Introduction to Assessment

What is assessment? Not the same as testing! An ongoing process to ensure that the course/class objectives and goals are met. A process, not a product. A test is a form of assessment. (Brown, 2004, p. 5)

Informal and Formal Assessment Informal assessment can take a number of forms: unplanned comments, verbal feedback to students, observing students perform a task or work in small groups, and so on. Formal assessment are exercises or procedures which are: systematic give students and teachers an appraisal of students’ achievement such as tests.

Traditional Assessment Multiple-choice True-false Matching Norm-referenced and criterion referenced tests

Norm and Criterion-referenced tests Norm-referenced test standardized tests (college board, TOEFL, GRE) Place test-takers on a mathematical continuum in rank order Criterion-referenced tests give test-takers feedback on specific objectives (“criterea”) test objectives of a course known as “instructional value”

Authentic Assessment Authentic assessment Examples: reflects student learning, achievement, motivation, and attitudes on instructionally relevant classroom activities (O’Malley & Valdez, 1996). Examples: performance assessment portfolios self-assessment

Purposes for Assessment Diagnose students strengths and needs Provide feedback on student learning Provide a basis for instructional placement Inform and guide instruction Communicate learning expectations Motivate and focus students’ attention and effort Provide practice applying knowledge and skills

Purposes continued Provide a basis for evaluation for the purpose of: Grading Promotion/graduation Program admission/selection Accountability Gauge program effectiveness

Assessment Instruments Pre-assessment (diagnostic) Formative (ongoing) Summative (final) Pretests Quizzes Teacher-made test Observations Discussions Portfolios Journals/logs Assignments Projects Standardized tests Questionnaires Interviews Journal logs

Discussion How would you document a student performance during a discussion? Which types of assessments noted in the chart could be considered authentic assessment?

Principles of Language Assessment Practicality Reliability Validity Authenticity Washback

Practicality An effective test is practical Is not excessively expensive Stays within appropriate time constraints Is relatively easy to administer Has a scoring/evaluation procedure that is specific and time-efficient

Reliability A reliable test is consistent and dependable. If you give the same test to the same students in two different occasions, the test should yield similar results. Student-related reliability Rater reliability Test administration reliability Test reliability

Student Related Reliability The most common issue in student related reliability is caused by temporary illness, fatigue, a bad day, anxiety, and other physical and psychological factors which may make an “observed” score deviate from a “true” score.

Rater Reliability Human error, subjectivity, and bias may enter into the scoring process. Inter-rater reliability occurs when two or more scorers yield inconsistent scores of the same test, possibly for lack of attention to scoring criteria, inexperience, inattention, or even preconceived bias toward a particular “good” and “bad” student.

Test Administration Reliability Test administration reliability deals with the conditions in which the test is administered. Street noise outside the building bad equipment room temperature the conditions of chairs and tables, photocopying variation

Test Reliability The test is too long Poorly written or ambiguous test items

Validity A test is valid if it actually assess the objectives and what has been taught. Content validity Criterion validity (tests objectives) Construct validity Consequential validity Face validity

Content Validity A test is valid if the teacher can clearly define the achievement that he or she is measuring A test of tennis competency that asks someone to run a 100-yard dash lacks content validity If a teacher uses the communicative approach to teach speaking and then uses the audiolingual method to design test items, it is going to lack content validity

Criterion-related Validity The extent to which the objectives of the test have been measured or assessed. For instance, if you are assessing reading skills such as scanning and skimming information, how are the exercises designed to test these objectives? In other words, the test is valid if the objectives taught are the objectives tested and the items are actually testing this objectives.

Construct Validity A construct is an explanation or theory that attempts to explain observed phenomena If you are testing vocabulary and the lexical objective is to use the lexical items for communication, writing the definitions of the test will not match with the construct of communicative language use

Consequential Validity Accuracy in measuring intended criteria Its impact on the preparation of test-takers Its effect on the learner Social consequences of a test interpretation (exit exam for pre-basic students at El Colegio, the College Board)

Face Validity Face validity refers to the degree to which a test looks right, and appears to measure the knowledge or ability it claims to measure A well-constructed, expected format with familiar tasks A test that is clearly doable within the allotted time limit Directions are crystal clear Tasks that relate to the course (content validity) A difficulty level that presents a reasonable challenge

Authenticity The language in the test is as natural as possible Items are contextualized rather than isolated Topics are relevant and meaningful for learners Some thematic organization to items is provided Tasks represent, or closely approximate, real-world tasks

Washback Washback refers to the effects the tests have on instruction in terms of how students prepare for the test “Cram” courses and “teaching to the test” are examples of such washback In some cases the student may learn when working on a test or assessment Washback can be positive or negative

Alternative Assessment Options Self and peer-assessments Oral production-student self-checklist, peer checklist, offering and receiving holistic rating of an oral presentation Listening comprehension- listening to TV or radio broadcasts and checking comprehension with a partner Writing-revising work on your own, peer-editing Reading- reading textbook passages followed by self-check comprehension questions, self-assessment of reading habits (page 416, Brown, 2001)

Authentic Assessment Performance assessment- any form of assessment in which the student constructs a response orally or in writing. It requires the learner to accomplish a complex and significant task, while bringing to bear prior knowledge, recent learning, and relevant skills to solve realistic or authentic problems (O’Malley & Valdez, 1996; Herman, et. al., 1992).

Examples of Authentic Assessment Portfolio assessment Student self-assessment Peer assessment Student-teacher conferences Oral interviews Writing samples Projects or exhibitions Experiments or demonstrations

Characteristics of performance assessment Constructed response Higher-order thinking Authenticity Integrative Process and product Depth versus breadth

Journals Specify to students the purpose of the journal Give clear directions to students on how to get started (prompts for instance “I was very happy when…) Give guidelines on length of each entry Be clear yourself on the principal purpose of the journal Help students to process your feedback, and show them how to respond to your responses

Conferences Commonly used when teaching writing One-on-one interaction between teacher and student Conferences are formative assessment as opposed to offering a final grade or a summative assessment. In other words, they are meant to provide guidance and feedback.

Portfolios Commonly used with the communicative language teaching approach (CLT) It is a collection of students’ work that demonstrates to students and others the efforts, progress and achievements in a given area. You can have a reading portfolio or a writing portfolio, for instance You can also have a reflective or assessment portfolio as opposed to collecting every piece of evidence for each objective achieved in the course

Portfolio Guidelines Specify the purpose of the portfolio Give clear directions to students on how to get started Give guidelines of acceptable materials or artifacts Collect portfolios on a pre-announced dates and return promptly Help students to process your feedback Establish a rubric to evaluate the portfolio and discuss it with your students

Cooperative Test Construction Cooperative test construction involves the students contribution to the design of test items. It is based on the concept of collaborative and cooperative learning in which students are involved in the process (Brown, 2001, p. 420)