Developed by Marian Hargreaves for NEAS 2013 AMEP Assessment Task Bank Professional Development Kit General Issues and Principles Developed by Marian Hargreaves for NEAS 2013 © NEAS Ltd 2014

Workshop aims To review the key issues in assessment The principles of assessment and how they apply in the context of the AMEP © NEAS Ltd 2014

Part 1. Key issues The stakeholders: who has an interest in this activity of assessment? The different purposes of assessment: why do we assess anyway? The stages of assessment: when do we assess? How do we assess? The focus of assessment: what do we assess? © NEAS Ltd 2014

The Stakeholders (who?) Students Teachers Management Administrators DIAC (sponsors) Rest of the world (eg employers) © NEAS Ltd 2014

Purposes of Assessment (why?) Assessment prior to learning diagnostic or placement Assessment as learning progress, formative or continuous Assessment of learning summative Assessment for learning continuous, inclusive, student-centred © NEAS Ltd 2014

Stages of assessment (when?) © NEAS Ltd 2014

The focus of assessment (what?) What exactly is it that we are trying to assess? © NEAS Ltd 2014

Styles of assessment (How?) Self assessment Formal tests/exams Informal, in-class and/or observation Group assessment Peer assessment Continuous © NEAS Ltd 2014

calls for more informal, in-class observation with a checklist Certificate I Module D Learning Outcome 2: Demonstrate understanding of written information text – requires a formal test Certificate II Module A Learning Outcome 2: Participate in and contribute to the formal learning environment – calls for more informal, in-class observation with a checklist Certificate III Module A Learning Outcome 3: Demonstrate capacity for independent learning – suggests the need for a portfolio and some self assessment © NEAS Ltd 2014

Part 2. Best practice Identify clear learning outcomes. Promote active student engagement in learning. Recognise and value student diversity. Provide an opportunity for success for all students. Embody high quality, timely feedback. Meet expectations and standards. Require the involvement of leaders and managers. © NEAS Ltd 2014

The three cornerstones Validity Reliability Practicality © NEAS Ltd 2014

Validity Does the assessment task measure what you want it to measure? © NEAS Ltd 2014

Validity Construct Cognitive Context Face © NEAS Ltd 2014

Reliability Internal: Is the assessment consistent across tasks and raters and assessors? External: Are the results of the assessment reliable predictors of performance in the real world? © NEAS Ltd 2014

Ask for the information you need and write it on the lines below. Learner card 1 You want information about English classes for yourself. You inquire at a local teaching centre. Ask about the following and write the information in the spaces provided. Cost _______________________________________________________________________________________ Starting dates_______________________________________________________________________________ Class times _________________________________________________________________________________ Length _____________________________________________________________________________________ Class size __________________________________________________________________________________ Certificate __________________________________________________________________________________ Learner card 2 You want information about English classes for yourself. You enquire at a local teaching centre. Ask for the information you need and write it on the lines below. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ © NEAS Ltd 2014

Scoring a test: Marking and Rating (receptive skills, reading and listening) Rating (productive skills, writing and speaking) © NEAS Ltd 2014

Practicality How practical is it to develop, administer and mark the tasks? © NEAS Ltd 2014

Impact and Fairness © NEAS Ltd 2014

Task-based language performance assessment (TBLPA) Using language in an appropriate and effective way Language ability in general Language ability for specific tasks © NEAS Ltd 2014

Authenticity situational interactional © NEAS Ltd 2014

Questions Essential part of tasks to assess reading and listening skills © NEAS Ltd 2014

Feedback An essential part of the teaching and learning cycle For everyone involved in assessment - “Assessment is only useful if it leads to appropriate action – at the level of the individual student, the class, the school, or the system” (Westwood, 2008) © NEAS Ltd 2014

and finally … You need to be humble to write assessment tasks! Always get a new task evaluated by other teachers, and Piloted by the students themselves. Modify the task and it’s ready for use. Send the task to the Assessment Task Bank for further development and use by teachers across Australia. © NEAS Ltd 2014

Microsoft Engineering Excellence References Alderson, J. C. (2000). Assessing reading. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 69. Bachman, L.F. & A. S. Palmer (1996) Language Testing in Practice, Oxford University Press. Brindley, G.P. (1995) Language Assessment in Action. NCELTR. Hughes, A. (1989). Testing for language teachers. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, pp. 59–140. Khalifa, H. & C. Weir (2009) General Marking: performance management, in Examining Reading: Research and practice in assessing second language reading(Studies in Language Testing, vol 29, pp. 276-280. Manual for Language Test Development and Examining (2011) Language Policy division, Council of Europe. Messick, S (1989) Validity, in Linn, R.L. (Ed) Educational Measurement (3rd Ed.) New York; Macmillan, pp.13-103. Mislevey et al. (2001) Design and Analysis in Task-Based Language Assessment. Language Assessment. Shohamy, E. (1985). A practical handbook in language testing for the second language teacher. Israel: Internal Press. Weir, C. J. (1997). The testing of reading in a second language. In C.Clapham & D. Corson (Eds) Encyclopedia of Language and Education (pp. 39-50). Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers. © NEAS Ltd 2014 Microsoft Confidential