LECTURE 6 Standardized testing Standard-based assessment Performance based assessment Chapter 4 & 5 BROWN, 2004 Additional Resources

LECTURE’S OBJECTIVES

WORM UP DISCUSSION

1-STANDARDIZED TESTS

EXAMPLES OF STANDARZIED TESTS

EDUCATIONAL ASSESSMENTS IN SAUDI ARABIA

2- STANDARDS-BASED ASSESSMENT

CONTINUED Standards-based assessments are particularly helpful when a school district or state education department has defined a set of learning standards that each student needs to learn. The test can then measure not only student achievement, but teacher effectiveness as well.

CONTINUED “The classroom teacher presents the set of standards or objectives for which students will be responsible. In this manner, students know exactly what they are being tested on. They should no longer be able to say "I didn't know you were going to ask me that.”.

CONTINUED -Students will know objectives being assessed, and you knew the grading criteria. It was your responsibility to be ready for this test.“ students are measured not against each other, but against these clearly stated performance objectives. Therefore, it is possible for ALL students to perform well. Indeed, it is the goal for all students to do extremely well. When using standards based teaching and assessment, these questions can be answered confidently, by pointing to the standards and objectives, as well as the grading criteria, and showing that either the students have mastered these standards, or that the students did not master them”.

THE DISADVANTAGES OF STANDARDIZED TESTS AND STANDARD-BASED TESTS It is true that standardized tests are high in practicality and reliability, yet, they have some issues/ problems: 1.Test bias 2.Authenticity criterion 3.Does not support the multiple intelligences theory. 4.Create negative attitude toward learning. 5.Teachers teach for the test pages

3-PERFORMANCE BASED TESTS Performance based test involve learners in actually performing the behavior that we want to measure. In interactive tasks, test-takers are measured in the act of speaking, requesting, responding, or in combining listening and speaking, and in integrating reading and writing. -Performance-based assessment is an alternative form of assessment that moves away from traditional paper and pencil tests. Performance-based assessment involves having the students produce a project, whether it is oral, written or a group performance*.

CONTINUED -The students are engaged in creating a final project that exhibits their understanding of a concept they have learned. -A unique quality of performance-based assessment is that is allows the students to be assessed based on a process. The teacher is able to see first hand how the students produce language in real-world situations. In addition, performance- based assessments tend to have a higher content validity because a process is being measured. The focus remains on the process, rather than the product in performance-based assessment”. Examples: portfolios, journals, presentations, oral reports, letters, stories, interviews.

NEXT WEEK Week 8 Midterm examination week

REFERENCES performance_based/Source: childparenting.about.com/od/schoollearning/a/standards -based-assessments-def.htm Brown, H. Douglas, Language Assessment: Principles and classroom practices.Pearson Education, Inc. test-new-english-file-intermediate-files x