Tkt Unit 17 Assessment

TKT Unit 17: Assessment types and tasks By Porntip Bodeepongse

What does assessment mean? •

It means judging learners’ performance by collecting information about it.

•

Assessment tasks are methods we use for assessing learners.

Assessment types  Informal assessment is when we observe learners to see how well they are doing something and then give them comments on their performance.

Assessment types (cont.)  Formal assessment is when we assess learners through tests or exams and give their work a mark or a grade.

Reasons for assessing learners  At the beginning of a course we might give them a test to find out what they know and don’t know. This is called a diagnostic test. The information from the assessment helps us decide what to teach and which learners need help in what areas of language.

 When Ss go to a language school, the school may want to know what level the Ss are, so they give them a test. This is called a placement test We use the information from a placement test to decide what level of class the learners should go into.

 After we have finished teaching a part of a course we may want to find out how well learners have learnt it. This is called formative assessment. If we use a test for this purpose it is called a progress test. We use the information from formative assessment to decide if we need to continue teaching this area or not, and to give learners feedback on their strengths and difficulties in learning in this area.

 At the end of term or course, we may assess learners to see how well they have learnt the contents of the whole course. This kind of assessment is called achievement or summative testing. Learners usually receive a score or mark from this kind of testing and sometimes feedback on their performance.

 Sometimes learners take tests to see how good they are at a language. This kind of test is called a proficiency test. The contents of the test are not based on a course or syllabus that the learner has followed.

• Learners can also assess themselves (self-assessment) or one another (peer assessment). They usually do this informally with checklists to guide them. The reason for using both of these kinds of assessment is to help learners to understand their language use and performance better, and so become autonomous.

Different assessment tasks • • • • • • • • •

Gap-fill Multiple-choice questions True/ false questions Ordering Correcting mistakes Taking part in interviews Conversations or role-plays Writing letters or compositions Dictation

Differences between tasks • Some tasks are like tasks we use outside the classroom to communicate, e.g. conversation, writing a letter, reading leaflet for prices. These tasks test communication skills. • Some tasks, e.g. gap-fill, test the accuracy of language use. We do not use them to communicate, and they do not test communication skills.

• Some tasks, such as gap-fill or choosing between pairs of sounds, just test one thing, e.g. learners’ knowledge of the past tense, or their ability to distinguish between sounds. • Some tasks test many things together. A composition, for example, tests spelling, handwriting, punctuation, grammar, vocabulary, organisation of ideas and fluency of writing.

• A conversation can test pronunciation, appropriacy, accuracy, fluency and interaction. • The answers to some kind of assessment tasks are easy to mark because they are either right or wrong, e.g. in multiple-choice, true/ false. Gap-fill and dictation tasks. These are called objective tests.

• Marking some kinds of tasks involves many things together, e.g. for writing: spelling, handwriting, punctuation, grammar, vocabulary, organisation of ideas. Learners may do some of these things well but others poorly. The mark we give to the learners’ answers depends on our judgement. These tasks are called subjective tests.

• Another kind of assessment method is a portfolio. This is a collection of learners’ work, which the learner creates him/herself, or with the teacher, during a course. Often it also contains comments on the work written by the learner or classmates. Portfolio can be used for formal or informal assessment.

• Some informal assessment methods are: observing learners’ spoken or written work and answers to comprehension tasks; keeping notes on the learners’ performance; asking learners to complete self- or peer assessment sheets.

• We often use informal assessment methods to assess areas such as attitude and effort, particularly with young learner and teenagers. • Informal assessment is often followed up by feedback to the learners on the strengths and weaknesses of their performance, and suggestions for how to improve.

Food for thoughts • Tests should have a good influence on teaching and learning. • Some assessment tasks are easy to write and mark. But do they reflect what we are teaching and what learners need to use the language for? • The content and methods of progress and achievement tests should reflect the content and methods of teaching.

• Feedback to learners on what they got right or wrong, their strengths and weaknesses, and what they can do to improve is very important for their learning. • Informal assessment is often much more suitable for assessing young learners than formal assessment because their ways of thinking and learning are based on experiencing and communicating.