Language Assessment Practices PDF

# Chapter 11 Language assessment practices ## Marion Joseph ## Introduction Assessment has been identified as one of the key factors involved in driving educational reform and in raising educational standards worldwide. Ideally, assessment should be about growth and improvement in the quality of...

# Chapter 11 Language assessment practices ## Marion Joseph ## Introduction Assessment has been identified as one of the key factors involved in driving educational reform and in raising educational standards worldwide. Ideally, assessment should be about growth and improvement in the quality of learning. It should promote thinking and learning and be challenging and varied so that it extends the learner and is an integral part of a positive learning experience. Essentially, assessment must be designed not only to reflect students' learning but also to support it. ## Assessment and a language curriculum The fourth chapter in each of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) outlines the Department of Basic Education's (DBE) principles and policy for assessment in each subject and specifies the number of formally recorded assessment tasks required per term. The National Policy Pertaining to the Programme and Promotion Requirements (N4PR) stipulates the promotion requirements for each grade. Learners learning English as a First Additional Language in the Intermediate Phase are required to attain level 3, or the 'Moderate' level descriptor (40-49%), for the subject. However, in this chapter, we wish to foreground the principles of sound language assessment practices that will apply to almost any language curriculum. The first important question to be considered is: What is assessment? ## What is assessment? The National Protocol for Assessment states that assessment is a process of collecting, analysing and interpreting information to assist teachers, parents and other stakeholders in making decisions about the progress of learners'. Brainard, however, provides a less bureaucratic perspective when she indicates that the root of the word 'assessment' is derived from a Latin word assidere which means 'to sit beside'. She maintains that the use of this term is intended 'to point out that, in order to reveal what children really know, it is necessary to be close to them, perhaps even move alongside them as they pursue the challenges of learning' (Brainard 1997: 163). Smith and Goodwin amplify this point when they state that 'real assessment, while it entails collecting information about children's learning, is more importantly about 'making sense of the information that is accumulated. Thus, assessment means uncovering children, and making them 'more visible' (Brainard, 1997: 115). It is recognised that: - there are many ideas about assessment and that - ideas about assessment inform and influence classroom practice. This chapter aims to provoke a thoughtful and critical approach to teaching and assessment. Let us consider the following: - Perceptions about assessment lie on a continuum. They may focus on: - measuring and quantifying performance - informing teaching and promoting better learning. At this point in the chapter, where do your ideas about language assessment fit on this continuum? ## Why do we assess? Teachers need to be able to make some kind of judgement or express an opinion about the learning that has taken place so that they can: - bridge the gaps in learners' knowledge and understanding where necessary in order to ensure that learners have the support they need to grow and achieve important milestones in their ability to use English as their first additional language and, in many instances, their language of learning and teaching (LoLT) - provide meaningful feedback to learners, parents and relevant education officials - make a decision at the end of a school year as to whether a learner is ready to be promoted to the next grade. Can you think of any other reasons as to why we assess? The next important question to consider is: ## What do we assess? Learners discover very quickly what is valued and what is not by asking the question: "Is this for marks?" If something is deemed to be important, learners deduce that it has a mark or a symbol attached to it. If it does not, then it is 'unimportant'. What kind of learning should we be valuing and promoting in our additional language classrooms? We need to refer to the National Curriculum Statement to determine what, ideally, should be prioritised in the classroom. The introduction to the document states that the National Curriculum Statement Grades R-12 aims to produce learners that are able to: - identify and solve problems and make decisions using critical and creative thinking - work effectively as individuals and with others as members of a team - organise and manage themselves and their activities responsibly and effectively - collect, analyse, organise and critically evaluate information - communicate effectively using visual, symbolic and/or language skills in various modes - use science and technology effectively and critically showing responsibility towards the environment and the health of others - demonstrate an understanding of the world as a set of related systems by recognising that problem solving contexts do not exist in isolation. (DBE, 2011: 10) While bullets four and five seem directly related to the need for strong language skills, achieving a measure of success in all the stated aims is dependent on good reading, writing, listening and speaking skills in English as an additional language. The reason for this is because many additional language learners also learn through the medium of English from Grade 4 onwards. Thus, when determining what teachers want to assess, they need to ask themselves whether the knowledge and skills they are valuing (and assessing) will build towards creating a learner who can effectively use English to, for example, identify and solve problems, communicate constructively with team members, collect information and critically evaluate it, communicate effectively through a range of modes and so on. The kind of learning that supports the achievement of these aims is the kind of learning we want to value and assess in the Intermediate Phase classroom in all subjects. ## How do we assess? The National Protocol for Assessment Grades R-12 (DBE, 2012: ix & x) refers to both informal and formal assessment that is to be conducted in the First Additional Language. Informal assessment is considered to be 'assessment for learning, also known as formative assessment, and is meant to enable teachers to provide meaningful building blocks for children's learning so that when they are required to do their formal assessment tasks (assessment of learning, or summative assessment), they are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills that they will need in order to be successful. The Curriculum and Assessment Statement (CAPS) for Intermediate Phase English First Additional Language indicates that seven formal assessment tasks are to be recorded during the course of the year and that these will make up 75 per cent of the child's end of year promotion mark (DBE, 2011: 95). It is important for teachers to understand what is meant by the 'assessment tasks' referred to in their curriculum documents, otherwise language assessment can often be characterised by 'paper and pencil tests' and tend to focus on discrete, fragmented skills and content rather than on authentic tasks that require learners to demonstrate their knowledge of English and their skill in being able to apply that knowledge to real communication tasks. Tests and examinations can often be separated from instruction and driven by the need to produce marks. The best learner under these circumstances is the one who is able to recall and reproduce almost verbatim the teacher's (or textbook's) input. The CAPS document states: Assessing the different language skills should not be seen as separate activities but one integrated activity. Assessment rubrics should thus address the different language skills in the task When giving a formal assessment task, there will be a focus on a particular skill, for example, Listening and Speaking or Reading or Writing. However, because language learning is an integrated process, more than one skill will be used. The language structures should be assessed in context. It must be ensured that assessment is not only done as written work, but allows for practical and oral work too. It is important to assess what learners understand and not what they can just memorise, so assess skills in context as much as possible, e.g. learners may spell all their words correctly during a test on Friday, but are they able to use those same words correctly spelt when writing/recording their personal news or a story? (DBE, 2011: 94) Thus, when designing assessment tasks, teachers must have a clear idea in mind as to what they want their learners to know and be able to do (in other words, what learning is valued) and what is the best way to collect credible evidence of this. The skilled teacher, according to Creighton (2000: 38) 'draws upon many forms of data collection to develop a whole picture of each student. A variety of reading, writing, listening and speaking tasks need to be set up for learners to allow for a range of opportunities for them to demonstrate what they know and can do. Learners can be equipped to tell, write or illustrate short stories such as myths, fables and fairy tales and a range of language skills can be assessed within these tasks. ## Using taxonomies Moderation is becoming an increasingly significant aspect of assessment in primary schools and senior members of staff (Grades 4 to 7) are required to moderate formal assessment tasks. When doing so, they must consider whether an assessment task includes activities on different cognitive levels, both in home and first additional language assessment. Bloom's taxonomy is advocated by all subject advisers and district assessment officials, but Barrett's taxomomy is specifically mentioned in some of the language documents. Examiners setting examinations for the National Senior Certificate are required to include lower-, middle- and higher-order questions, and many departmental officials believe that this model should be emulated in the lower grades. When assessing learners' reading comprehension skills, Barrett's taxonomy provides a useful guide as to different levels of questioning that can be used. However, Gipps (1994: 15) cautions that 'assessment alone will not develop higher order skills in the absence of clearly delineated teaching strategies that foster the development of higher order thinking in pupils. Learners need to have many and varied opportunities to practise answering different levels of questioning in class discussions about various texts that they encounter. Barrett's taxonomy identifies five levels of reading comprehension and many teachers find it useful to organise their comprehension exercises and tests according to this taxonomy. The levels include: - Level one: Literal comprehension - Level two: Reorganisation - Level three: Inferential comprehension - Level four: Evaluation - Level five: Appreciation **Level one: Literal comprehension** These questions deal with information that is explicitly stated in the text that the learners are given. Questions in this category would ask children to: - Name places or people in the text. - State the reasons given or the points made. - List the names, facts or reasons. - Describe the place, person or character. **Level two: Reorganisation** These questions require learners to organise information in the text by grouping similar things together, or by summarising information or tabulating details. For example: - Group the common features (divide the characters in the story into two groups). - Give an outline of the story. - Summarise the main points of the text. **Level three: Inferential comprehension** These questions require learners to deduce, or 'figure out, for example, a character's motivations, or explain certain ideas or actions using clues from the story/text. For example: - If you were the main character in this story, what would you have done? - What do you think might have happened if ...? - What is the character's attitude towards...? - What do you think will happen as a result of ...? **Level four: Evaluation** These questions ask learners to make a 'judgement' about the text, the story, the characters or the characters' actions. These questions usually ask learners to give reasons for their responses. For example: - Do you agree with the statement, observation or interpretation? - Is this argument logical? - Would you have made the same decision? - What best describes...? **Level five: Appreciation** These questions ask learners to express an opinion and to substantiate it by drawing on what they might know from personal experience or having read other texts. These questions are the most thought-provoking and require levels of language proficiency that first additional language learners may not have unless they have had many opportunities to practise answering questions like this orally in class. For example: - Why did you like or dislike...? - Is this word or phrase effective or appropriate for...? - Do you know anyone like ...? ## Using criterion-referenced assessment Using clear, unambiguous and carefully selected criteria to mark learners' assessment tasks has a number of advantages. Firstly, learners are evaluated against a set of criteria as opposed to a class average (norm-referenced). The assessment procedure is more transparent because criteria are made explicit to learners at the outset rather than being implicit, or kept a secret as with much traditional, norm-referenced assessment. Criterion-referenced assessment can also be used to facilitate formative assessment in that it can provide specific feedback regarding the strengths and weaknesses of a learner's performance. Once again, however, Gipps cautions against falling in to the trap of using 'extremes of vague and nebulous criteria on the one hand, and a proliferation of detailed and trivial objectives on the other' (Gipps, 1994: 93). Rubrics have been most widely used to implement criterion-referenced assessment in South African classrooms. Ideally, 'Rubrics are tools designed to provide constructive feedback for students through self, peer, or teacher assessment in order to further develop skills or knowledge' (Creighton, 2000: 38). Essentially, the assessment must be used to assist learners to improve on their performance and help the teacher to reflect on and improve her or his own teaching. Consider the following rubric and decide how successful this would be as an assessment tool to assess the news report learners in Mr Ndaba's Grade 6 class (Chapter 8) have to write. The rubric focuses on just a few aspects of the writing task and even though teachers are required to use seven level descriptors in their assessment, a rubric that includes four levels of performance is often easier to develop and use. Decide whether: - the criteria are written in clear, simple unambiguous language that the Grade 6 learners will be able to understand - the criteria include important and relevant knowledge and skills that learners need to acquire and master - the criteria will, firstly, provide clear guidance to the learners as to what they need to do to perform at a level 4 and, secondly, if they do not reach that level, does it provide useful feedback on how they might improve? ### Rubric to assess a news report | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 | |---|---|---|---| | Limited vocabulary. | Vocabulary use not always correct or appropriate. | Increasing variety in vocabulary evident. | Evidence of knowledge of appropriate vocabulary for news report. | | Needs a lot of help to compose sentences suitable for a news report. Writes mostly phrases or short sentences. | Needs guidance in order to state the topic, add ideas relevant to the topic and arrange ideas in a logical order. Beginning to correctly construct sentences but sometimes writes fragments or 'run-ons'. | Some support is needed in arranging ideas in relation to a central idea. Evidence of a variety of sentences although there are sometimes errors. | Is able to organise information appropriately, stating relevant facts and giving extra details. Uses a variety of sentence structures and is beginning to construct cohesive paragraphs. | | Shows awareness of correct use of capitals and punctuation but does not correctly apply. | Uses capitalisation and punctuation fairly consistently. | Uses capitalisation and punctuation with only occasional errors. | Correctly uses capitalisation and punctuation and is able to correct own errors. | ## Assessing group work If one of the aims of CAPS is to produce people 'who work effectively as individuals and with others as members of a team, then being able to collaborate and co-operate with others ought to be valued and assessed in our home and first additional language classrooms. Teachers often tend to avoid assessing group work because inevitably some learners end up carrying the workload for the assigned task whilst others become 'passengers. However, Johnson et al. (1991) have developed a range of assessment strategies to assess group work. Assessing learners working together is a challenge and teachers need to structure learning opportunities thoughtfully and carefully to ensure that learners are able to understand the importance of having their collaborative efforts assessed. Consider the following strategies and decide which you would use for: - learners who have little experience with doing group work - learners who have had many opportunities to develop co-operative learning skills. 1. Individual score plus bonus points based on all members achieving criteria Group members work together and ensure that the task has been completed. Each is assessed individually and awarded a mark. If all group members achieve a pre-set benchmark, all achieve a bonus. 2. Individual score plus bonus points based on other group members' individual scores Group members prepare the work. They receive a mark for their contribution and bonus marks for other members' results, eg five bonus marks to each member if someone gets full marks for their task; four bonus marks if someone gets the equivalent of an 'A' 3. Individual score plus group average Each group member receives an individual score. The scores of the group members are then averaged and the average is then added to each member's score. 4. Averaging members' individual scores Each learner is awarded the group's average mark. 5. All members receive lowest member's score This procedure emphasises encouraging and assisting low-achieving members of the group. 6. Academic score plus collaborative skills performance score Members are assessed on academic achievement and on collaborative skills such as guiding discussion and team management. The group is given a collaborative skills score collectively which is then added to each individual's academic score. ## Conclusion The stated aim of this chapter was to 'provoke a thoughtful and critical approach to teaching and assessment' especially with regard to the teaching of English as a first additional language. If teachers are to improve the quality of teaching and learning in their classrooms, they need to guard against assessment becoming little more than a time-consuming exercise in recording and reporting. Whilst the administrative aspects of assessment need to be done carefully, accurately and conscientiously, it is important to ensure that this never undermines educationally sound classroom practices. ## References Brainard, M.B. 1997. Assessment as a way of seeing. In A. Goodwin (ed.), Assessment for equity and inclusion: Embracing all our children. London: Routledge. Creighton, D. 2000. What do rubrics have to do with teaching? Orbit: OISE/UT's Magazine for Schools, 30(4):37-39. DBE. Department of Basic Education. 2011. Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS): English First Additional Language, Intermediate Phase, Grades 4-6. Pretoria: Government Printer. DBE. Department of Basic Education. 2012. National Protocol for Assessment Grades R-12. Available: http://www.education.gov.za Accessed 10 June 2014. Gipps, C. 1994. Beyond testing: Towards a theory of educational assessment. London: Falmer Press. Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R.T., Smith, K.A. 1991. Active learning: Cooperation in the classroom. Edina, MN: Interaction Book Company.