . Assessm ent and evaluat ion are of t en linked, because assessm ent is one of t he m ost valuable sources of inf orm at ion about w hat is happening in a learning environm ent .

Prejudices and problem s

Assessm ent is generally seen as som et hing done t o st udent s by t eachers. M any st udent s m ay f eel panic and conf usion. Test s descend upon t hem f rom t im e t o t im e and have t o be ‘ got t hrough’ . The m ore able ones m ay even enjoy t hese

experiences, as t hey can assert t heir superiorit y over t he rest of t he class. How ever, m any st udent s f eel anxious, w orried and inadequat e. There is of t en great pressure on t hem t o succeed and if t hey do not , t hey becom e branded as f ailures.

Unf ort unat ely t his com pet it ion creat es m ore losers t han w inners. M any t eachers f eel lit t le bet t er. Som e f eel t hat t est s are only usef ul as a w ay of m ot ivat ing st udent s t o w ork harder and virt ually all of us f eel insecure and uncom f ort able w hen w e have t o pass or f ail st udent s.

M any of t hese negat ive at t it udes t ow ards assessm ent com e f rom t he generalised f eeling of a divorce bet w een learning and t eaching on t he one hand, and

assessm ent on t he ot her. The f undam ent al reason f or t his is t hat assessm ent of t en does not f eed back int o t he learning and t eaching process.

◆ First ly, assessm ent is of t en seen as synonym ous w it h t est ing. Test ing or f orm al assessm ent, w here t est or exam condit ions are est ablished, is cert ainly an im port ant w ay of assessing learners. How ever, it is not t he only one and bot h inf orm al assessm ent and self -assessm ent are vit al. Inf orm al assessm ent is

assessm ent carried out by t he t eacher not under special t est condit ions, but in t he norm al classroom environm ent (f or exam ple w it h st udent s helping each ot her w hen necessary). Self assessm ent is t hat carried out by st udent s t hem selves of t heir ow n progress and problem s.

◆ Secondly, assessm ent is seen as som et hing t hat happens af t er learning has f inished, rat her t han during t he learning process. Test s or exam s are of t en given at t he end of t erm or of a course and t hey are of t en regarded as a rat her painf ul but necessary prelude t o t he holidays. For m any learners t he inf orm at ion t hat t his assessm ent gives t hem about t heir perf orm ance and progress com es m uch t oo lat e t o be f orm at ive, t o f eed int o t heir ow n learning.

◆ Anot her problem is t he kind of f eedback t hat learners are given. Of t en inf orm at ion about how w ell learners are doing is expressed only by a grade or m ark. The grade classif ies st udent s, but does not give any real help by t elling st udent s w hat t heir specif ic problem s are and by m aking suggest ions t o overcom e t hem .

◆ An addit ional draw back of t he w ay assessm ent is carried out in m any classroom s is t hat it of t en concent rat es on only one part of w hat has gone on in t he

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Introduction

◆ Yet anot her reason f or negat ive at t it udes t o assessm ent am ong st udent s is t hat , rat her t han give t hem t he opport unit y t o show w hat t hey have learnt , it t ries t o cat ch st udent s out , t o reveal w hat t hey have not learnt . Learners also f eel alienat ed by assessm ent because t hey have no role in it , apart f rom as passive part icipant s. For m any learners in t his sit uat ion, assessm ent m ust seem arbit rary and at t im es even unf air. Som et im es t hey get on w it h t heir t eacher, som et im es t hey do not . Som et im es t hey are lucky and revise t he right m at erial f or a t est , som et im es t hey are unlucky.

On t he ot her hand, surprisingly lit t le help is given t o t eachers t o assess eff ect ively and f airly, t o carry out assessm ent t hat ref lect s w hat has gone on in t he classroom . The result is t hat as t eachers w e are of t en on t he def ensive w hen dealing w it h learners, parent s and school adm inist rat ors.

An added problem is of t en t hat of t he eff ect of public exam inat ions, bot h nat ional and int ernat ional. Not only is t he st ress f act or f or learners great ly increased, but t he exam inat ions can have a prof ound w ashback ef f ect (t he inf luence of assessm ent on bot h t eaching and learning). In som e cases exam inat ions can dom inat e w hat goes on in language classroom s f or t he m ont hs and even years leading up t o t hem . If all t hese exam s w ere f orw ard-t hinking and com m unicat ive t his w ould be posit ive. Unf ort unat ely t his is not alw ays t he case.

Suggest ions and solut ions

W hat m odel of assessm ent can be off ered as an alt ernat ive t o t his gloom y pict ure? Let us look brief ly at t hree of t he basic quest ions t hat t his book w ill t ry t o answ er: ‘ W hen, w ho and how should w e assess?’

When should w e assess?

To provide const ant f eedback w hich it self helps t o direct t he learning process, assessm ent has got t o be a cont inuous process going on at diff erent levels. At an everyday level it is im port ant f or som e kind of inf orm al assessm ent by t he t eacher t o be done in nearly every lesson, hand in hand w it h learning. M ore in-dept h f orm al assessm ent should t hen be done at f requent point s t hroughout t he course, giving f eedback t o bot h t he learner and t he t eacher (rat her t han w ait ing f or t he end of t erm ). It is im port ant f or t his t o be int egrat ed int o t he course, not only ref lect ing course cont ent , but in m any cases developing and ext ending t opic areas covered. At t he sam e t im e self -assessm ent needs t o be done at regular int ervals, so t hat learners can be given an opport unit y t o t hink about w hat progress t hey are m aking and w hat t heir problem s are. At t he end of a course all t he assessm ent t hat has gone on should t hen be put t oget her and f inal decisions about st udent s’ progress m ade.

Who should assess?

Assessm ent has t radit ionally been t he exclusive dom ain of t he t eacher. W it hout doubt w e should not abdicat e t his responsibilit y f or assessing classw ork and hom ew ork inf orm ally and f or set t ing and m arking t est s t hat are done under f orm al condit ions. How ever, it is possible t o com plem ent and im prove our judgem ent s by asking st udent s t o part icipat e in t he process t hem selves.

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Introduction

Self -assessm ent is a relat ively new concept . How ever, as w e w ill see in Chapt er 3, involving learners in t his aspect of our jobs does not t hreat en our posit ion. On t he cont rary, it helps us by giving us m ore inf orm at ion as w ell as by t raining learners t o t hink f or t hem selves.

Finally, in addit ion t o enlist ing t he help and part icipat ion of our learners in assessm ent , w e should w ork w it h as m any colleagues as possible rat her t han w orking on our ow n. A co-operat ive approach saves bot h t im e and w ork, and pools vit al know ledge and resources.

How should w e assess?

Assessm ent m ust be done const ruct ively, f ocusing on achievem ent rat her t han on f ailure. It should allow st udent s t o dem onst rat e w hat t hey know, rat her t han t rying t o cat ch t hem out . As classroom t eachers w e are assessing our learners’ progress and m ost of our st udent s should be able t o pass. If t his is not t he case, w e have t o t ake anot her look at w hat has gone on during t he course.

Assessm ent m ust also have som e degree of reliabilit y ie t hat it is consist ent and t hat under t he sam e condit ions and w it h t he sam e perf orm ance by st udent s our

assessm ent produces t he sam e or at least sim ilar result s. If w e do not est ablish clear crit eria and w ork out clear procedures f or assessing bef orehand and t ry t o keep t o t hem , t here is a danger t hat w e w ill discrim inat e against som e st udent s. We should also inf orm st udent s of at least t he basic out lines of our assessm ent , so t hat not only is our assessm ent reliable, but it is seen t o be reliable and f air by our st udent s.

It is also very im port ant t o be clear about w hat w e w ant t o assess and t o ensure t hat w e are assessing t hat and not som et hing else, t hat our assessm ent has validit y. For exam ple, if w e w ant t o assess list ening w e m ust only consider underst anding and not assess our st udent s’ abilit y t o read or w rit e or t heir abilit y t o produce accurat e language. To reach t he goal of validit y in our assessm ent it is t hus very im port ant t hat w e have clear assessm ent object ives in t he f irst place and t hen t ry t o m ake sure t hat t hese object ives are reached.

Anot her im port ant f eat ure is pract icalit y. Any approach t o assessm ent m ust not be t oo t im e-consum ing, in t erm s of class hours and of our ow n t im e out side t he class. Assessm ent is only one aspect of our jobs and cannot be allow ed t o det ract f rom t eaching or preparat ion t im e. It should also be pract ical in t erm s of physical resources such as t ape-recorders and phot ocopies.

A f inal elem ent is account abilit y. As prof essionals, t eachers should be able t o provide learners, parent s, inst it ut ions and societ y in general, w it h clear indicat ions of w hat progress has been m ade and if it has not , w hy t hat is so. We should be able t o explain t he rat ionale behind t he w ay assessm ent t akes place and how conclusions are draw n, rat her t han hiding behind a sm oke screen of prof essional secrecy.

In t he f ollow ing pages of t his handbook w e aim t o discuss som e of t he issues in assessm ent , t o look at som e of t he opt ions open t o us as classroom t eachers and t o provide pract ical ideas f or t eachers t o t ry out in t he classroom .

◆ First , w e w ill look at inf orm al assessm ent done by t he t eacher.

◆ Then w e w ill exam ine f orm al assessm ent or ‘ t est ing’ , w hich provides us w it h addit ional inf orm at ion about our st udent s.

◆ Finally, w e w ill consider assessm ent done by t he st udent s t hem selves, self -assessm ent.

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Inf orm al assessm ent

1.1 Int roduct ion

The f irst of t he t hree chapt ers in t his book w ill look at inf orm al assessm ent in and out side t he classroom . We w ill look at w hen and how t o carry out t his kind of assessm ent of bot h linguist ic and non-linguist ic f act ors (like at t it ude). Finally w e w ill look at w hat t o do w it h t he result s f rom t his kind of assessm ent .

Inf orm al assessm ent is:

Inf orm al assessm entis a w ay of collect ing inf orm at ion about our st udent s’

perf orm ance in norm al classroom condit ions. This is done w it hout est ablishing t est condit ions such as in t he case of f orm al assessm ent . Inf orm al assessm ent is som et im es ref erred t o as cont inuous assessm ent as it is done over a period of t im e like a t erm or an academ ic year. How ever, f orm al assessm ent can also be done cont inuously as w e w ill see in t he next chapt er.

W hen w e are in t he classroom w it h our st udent s w e int uit ively assess t heir perf orm ance w hen speaking, w rit ing, reading or list ening. We can see w hich

st udent s are perf orm ing w ell and w hich st udent s are f inding diff icult ies. We are also aw are of st udent s’ at t it udes, how m uch eff ort t hey are m aking and how m uch t hey are part icipat ing in class act ivit ies. How ever, t o carry out eff ect ive inf orm al

assessm ent w e need t o carry out syst em at ic observat ion.

◆ First ly w e need t o w ork out w hat w e are going t o assess, as it is obviously im possible t o assess all st udent s’ perf orm ance all t he t im e.

◆ Then w e m ust est ablish clear crit eria f or assessing st udent s and not only rely on rough im pressions.

◆ Finally it is im port ant t o link t he inf orm al assessm ent w e do w it h our f orm al assessm ent (t est s) and w it h self -assessm ent done by t he st udent s t hem selves.

The inf orm at ion w e give st udent s should help t hem ident if y areas w hich m ay cause t hem diff icult ies w hen t hey do f orm al t est s. We m ust also give our st udent s f eedback and help t hem t o t hink f or t hem selves about t he inf orm at ion, as w ell as height ening t heir aw areness of how t hey assess t hem selves.

Inf orm al assessm ent is not :

◆ Inf orm al assessm entis not a replacem ent f or ot her f orm s of assessm ent such as f orm al or self -assessm ent and should not be considered as t he only w ay of obt aining and giving inf orm at ion about our st udent s.

◆ It is not a w ay of avoiding t est s alt oget her w hich allow s t he t eacher t o m ake decisions about st udent s based purely on inf orm al observat ion.

◆ It is not a f orm of assessm ent w it hout crit eria on w hich t o m ake judgem ent s about st udent s’ progress.

◆ It is not a single syst em w hich can be used by all t eachers in all cont ext s in all schools or t eaching est ablishm ent s – each t eacher or group of t eachers need(s) t o f ind a syst em w hich is suit able t o t heir part icular sit uat ion.

◆ It is not a f orm of assessm ent t o be considered in isolat ion f rom ot her f orm s of assessm ent but rat her as part of a larger, overall program m e w hich should be a balanced syst em of decision-m aking.

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C H A P T E R 1 Informal assessment

6 © M ichael Harris and Paul M cCann 1994. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom.

Informal assessment – Part of a system

Work with a colleague or colleagues.

Look at the statements below about assessment.

Discuss each statement and then assign a grade for each statement in

the following way:

5 Agree strongly

4 Agree

3 Indifferent

2 Disagree

1 Disagree strongly

1 Informal assessment of language skills is the most important area

for us to assess informally.

5

4

3

2

1 2 Non-linguistic factors should not be assessed – this is the job of

psychologists.

5

4

3

2

1 3 Informal assessment is simply the systematic observation of our

students.

5

4

3

2

1 4 Informal assessment could replace all those time-consuming tests

that I have to give.

5

4

3

2

1 5 Informal assessment should be part of an overall system of

assessment.

5

4

3

2

1 6 Informal assessment means what it says : ‘informal’ – I observe

and make a judgement based on my experience – rating scales are

a waste of time.

5

4

3

2

1 7 An adequate system of informal assessment already exists in my

school – we take in essays and compositions and mark them.

5

4

3

2

1 8 Informal assessment can only take place in the classroom.

5

4

3

2

1 9 Even without set criteria, I always mark written work in the same

way – I know what I am looking for.

5

4

3

2

1 10 Students sometimes act differently when I walk round the class

and listen to their conversations.

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1.2 When and w hat t o assess

Tradit ionally, w e t end t o t hink of t his t ype of assessm ent as consist ing solely of ‘ m arking an essay’ done f or hom ew ork or t he t eacher w alking round t he class during an act ivit y t o get a vague idea of w het her t he st udent s ‘ are doing all right ’ or not . The classroom is obviously t he m ost im port ant place t o assess st udent s

inf orm ally. It is also w here m ost dat a is available. St udent s spend m ore t im e here t han in any ot her learning environm ent and here w e can m onit or st udent s’

perf orm ance in all f our skills – speaking, list ening, reading and w rit ing. How ever w e can also assess w ork out side t he classroom , eg looking at sam ples of st udent s’ w ork or collect ing in w orkbooks and vocabulary books.

One of t he f irst t hings w e need t o do is t o w ork out how m uch w e are going t o assess as t here are m any ot her aspect s of our job t hat require at t ent ion bot h in and out side t he classroom . In t he classroom w e need t o t hink about classroom

m anagem ent and reaching t he aim s of t he lesson f irst . The t im e w e have f or assessm ent is lim it ed. Sim ilarly, out side t he classroom w e have lot s of ot her t hings t o do like planning and m at erials creat ion. We m ust m ake sure t hat m arking does not t ake up all our t im e. Because of all t hese pressures, it is usef ul t o t hink about w hat t hings w e are going t o assess consciously and w hich t hings w e are just going t o get an im pression of .

Think about how you carry out informal assessment with your

students. Look at the list of items below. Either on your own or with a

colleague or colleagues, decide which of the items you assess informally

by giving a mark and which you merely get an impression of.

I get an overall

I give a specific

Linguistic factors

impression

mark

a written homework

b written grammar activities

c speaking activities

d projects

e listening tasks

f reading tasks

g writing tasks

h vocabulary activities

Non-linguistic factors

a attitude/effort

b participation in class

c group work

d organisation of work

e presentation of work

f punctuality

Are there any other factors that you consider?

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In addit ion t o t hinking about w hat t o assess it can be usef ul t o t hink about t he w eight ing t hat you are going t o give each area. W e w ill look at t his in m ore det ail w hen w e look at planning assessm ent program m es in t he next chapt er. How ever, it is w ort h t hinking about your priorit ies at t his st age; w hich areas you are going t o give m ost m arks f or. The priorit ies t hat you have w ill be t hose out lined in t he syllabus plan of t he school t hat you w ork in, but it is w ort h est ablishing clearly t he w eight ing in your inf orm al assessm ent at t he beginning of a year. To decide w hat is a pass or a f ail you need t o balance t he f our skills, language and non-linguist ic f act ors. For exam ple you m ay w ant t o w eight t he f inal assessm ent in f avour of speaking or list ening if you have spent proport ionat ely m ore class t im e on t hese skills. In t his case you should give a higher percent age of t he overall score t o t hese areas and less f or ot her areas like language and w rit ing.

Anot her key considerat ion is how m uch inf orm al assessm ent you are going t o do com pared w it h f orm al assessm ent or t est ing. If t here are a lot of t est s during t he t erm or year, t hen inf orm al assessm ent on a large scale m ay not be adding m uch t o t he inf orm at ion gained about a st udent . How ever if t here are very f ew t est s, inf orm al assessm ent m ay t ake on a m ore im port ant and inf luent ial role and m ay cont ribut e m ore inf orm at ion t han in t he previous case. Everyt hing depends on specif ic inst it ut ions and t he w ay each inst it ut ion w orks w ill aff ect t he exact w eight ing of each area of assessm ent .

If you have f reedom t o decide yourself on t he balance bet w een inf orm al and f orm al assessm ent in your classroom , it is w ort h t hinking about it bef ore st art ing of f a course. It is also im port ant t o inf orm your st udent s so t hat t hey have a clear idea about how t hey are going t o be assessed.

Weighting: informal/formal assessment

What is an ideal balance for your classes between informal

assessment and formal assessment or tests?

Which of these comments reflects your classroom situation?

• ‘ I do nearly all my assessment informally. I have small classes of

about fifteen to twenty students and we have quite a few hours of

English a week. I suppose that I get 80% of my marks from

informal assessment and 20% from tests.’

• ‘I have about twenty-five or thirty students in my classes and we

only have three hours of English a week. I get 50% of my marks

from informal assessment: the work they do in class, projects and

homework. The other 50% I get from short tests which I give

throughout the term.’

• ‘I do nearly all of my assessment formally, through tests. I get some

marks from work that students do in class and I always give them

an oral mark. However I have over forty in each class and we only

have two hours of English each week. Because of this I have to get

most of my marks from short tests which I give during the term. I

suppose that I get 70% of my marks from tests and 30% from

informal assessment.’

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1.3 Inf orm al assessm ent of linguist ic f act ors

The m ost com m on w ay of assessing st udent s inf orm ally has t radit ionally been by m arking pieces of w ork t hat st udent s do eit her in class or f or hom ew ork. These m arks are t hen added up at t he end of t he assessm ent period t o w ork out a f inal grade. W it hout doubt t his m arking of st udent s’ w ork is one of t he m ost im port ant sources of inf orm at ion t hat w e have. How ever, t his approach has serious draw backs: ◆ First ly, it m eans t hat w e m ight t end t o concent rat e on w rit t en w ork and on

gram m ar exercises rat her t han f ocusing on oral skills.

◆ Secondly, w hen w e m ark w ork w e m ight assign m arks on t he basis of t he ‘ im pression’ t hat w e have of t he w ork. We are not t hinking in det ail about w hat exact ly w e expect t he st udent s t o achieve.

◆ Finally, w hen w e add up m arks at t he end of t erm w e t end t o m ake judgem ent s in t erm s of im pressions and w it hout a clear idea of w hat w e are assessing.

Theref ore, it is im port ant t o m ake a conscious eff ort t o assess oral skills during classes and est ablish clear crit eria t o help us assess specif ic perf orm ance by st udent s and com e t o decisions about st udent s’ progress.

Assessm ent crit eria can be described in t erm s of w hat w e expect our st udent s t o be able t o do. This m ay be Yes/No or Pass/Fail ie t he st udent can or cannot sat isf y a cert ain crit erion. An exam ple m ay be ‘ abilit y t o w ork w it hin a group’ . W it h linguist ic f act ors, how ever, it is m uch m ore likely t hat st udent s can sat isf y crit eria t o a great er or lesser degree ie t hey w ill be im proving along a cont inuum on w hich at t he present m om ent t hey are quit e good at som et hing and w it h m ore pract ice t hey w ill becom e bet t er, eg oral expression.

In t hese cases a m ore descript ive syst em of grading is needed t han Yes/No or Pass/Fail. An alt ernat ive is t o grade st udent perf orm ance in t hese areas int o a

num ber of bands, eg 0 is a poor perf orm ance and 5 is an excellent perf orm ance. We can t hen describe each level or band. The m ore bands w e have t he m ore delicat e and descript ive t he syst em w ill be. At t he sam e t im e, t he m ore delicat e and descript ive t he syst em is, t he f iner t he dist inct ions you w ill have t o ident if y in st udent perf orm ances. This m ay prove t o be m ore dif f icult t han it sounds –

assigning a st udent a 13 inst ead of a 14 on a 20 band scale m ay prove t o be a very dif f icult t ask due t o t he f ine dist inct ions bet w een t he t w o bands. On t he ot her hand, t he f ew er t he bands w e have, t he easier t he t ask is t o assign band num bers t o st udent s as t he dist inct ion bet w een a 3 and a 4 on a 5 band scale w ill be great er t han on a 10 band scale and w ill t heref ore be m ore easily ident if ied. Of course, t he f ew er t he bands, t he m ore rough and ready t he syst em is.

Bearing all t his in m ind, w hat w e need is t o f ind t he opt im um num ber of bands w it h clear and easily underst andable band descript ers f or our purpose. If w e f ind t his, t hen w e w ill have a syst em w hich is usable and suit ed t o our needs.

W e w ill now look in m ore det ail at assessm ent of t he f ours skills, of language and assessm ent of non-linguist ic f act ors.

Speaking

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Inf orm al assessm ent of speaking is done by observing st udent s’ oral perf orm ance in class, by m onit oring speaking act ivit ies as t hey happen. In a busy classroom w hen you have lot s of ot her t hings t o do t his is not alw ays easy. If you are w alking around t he class m onit oring a class oral act ivit y (f or exam ple all st udent s are w orking in sm all groups discussing a part icular issue or solving a problem ) you m ay w ell obt ain a f airly good idea of class perf orm ance as a w hole and individual perf orm ance in part icular areas. You m ight com e t o t he conclusion t hat a part icular class needs rem edial w ork in pronunciat ion, or t hat a part icular st udent ’s int onat ion is not as accept able as t hat of ot her m em bers of t he sam e class.

As you w ill probably spend a lot of time w ith your classes you w ill gain many insights into these areas as a rapport builds up betw een you and the students and you begin to function as one w orking unit w ith mutual confidence. It must be pointed out here that your intuitive judgements are often very useful. One w ay in w hich you can systematise this gathering of impressions is by giving students points based on pre-defined criteria w hen you see that they are performing w ell, either in groups or in front of the w hole class. At the end of the assessment period you can then add up the points that students have to get an idea of how w ell they are doing.

How ever, t he quest ion of unreliabilit y and inaccuracy of judgem ent should be considered in t he f ollow ing w ays. First ly w e m ay get a dist ort ed view of overall class abilit y if w e cannot list en t o all st udent s during all act ivit ies as so of t en happens w it h large num bers of st udent s. Secondly, w e m ay get a dist ort ed view of part icular st udent s w ho m ight t ry harder w hen t hey know w e are list ening t o t hem ; on t he ot her hand, st udent s m ay perf orm w orse in t he know ledge t hat t he t eacher is act ively m onit oring t hem .

The f irst t hing w e need t o do is t o produce a syst em w hich at t em pt s t o give us t he possibilit y of m aking reliable and object ive judgem ent s about our st udent s. The crit eria w e choose and t he descript ors f or each crit eria, eg on a 5band scale w ill provide a degree of reliabilit y w e w ould not have if w e used no crit eria at all except our int uit ion. The crit eria m ight f ocus on a part icular aspect of speaking, eg f luency, int onat ion, pronunciat ion, self -correct ion w here necessary et c. W hat our crit eria w ill do f or us is allow us t o place a st udent on a scale according t o his/her perf orm ance at any one given m om ent in t im e.

W e can est ablish our ow n crit eria, but if ot her t eachers in t he school are using dif f erent crit eria t here can be a considerable am ount of unreliabilit y in assessm ent in t he school. Theref ore it is im port ant f irst ly t o agree on crit eria f or assessing st udent s w it h our colleagues. The f ollow ing st ep is t o m ake sure t hat w e all agree on exact ly w hat t he assessm ent scales m ean. This st andardisat ion of percept ions can be achieved t hrough m eet ings, discussions and w here possible list ening t o recorded perf orm ances and using t hese f or st andardisat ion purposes.

Our bands m ay have m ore t han one aspect of speaking and m ay describe t he speaking skill as one or t w o general crit eria. Look at t he f ollow ing band scale:

5

Speaks f luent ly – alm ost no errors

4

Speaks quit e f luent ly – som e errors

3

Som e dif f icult y in speaking – m any errors

2

Dif f icult y w it h speaking – alm ost incom prehensible

1

Unable t o use language – incom prehensible

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as a result of inf orm al observat ion, t here are cert ain quest ions and problem s w e w ould have t o clear up bef ore using it ; W hat does ‘ f luent ly’ act ually m ean? W hat or how m uch is ‘ som e’ in band scale 4? Do t he bands m ove f rom one t o t he ot her in a unif orm w ay or is t here a big jum p bet w een one part icular band scale and anot her? and m ost im port ant ly – Is t his exact ly w hat w e w ant t o assess?

Oral assessment criteria

Look at the scale on page 10 and, if at all possible with your

colleagues, write a fuller description of the bands. Think about

including descriptions of these things:

• fluency (speed/amount of hesitation)

• message (relevance and appropriacy)

• accuracy (grammatical and lexical errors)

• pronunciation (sounds/intonation/stress)

Compare your descriptions with those on page 44

Once you and your colleagues have decided on t he assessm ent crit eria and t he t ype of scale t o use, you w ill w ant t o put t he syst em int o pract ice. How can you

im plem ent t he syst em ? W hat f ollow s is a list of suggest ed w ays of carrying out syst em at ic observat ion and recording t he result s. How ever, you should adapt t hese m et hods t o your ow n part icular sit uat ion and w here necessary t hink of ot her w ays of syst em at ically observing and recording your f indings w hich m ay be m ore suit ed t o your needs. No single m et hod is suit able in all t eaching sit uat ions or all inst it ut ions. ◆ The f irst st ep is t o produce band scales t o assess oral perf orm ance. You can eit her

do t his on your ow n or (m uch bet t er) w ork t hem out w it h your colleagues. Having done t his you can t hen use t hem t o assess your st udent ’s com pet ence at any given t im e, eg at t he end of each m ont h or at t he end of each t erm . Your judgem ent s w ill be based on your observat ion of st udent s in t he preceding period. It is also possible t o give your st udent s t he sam e bands and ask t hem t o assess t hem selves. Your assessm ent and t hat done by learners can t hen be com pared. Furt herm ore, assessm ent crit eria should be m ade available t o

everybody concerned including inst it ut ions and parent s of st udent s. (For f urt her discussion, see self -assessm ent page 63).

◆ Anot her alt ernat ive is t o assess st udent s’ perf orm ance at a part icular t im e. The best w ay of doing t his is perhaps t o t ell st udent s t hat you w ill be assessing t hem over t he next f ew lessons. Then you can m ake sure t hat in t he lessons t here are a series of speaking t asks. W it h large classes it is probably a good idea t o choose f ive or six st udent s t o assess in each lesson (t hough do not t ell t hem as w hen t hey know t hey have been assessed t hey m ay st op m aking an eff ort ! ). During t he t asks you can go around t he class and w rit e dow n your assessm ent s of st udent s’ perf orm ance. The best t asks t o use are t hose t hat st udent s norm ally do in class and in general group or pairw ork act ivit ies are t he m ost suit able: pairw ork int erview s, group surveys, roleplays, inf orm at ion gap act ivit ies et c. You can t hough use som e w hole class act ivit ies, w here st udent s give a present at ion

(individually or in groups) or w here t hey act out roleplays t hat t hey have prepared.

Bot h of t hese act ivit ies can be a good conclusion t o project and t ask based w ork and also provide good opport unit ies f or peer and self -assessm ent w it h

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as assessing speaking by oral bands alone, t hey can be used in conjunct ion w it h a set of pre-def ined crit eria w hich are object ives t o be aim ed at and w hich are Yes/No t ype crit eria, eg ‘ part icipat es in discussions’ . They can also be used along w it h m ore syst em at ic im pression m arking, f or exam ple giving st udent s point s f or good perf orm ance t hroughout t he t erm .

◆ The last quest ion t o ask is ‘ W hen w e should carry out inf orm al assessm ent of speaking?’ This w ill depend on t he t im e w hich is available and t he num ber of hours of class you have each w eek. It is obvious t hat t he m ore hours you have in t he classroom w it h t he st udent s, t he great er t he opport unit y t o assess. Anot her f act or t o consider is t he f requency w it h w hich you have t o give report s on your st udent s. If result s of assessm ent s are t o be report ed each t erm , t hen t he inf orm al assessm ent program m e w ill have t o t ake t his int o account and w ill have t o t ie in w it h t he ot her f orm s of assessm ent being used t o m ake up t he overall assessm ent of each st udent . If result s are t o be report ed each academ ic year, t he inf orm al assessm ent program m e w ill have t o t ake t his int o account in t he sam e w ay.

Writ ing

Assessing our st udent s’ w rit t en w ork can be very t im e consum ing and unless you are caref ul you can f ind yourself w it h m any hours of m arking, w hich t akes t im e aw ay f rom ot her aspect s of t eaching like lesson planning. It is t hus very im port ant t o choose t he m ost im port ant pieces of w rit ing t hat st udent s do and not t ry t o assess every piece of w rit t en w ork. Thus w e need t o decide how m any and w hat sort of com posit ions w e are going t o assess. Younger secondary learners m ay not need t o do as m uch w rit ing as older secondary st udent s w ho have t o do w rit ing in public exam inat ions. The degree of im port ance t hat w rit ing has should be ref lect ed in your syllabus plans. Anot her point t o consider is t he am ount of w rit ing w hich should be done individually and t hat w hich is done in groups. Group w rit ing act ivit ies are not only good f or developing w rit ing skills, part icularly in a m ixed abilit y sit uat ion, t hey can also m ake your m arking load m ore viable and enable you t o give m ore f eedback t o m ore of your st udent s. For exam ple, in a large class of over f ort y it is m ore pract ical t o m ark t en group com posit ions every w eek t han f ort y individual ones.

Anot her point t o consider is giving f eedback. We need t o m ake very sure t hat t he f eedback w e give t o st udent s is used by t hem . It can be very f rust rat ing t o spend a lot of t im e m arking w hen st udent s just look at t he m ark and not hing else. W hen w e give f eedback t o our st udent s it is im port ant t hat t hey t hink about it t hem selves and w ork out how t hey can do bet t er in t he f ut ure. Theref ore t he link bet w een inf orm al assessm ent of w rit ing and self -assessm ent is vit al.

Anot her crucial f act or is t he need t o m ake sure t hat t he assessm ent w e do of our st udent s is as reliable as possible. For exam ple, if you are correct ing or assessing an essay or com posit ion, you w ill of t en give an ‘ im pression’ or ‘ im pressionist ic m ark’ . This m eans t hat you w ill read t hrough t he piece of w ork once, t w ice or perhaps m ore t im es, and give it a m ark. This could be som e point on a scale of 1–10 or a let t er f rom A– E. The chances are t hat if you are assessing t he w ork f rom a class like t his you w ill apply som e sort of crit eria w hich you m ay have in your head, w it hout consciously list ing t hem . Even if you are w orking on your ow n it w ould probably be m uch bet t er if you act ually list ed t hese crit eria, and it w ould cert ainly be very usef ul f or st udent s t o know exact ly w hat t hey are.

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or even part of a day. For exam ple, w hen w e are t ired at t he end of t he day w e could give a com posit ion a low er m ark t han in t he m orning. Conversely w e m ight be m ore generous on a Friday t han on a M onday. Secondly, as w e are all diff erent w e m ight have diff erent set s of crit eria. Thus a st udent could get a diff erent m ark f or t he sam e piece of w ork if it w ere m arked by diff erent t eachers.

As w it h speaking w e need t o t hink very caref ully about w hat crit eria w e use. Look at t he f ollow ing scale:

5

Excellent w rit er

4

Good w rit er

3

M odest w rit er

2

M arginal w rit er

1

Poor w rit er

If w e use t his scale, w e need t o def ine previously w hat t he m eaning of t he descript ors is.

For exam ple:

W hat m akes a st udent an ‘ excellent ’ w rit er rat her t han a ‘ good’ w rit er? ◆ Is it com prehensibilit y?

◆ Is it gram m at ical accuracy? ◆ Is it spelling?

◆ Is it t he w ay t hey organise t he t ext ?

W hen w e are w orking out rat ing scales and descript ors t o use t here are t w o possibilit ies. We can eit her produce overall descript ions of w rit ing abilit y or concent rat e on diff erent aspect s of w rit ing and separat e t hese aspect s out int o individual scales. General overall descript ions, ie t hose cont aining diff erent f eat ures of abilit y, are called holist ic scales. Those w hich separat e out diff erent aspect s of abilit y are called analyt ic scales.

Exam ple of holist ic scale f or w rit ing abilit y:

5

Const ruct s gram m at ically correct sent ences and phrases and show s f ull

m ast ery of appropriat e vocabulary. Text is organised coherent ly. Correct spelling at all t im es. Excellent cont ent and present at ion. M essage w holly relevant

4

In general, gram m at ically correct sent ences and phrases but som e errors w hich

do not aff ect underst anding. Does not use appropriat e vocabulary at all t im es. Som e dif f icult ies w it h organisat ion of t ext . Som e errors in spelling. Good cont ent and present at ion. M essage m ost ly relevant .

3

Gram m at ical errors and use of vocabulary af f ect s underst anding as does organisat ion of t ext . M any errors in spelling. Sat isf act ory cont ent and present at ion. M essage not alw ays relevant .

2

Text underst ood w it h diff icult y due t o inaccurat e gram m ar and inappropriat e use of vocabulary. Poor cont ent and present at ion. M essage generally lacks relevancy.

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Informal assessment – Number of bands

Look at the 1– 5 band scale in the box below.

Work alone or with a colleague or colleagues and expand the five

bands into a ten band scale by writing more detailed descriptions.

5 Constructs grammatically correct sentences and phrases and shows

full mastery of appropriate vocabulary.

Text is organised coherently and is well structured.

Correct spelling at all times.

4 In general, grammatically correct sentences and phrases but some

errors which do not affect understanding.

Does not use appropriate vocabulary at all times.

Some difficulties with organisation of text.

Some errors in spelling.

3 Grammatical errors and use of vocabulary affects understanding as

does organisation of text. Many errors in spelling.

2 Text understood with difficulty due to inaccurate grammar and

inappropriate use of vocabulary.

1 Impossible to understand text due to frequency of grammatical

errors and incoherence of organisation. Poor spelling.

When you have finished, answer the following questions:

• What difficulties did you encounter when writing the expanded

scale?

• Do you think that with your expanded scale teachers would find it

easy to differentiate between a 6 and a 7 or a 3 and a 4?

• Does each activity, (eg spelling) appear in each band?

• Do you think that your holistic band scale could or should be

broken up into analytic scales?

• By looking at your ten point scale, would it be obvious what is an

acceptable level, ie the cut-off point or ‘pass mark’?

Analyt ic scalesseparat e t he aspect s or act ivit ies given in t he box above and t hus cat er f or t he st udent w ho cut s across t he bands and t heir descript ors. For exam ple, it is possible t hat a st udent m ay be a 3 in t he scale above f or gram m at ical accuracy but a 2 f or spelling. How ever, bot h analyt ic and holist ic scales can be used successf ully t o assess abilit y if t he descript ors are clear enough and if percept ions are st andardised. If a st udent f alls int o m ore t han one band on a holist ic scale, t he t eacher should be able t o choose t he m ost appropriat e or best f it f or t hat st udent ’s w ork.

W hen m arking st udent s’ com posit ions you m ay f ind t hat rat her t han t rying t o m easure perf orm ance com prehensively, you can f ocus on a couple of aspect s. For exam ple, w hen assessing a st ory you could f ocus on t ext organisat ion and linking, not m arking gram m at ical accuracy or spelling. For a project post er giving

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W hat ever set of crit eria you use it is im port ant t o t ell st udent s w hat t hey are bef orehand so t hey w ill be aw are of w hat is expect ed of t hem and w ill hopef ully t hink m ore closely about your assessm ent w hen t hey receive it . The clear

est ablishm ent of crit eria enables t hem t o assess t heir ow n w ork as w e w ill see in t he chapt er on self -assessm ent . Anot her t hing t o consider is how you are act ually going t o give f eedback t o your st udent s. If you correct everyt hing and w rit e t he

correct ions on t heir w ork st udent s can be very de-m ot ivat ed. There is not hing w orse t han receiving a piece of w ork back w hich is covered w it h red ink! One w ay in w hich you can do t his and at t he sam e t im e get st udent s t o t hink about t heir m ist akes is by using a correct ion code. Through a code you can signal problem s t hat st udent s are having. W hen you give w ork back st udent s can w ork eit her individually or in groups t o see if t hey can correct t heir ow n w ork. W hile t hey are doing t his you can go around t he class and answ er any problem s t hat t hey m ight have.

Correction codes

Look at this correction code. Work out your own code to use with

your students.

S

spelling

V

vocabulary

P

punctuation

G

grammar

WO

word order

Pa

paragraphs

L

linking

Pr

prepositions

When you use a code with your students, go over it on the board and

to explain give them examples of mistakes and problems.

W hen you m ake judgem ent s about your learners’ progress in w rit ing over a period of t im e you can add up t he result s t hat t hey have had in t heir com posit ions or use t he w ork t hey have done t o assess t hem globally, using t he rat ing scales looked at earlier here. An im port ant point t o rem em ber is t hat if you have been doing a lot of group and project w ork it w ill be necessary t o com plem ent t his w it h som e f orm al assessm ent , so t hat you can check on individual perf orm ance.

List ening

W e norm ally develop list ening skills in t he classroom in lockst ep f ashion. This m eans t hat all t he st udent s list en t o one t ext at t he sam e t im e. M ost t ext books or

coursebooks include list ening passages f or use in t he classroom . Typical st udent t asks involve f illing in boxes w it h inf orm at ion, t icking t rue or f alse opt ions, ordering event s in chronological order and ot hers designed t o develop list ening skills.

We can inf orm ally assess st udent s’ list ening prof iciency by get t ing an im pression of w hat t hey have underst ood or by sim ply looking at t he answ ers given by any one or m ore st udent (s).We can m onit or and assess st udent s’ list ening prof iciency w hilst m onit oring act ivit ies such as pair w ork act ivit ies or react ions t o inst ruct ions f rom you.

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looked blank’. Or t he converse sit uat ion – ‘ I could t ell she underst ood everyt hing because she nodded in agreem ent at everyt hing I said’. Obviously, neit her m ay be an accurat e assessm ent of t hese st udent s’ prof iciency in list ening. In t he f irst case t he st udent m ay have underst ood m ore t han credit ed f or but w as sim ply not

int erest ed. In t he second case t he st udent m ay have underst ood not hing but w ant ed t o give t he opposit e im pression by nodding.

An alt ernat ive w ould be t o go t hrough t he answ ers one by one and ask t he class af t er each quest ion w ho answ ered correct ly. In t his w ay, t hose w ho scored highly are not being overt ly praised and t hose w ho achieved low scores are not being asked t o adm it t his in f ront of t he rest of t he class and are t hus not placed in a pot ent ially t hreat ening sit uat ion. You should f ind t hat t his m et hod of elicit ing scores w ill provide m ore honest and open report ing f rom st udent s as t he elem ent of com pet it ion and perceived t hreat has been rem oved. You should also m ake it clear t o st udent s w hy you are asking f or inf orm at ion. You can m onit or class responses t o each quest ion and assess:

◆ t he class as a w hole in relat ion t o part icular quest ions in t he list ening t ask ◆ any st udent s w ho do not raise t heir hands very of t en and w ho have t heref ore

gained low scores in t he t ask, t hereby ident if ying quickly and eff icient ly problem areas and st udent s w ho m ay be having problem s w it h list ening.

Anot her w ay of assessing underst anding of t ext s is t o ask st udent s t o recycle w hat t hey have heard. This can be in t he f orm of recycling orally or in w rit t en f orm . For exam ple, f ollow ing a sect ion of list ening t ext , st udent s can be asked t o sum m arise w hat t hey have heard. In large classes, t his can be ineff icient in t erm s of t im e and if individual st udent s are asked in f ront of t he rest of t he class it m ay have a negat ive ef f ect , by producing a t hreat ening sit uat ion f or t he shy or less able st udent . A w ay around t his is t o ask st udent s t o w ork in groups or pairs and t o report t o t heir part ners t he im port ant point s of a t ext . Alt ernat ively, anot her w ay of checking is t o ref ocus t he quest ion by saying t hat you w ant t o know t he result s in order t o est ablish t he diff icult y of t he t ask.

A f urt her m et hod of assessm ent is t o use a recorded t ext as t he basis f or a speaking act ivit y. For exam ple, a recorded t ext about t he econom y of an island m ay be used as a prologue t o a speaking t ask in w hich st udent s are asked t o discuss t he problem s of t he island and t he solut ions t o t hem . During t he speaking phase you could go around t he class and list en t o t he discussions, f ocusing on how pairs are using t he inf orm at ion t hat t hey have been given in t he list ening t ext . As w ell as using list ening t ext s you can assess st udent s abilit y t o underst and you or ot her st udent s in t he class. You can gauge abilit y t o underst and language by observing st udent react ion t o inst ruct ions. Here you w ill be able t o observe t hose st udent s w ho m ay be having problem s w it h list ening sim ply because t hey are not able t o f ollow your inst ruct ions. Also during speaking act ivit ies you can go around t he class and observe st udent s’ abilit y t o underst and each ot her.

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Exam ple of band scales f or list ening abilit y:

5

Can underst and com plex m essages

Can underst and diff erent oral present at ions

Can dist inguish bet w een explicit and im plicit inf orm at ion

4

Som et im es has diff icult y w it h som e com plex m essages

Can underst and m ost oral present at ions

In general, can dist inguish explicit and im plicit inf orm at ion

3

Has dif f icult y w it h com plex m essages

Has dif f icult y w it h som e oral present at ions

Cannot , in general, dist inguish bet w een explicit and im plicit inf orm at ion

2

Cannot underst and com plex m essages

Has dif f icult y w it h m ost t ypes of oral present at ion

Cannot dist inguish bet w een explicit and im plicit inf orm at ion

1

Cannot underst and sim ple m essages

Cannot underst and any t ype of oral present at ion

Choose five or six students from your class.

During a listening activity in normal class hours, use the above rating

scale for listening to assess your students’ listening ability.

Reading

W e of t en do reading t asks in class in lockst ep f ashion: t he w hole class reading one t ext and answ ering quest ions on it . Typical exam ples are t he skim m ing and scanning act ivit ies so w idely used or t he ‘ com prehension quest ions’ at t he end of a t ext .

There are various w ays of assessing t his kind of reading in t he classroom . The f irst is by going around t he class w hile st udent s are doing a reading act ivit y and observing w hich st udent s seem t o be underst anding it and w hich are having diff icult ies. The im pressions t hat you get f rom t his can be m isleading as som e st udent s w ill be reluct ant t o adm it diff icult ies. Anot her w ay is by checking class underst anding of f our or f ive point s f rom a given reading passage. You can go t hrough t he answ ers w it h t he w hole class and af t erw ards ask f or a show of hands of w hat quest ions t hey got right . As m ent ioned bef ore w it h list ening, t his is not a very reliable source of inf orm at ion. An alt ernat ive is t o collect in answ ers t o reading t ext s and m ark t hem yourself . Because t his is som et hing you can easily do as a t est you m ay pref er t o do t his kind of act ivit y as part of f orm al rat her t han inf orm al assessm ent .

W hen assessing reading in t his w ay a f act or t o bear in m ind is subject know ledge. Som e st udent s m ay know a lot about t he subject of t he t ext and t hus have a clear advant age over t hose w ho know lit t le or not hing about it . For exam ple if you are looking at a scient if ic t ext non-science based st udent s are at a disadvant age, w hereas t he science st udent s are considerably helped. In t his sit uat ion your judgem ent of t hese st udent s’ abilit y t o read w ould probably not be very accurat e.

Answ ering a f ew quest ions about a t ext does not give reliable inf orm at ion about overall underst anding of it . One solut ion t o t he problem is sim ilar t o t hat ident if ied in t he sect ion on list ening ie recycling. This m ay t ake t he f orm of discussion of reading passages or w rit ing about reading t ext s. For exam ple st udent s can read a let t er and t hen w rit e a reply t o it or read a t ext and t hen roleplay a sit uat ion f rom it . Jigsaw reading can be usef ul here, w hen you divide a t ext up and diff erent groups have t o t ell t he ot hers about t heir part of t he t ext . One w ay of checking

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St udent s can also w ork out t heir ow n t asks on t ext s f or ot her st udent s t o do. By looking at underst anding of specif ic t ext s w e are not really cat ering f or st udent s w ho have diff erent reading st yles, speeds, int erest s and abilit y. In m ixed abilit y classes it can be part icularly int erest ing t o assess individual reading. Som e schools have a library and in t hese cases you m ay be able t o use it f or t his kind of reading. If you do not have one, a m ini-library could be set up in t he classroom . There are com m ercially available series of graded readers w hich give clear indicat ions of t he num ber of w ords used and approxim at ely how m any hours of English a st udent should have st udied f or in order t o be able t o cope w it h t he t ext s in t he reader. If you can set up an individual reading schem e you can m onit or t he act ivit ies, t alk t o individual st udent s, helping out w here necessary and t hus be able t o m ake

judgem ent s about reading abilit y f or diff erent individuals. One-t o-one conversat ion is a key concept here. You m ay w ish t o discuss a t ext , reasons f or it s choice and it s dif f icult y level w it h individual st udent s w hile t he class as a w hole is perf orm ing a t ask or com plet ing a w orksheet . As w ell as assessm ent t hrough oral f eedback, a quicker w ay is t o get st udent s t o w rit e about w hat t hey have read.

Informal assessment – Reading records

Look at the Reading Record Form below:

READING RECORD FORM

Name

Class

Title of book

Author

Summary of plot

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The reading record f orm on page 18 w ould allow you t o: ◆ m onit or w hat your st udent s are reading

◆ assess w het her t hey have underst ood t he m ain point s of t he t ext t hey have read ◆ assess how st udent s have react ed t o t he t ext by giving t hem t he opport unit y t o

m ake a brief crit icism

◆ inf orm ally assess t heir w rit t en expression

Phot ocopy t he Reading Record Form and t ry it out w it h a group of st udent s. Find out st udent s’ react ion t o t he f orm . Does t he f orm provide you w it h t he inf orm at ion you require? How w ould you use t he inf orm at ion you have collect ed?

W hat of t he crit eria f or m aking overall judgem ent s about reading abilit y? As w it h all ot her skills, t he kind of judgem ent you m ake should ref lect t he kind of reading t hat you have been doing. For exam ple, if st udent s need t o be able t o read new spapers, m agazines and inf orm al let t ers, t hen you should expose t hem t o t hese t ypes of t ext s and assess t heir perf orm ance only on t hese t ext s. It w ould be unw ise, unf air and unreliable t o expose t hem only t o m agazines and t hen expect t hem t o m ake a judgem ent about how w ell t hey read let t ers.

One sort of band you can use can be used in diff erent sit uat ions as it does not specif y t he kinds of t ext s. You can use t he band t oget her w it h your ow n syllabus plan t o assess st udent s.

For exam ple:

5

Can underst and all necessary t ext t ypes w it h no diff icult y

4

Has m inor diff icult y w it h diff erent t ext t ypes

3

Has considerable diff icult y w it h diff erent t ext t ypes

2

Cannot underst and diff erent t ext t ypes

1

Cannot underst and any t ext t ype

Anot her approach is t o specif y t ext t ypes and use a Yes/No crit eria.

For exam ple:

1

Can underst and f act ual art icles in m agazines YES

NO

2

Can underst and inf orm al let t ers YES

NO

Choose five or six students from your class.

During a reading activity in normal class hours, use the above rating

scale for reading to assess your students’ reading ability. If possible,

use both the holistic scale and the Yes/No scales. Which do you prefer?

Gram m ar and vocabulary

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Having present ed a st ruct ure it is im port ant t o assess learners’ underst anding of it and abilit y t o use it . This should be done at t he pract ice st age of t he lesson. During cont rolled pract ice act ivit ies you can go around t he class and ident if y problem s t hat st udent s are having and observe w hich st udent s are having part icular diff icult ies. Having done t his you m ay need t o w ork out ext ra pract ice act ivit ies f or all or som e of t he st udent s in t he class. To avoid dividing t he class and est ablishing a special rem edial group you can do f urt her act ivit ies in groups, w here t he st ronger st udent s can help t he w eaker ones.

In addit ion t o assessing st udent s’ know ledge and use of specif ic st ruct ures direct ly af t er present at ion (in t he language pract ice st ages of a lesson), you m ay f ind it usef ul t o assess st udent s’ grasp of st ruct ure and lexis in general w hile t hey are doing f ree w rit ing and speaking act ivit ies. Rat her t han assess com m unicat ion as a w hole, w hich w e have looked at in previous sect ions, you can f ocus solely on language. For exam ple, in a speaking act ivit y you could go around t he class and w rit e dow n t he m ost im port ant m ist akes t hat t he st udent s are m aking. You can t hen go t hrough t he m ist akes w it h t he w hole class, or alt ernat ively plan rem edial act ivit ies t o deal w it h t he problem s.

As w ell as f ocusing on st udent s’ use of language you can also check t heir know ledge of it in an inf orm al w ay. This is part icularly usef ul bef ore t hey have f orm al t est s so t hat you can give t hem ext ra pract ice if necessary and t hey get an idea of w hat language t hey need t o st udy m ore. One w ay of doing t his is t hrough class quizzes. You can divide t he class up int o groups and organise a com pet it ive quiz bet w een t he groups, m aking sure f irst t hat each group has a balance bet w een m ore and less able st udent s. You can w ork out a series of quest ions t o ask about bot h gram m ar and lexis and you can run t he quiz in an enjoyable w ay, giving st udent s bonus point s, prizes et c. The sort of quest ions you can ask t he groups are as f ollow s:

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1.4 Inf orm al assessm ent of non-linguist ic f act ors

W e also need t o t hink about our st udent s’ overall educat ional developm ent . It is im port ant f or learners t o develop in t erm s of a language and in t erm s of at t it udes t ow ards learning, t ow ards language, diff erent cult ures and ot her people. We also need t o consider st udent s’ abilit y t o t ake responsibilit y f or and organise t heir ow n learning. We need t o consider how m uch im port ance w e are going t o give t o non-linguist ic f act ors. If w e discount non-non-linguist ic f act ors and only assess language, w e can f ind ourselves passing t hose st udent s w ho have done no w ork and have even been disrupt ive in class but w ho st art ed w it h a higher level t han m ost of t he class. The converse could also be t rue.

Giving non-linguist ic f act ors great er im port ance w ill encourage personal eff ort and achievem ent im port ant in a m ixed abilit y sit uat ion. How ever, w e could be open t o accusat ions t hat w e are f ailing t o ref lect our st udent s’ linguist ic perf orm ance and t hat w e m ust assess st udent s in relat ion t o pre-est ablished syllabus goals. The balance is a diff icult one and how w e solve it w ill depend on t he part icular t eaching sit uat ion t hat w e are in.

Assessing non-linguist ic areas can also be a very diff icult area t o deal w it h in t erm s of reliabilit y and f airness. If w e say t hat a st udent has a poor at t it ude w it hout having concret e evidence f or it , w e can lay ourselves open t o accusat ions of part ialit y and unf airness. We need t o be clear about t he crit eria w e are using and provide proof t o back up our decisions about non-linguist ic f act ors.

W e need t o carry out syst em at ic observat ion and t o keep records of it , (eg

at t endance, part icipat ion in class et c). St udent s’ w ork, eg com posit ions vocabulary books et c can be good indicat ors of at t it udes and responsibilit y.

Informal assessment – Non-linguistic factors

Either on your own or with a colleague, decide which of the items

below you think are important in terms of assessment. If you think that

an item should be assessed, how could you assess it? If not, why not?

a Attitude

• is interested in class activities

• is willing to offer opinions

• is co-operative with teacher/peers

• is willing to respond to the opinions of others

b Co-operativeness

• is able to work in pairs

• is able to work in groups

• is able to work as a member of the whole class

• is able to share ideas and knowledge

c

Independence

• is able to plan and organise own work

• is able to self-correct where necessary

• is able to use sources of information

d Creativity and presentation

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W e w ill int roduce t he f act ors f irst and t hen af t er init ial discussion w e w ill suggest a w ay of m apping t he f act ors discussed ont o a report ing syst em .

At t it ude

W e can look at at t it udes t ow ards learning, at t it udes t ow ards t he language it self , at t it udes t ow ards ot her cult ures and at t it udes t ow ards ot her people. The m ost im port ant one is t he f irst one, as w it hout a posit ive at t it ude t o learning, learning it self is not very likely t o t ake place.

One w ay of assessing our st udent s’ at t it ude is by w rit ing prof iles.

Look at t he t w o st udent prof iles. W hich one is t he best st udent ?

St udent A

This st udent appears in t he classroom t o be a passive learner. He of f ers no opinions nor adds anyt hing t o any language discussion. St udent A appears t o be unint erest ed in everyt hing t hat is going on around him . He seem s bored. He does not co-operat e w it h ot her m em bers of t he class. If involved in t w o-w ay

com m unicat ion, he int errupt s his com panions const ant ly and of t en dism isses t heir opinions, insist ing t hat his opinions are right .

St udent B

This st udent appears alw ays t o be act ively involved in class act ivit ies. She alw ays of f ers an opinion and enriches discussions w it h her view s. St udent B alw ays appears t o be int erest ed in w hat is happening in t he classroom . She appears t o be st im ulat ed by class act ivit ies. She co-operat es w it h you t he t eacher and t he rest of t he class. She is a good list ener and appears t o accept her com panions’

view point s w hilst at t he sam e t im e giving her ow n at t he appropriat e m om ent in a conversat ion.

A judgem ent or rat ing could be m ade each m ont h or t erm or academ ic year. St udent A and B prof iles ident if ied t he f ollow ing areas as possible crit eria f or assessm ent :

◆ is passive/act ive

◆ of f ers opinions/does not off er opinions ◆ show s int erest /does not show int erest ◆ co-operat es/does not co-operat e

◆ accept s opinions/does not accept opinions

Ot her areas w e could consider in t erm s of at t it ude are ef f ort and int erest . Here w e can look at concret e indicat ors of eff ort and int erest , eg w het her a st udent hands in hom ew ork regularly w hen asked, w het her a st udent is punct ual, w het her his/her at t endance is regular and w het her he/she reads in English out side t he class.

Group w ork

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sam e w ay as t hat of at t it ude and t he f ollow ing areas as assessm ent can be ident if ied:

◆ has dif f icult y/does not have diff icult y in groups ◆ co-operat es/does not co-operat e w it h group m em bers ◆ is able t o w ork in groups/only able t o w ork alone ◆ accept s/reject s group organisat ion

◆ accept s/reject s t he w ork of ot hers

We also need t o consider w hen t o observe and collect our dat a – project w ork, role-plays and gam es all provide us w it h opport unit ies t o observe and assess. Perhaps t he m ost usef ul of t hese is project w ork w hen st udent s need t o w ork t oget her t o produce som et hing. Co-operat ion w ill t hus involve m aking decisions in groups, sharing out w ork, helping each ot her and posit ively crit icising t he w ork of ot hers. As w e w ill m ent ion in t he chapt er on self -assessm ent , peer assessm ent can be a very good source of inf orm at ion about t his. W hile you can observe st udent s w orking t oget her in t he classroom you w ill not be aw are of t he dynam ics of each group in t he class.

Organisat ion of w ork

This is t he abilit y of st udent s t o organise t heir ow n w ork, a very im port ant learning skill w hich w e need t o help our st udent s develop. Assessm ent can be carried out in t he sam e w ay as t he previous t w o f act ors and t he f ollow ing areas as assessm ent crit eria can be ident if ied:

◆ is able/unable t o organise w ork syst em at ically ◆ is able/unable t o plan w ork

◆ is able/unable t o produce present able w ork ◆ is conscient ious/not conscient ious

◆ self -correct s/does not self -correct

Ot her t hings w hich w e could t ake int o considerat ion w hen looking at st udent s’ abilit y t o organise t heir ow n w ork are t he f ollow ing: t heir not ebook, t heir gram m ar not es and t heir vocabulary books. All of t hese are im port ant indicat ors and one w ay of helping you assess t his area could be t o t ake t hem in and look at t hem . It is f airly easy t o see t heir abilit y t o organise t heir w ork f rom t he w ay st udent s w rit e t heir not es and st ore lexis and gram m ar. It is w ort h point ing out how ever t hat if you do t his you should give t hem som e help t o st art w it h. Learner t raining act ivit ies at t he beginning of t he year should include looking at w ays of organising learning such as est ablishing vocabulary books.

Independence

This is t he abilit y of st udent s t o w ork on t heir ow n as w ell as part of a group (see under Group W ork). St udent s should be encouraged and t rained t o w ork alone using resources available t o t hem such as dict ionaries, t ext books and ot her ref erence w orks. The f ollow ing areas as assessm ent crit eria can be ident if ied:

◆ is able/unable t o use dict ionaries

◆ is able/unable t o use t he course t ext book as a resource ◆ is able/unable t o ref er back t o previous w ork as an aid ◆ is able/unable t o produce pieces of w ork w it hout help

BUKU | SAIDNA ZULFIQAR BIN TAHIR (VIKAR)

H a n d b o o k s fo r t h e E n g l i s h C l a s s r o o m

Assessm ent

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

What is assessm ent ?

Prejudices and problem s

Suggest ions and solut ions

When should w e assess?

Who should assess?

How should w e assess?

Inf orm al assessm ent

1.1 Int roduct ion

Inf orm al assessm ent is:

Inf orm al assessm ent is not :

Informal assessment – Part of a system

Work with a colleague or colleagues.

Look at the statements below about assessment.

Discuss each statement and then assign a grade for each statement in

the following way:

5

Agree strongly

4

Agree

3

Indifferent

2

Disagree

1

Disagree strongly

1 Informal assessment of language skills is the most important area

for us to assess informally.

5

4

3

2

1

2 Non-linguistic factors should not be assessed – this is the job of

psychologists.

5

4

3

2

1

3 Informal assessment is simply the systematic observation of our

students.

5

4

3

2

1

4 Informal assessment could replace all those time-consuming tests

that I have to give.

5

4

3

2

1

5 Informal assessment should be part of an overall system of

assessment.

5

4

3

2

1

6 Informal assessment means what it says : ‘informal’ – I observe

and make a judgement based on my experience – rating scales are

a waste of time.

5

4

3

2

1

7 An adequate system of informal assessment already exists in my

school – we take in essays and compositions and mark them.

5

4

3

2

1