The Role of Language Assessment in Teaching and Learning PDF

Topic 2 The Rolesof LanguageAssessmentin TeachingandLearning: Learning Objectives By the end of the lesson, students should be able to: Define the differences between Testing, Assessment and Evaluation. Discuss the basic elements of assessments in the classroom context. Discuss the rol...

Topic 2 The Rolesof LanguageAssessmentin TeachingandLearning: Learning Objectives By the end of the lesson, students should be able to: Define the differences between Testing, Assessment and Evaluation. Discuss the basic elements of assessments in the classroom context. Discuss the roles of language assessments in teaching and learning Content Definition Of Measurement , Assessment and Evaluation Measurement Process Involves Four Steps Considerations When Taking Measurements Objective of Measurements Approaches in Language Assessment Steps Involved In Making An Evaluation The Purposes Of Evaluation Types Of Evaluation  When defined within an educational setting, assessment, evaluation, and testing are all used to measure how much of the What Do We assigned materials students are mastering, how well student are learning the materials, and how well student are meeting the stated Mean by goals and objectives. Although you may believe that assessments only provide instructors with information on which to base a score or grade, assessments also help you to assess your own learning. Testing, Assessment, Education professionals make distinctions between assessment, evaluation, and testing. However, for the purposes of this tutorial, all you really need to understand is that these are three different terms and for referring to the process of figuring out how much you know about a given topic and that each term has a different meaning. To Evaluation? simplify things, we will use the term "assessment" throughout this tutorial to refer to this process of measuring what you know and have learned. KEYDEFINITIONS In case you are curious, here are some definitions: A test or quiz is used to examine someone's knowledge of something to determine what he or she knows or has learned. Testing measures the level of skill or knowledge that has been reached. Evaluation is the process of making judgments based on criteria and evidence. Assessment is the process of documenting knowledge, skills, attitudes and beliefs, usually in measurable terms. The goal of assessment is to make improvements, as opposed to simply being judged. In an educational context, assessment is the process of describing, collecting, recording, scoring, and interpreting information about learning. Measurement According to Norman E Ground (1985): “Measurement is the process of obtaining a numarical description of the degree to which an individual possesses a particular characteristic.” According to Ebel & Frisbie (1991): “Measurement is the process of assigning numbers to individuals or their characteristics according to specified rules.”  Assessment According to Murry Print (1993): “Assessment involves the interpretation of measurement data.It makes sense of the data collected on student performance.” According to Dictionary of Education (1989): “Assessment is the process whereby one attempts to measure the quality and quantity of learning and teaching using various assessment techniques.” Why is Assessment Important? Hopefully by this point in your life you have discovered that learning can be fun! You have probably also realized that you are constantly learning, whether you are in a classroom, a car, or a kitchen. Assessment helps you build confidence in your ability to learn. Perhaps you have heard that the global work culture is changing. Unlike your grandfather, you will probably have a number of different jobs and careers during your lifetime. In order to be successful, you will need to have confidence in your ability to learn and you will need to become a lifelong learner. Assessment plays a key role in developing your confidence in your ability to learn, as well as in developing your lifelong learning skills. Assessments  Evaluation ▪ “A systematic process of determining what the actual outcomes are but it also involves judgment of desirability of whatever outcomes are demonstrated.” (Travers, 1955) ▪ “ The process of delineating, obtaining and providing useful information for judging decision alternatives” (Stufflebeam et al 1971) JAMBOARD: MAKEYOUROWN DEFINITIONS Search for online definitions and Compare your findings with your How similar are the definitions? share them in the sticky notes by classmates. highlighting the key words. Check UROX link to the Jamboard. How can we measureanything? What isTest? “Test is an instrument or activity and systematic procedure for measuring a sample of behavior.” (How well does the individual perform). MeasurementProcess Involves FourSteps 1. Define the characteristics that you want to measure. 2.Select the appropriate test. This may also mean to select the appropriate testing instrument. 3. Administer the test. If an instrument is involved in the testing, this also means to use the instrument correctly. 4. Collect and record the measurement from the test. Considerations WhenTaking Measurements 1.Remember that you are measuring a characteristic of the person—you are not measuring the person themselves; thus, make no judgments about the person. 2.Make no comical remarks regarding the collected data. 3.Have a high ethical standards when collecting the data. 4.Be professional Types of Measurements Objective measurements An objective measurement is one that cannot be interpreted differently because of numerical values Subjective measurements A subjective measurement is one that can possibly be interpreted differently.  The Purposes of Evaluation According to Oguniyi (1984) To determine the relative effectiveness of the programme in terms of students’ behavioural output; To make reliable decisions about educational planning; To identify students’ growth or lack of growth in acquiring desirable knowledge, skills, attitudes and societal values; To help teachers determine the effectiveness of their teaching techniques and learning materials; To help motivate students To identify problems rooted from teaching and learning. To predict the general trend in the development of the teaching-learning process; Types Of Evaluation Formative evaluation Summative evaluation Steps Involved in Making anEvaluation Define the objective or the purpose of the test. Measure the performance or administer the test. Find or develop a standard. Compare a person’s performance on the test to a standard. Make the evaluation then discuss and distribute the results in the most appropriate manner. Advantagesof Formative Evaluation Formative evaluation enables the teacher to: Draw more reliable inference about his students than an external assessor, although he may not be as objective as the latter; Identify the levels of cognitive process of his students; Choose the most suitable teaching techniques and materials; Determine the feasibility of a programme within the classroom setting; Determine areas needing modifications or improvement in the teaching-learning process; and Determine to a great extent the outcome of summative evaluation. (ogunniyi, 1984) Advantages of Summative Evaluation 1.Its existence (learners will need to be aware of it from the start) provides motivation and helps create an appropriate learning environment. 2.Positive results give the trainees a boost in confidence and can act as a springboard into subsequent behaviour change back in the workplace. 3.Trainers can identify those areas where results are consistently lower and can then consider alternative delivery methods – helping to develop the training for future events. 4.The results provide a measurable way of determining the success of the training programme, directly comparable from one intake to the next.  Formative vsSummative Formative summative Informal < > formal Continuous final Process < > product THE APPROACHES OF LANGUAGE TESTING Discrete Point and Integrative Testing (1970’s) Discrete point tests are constructed on the assumption that language can be broken down into its component parts and that those parts can be tested successfully. These components are the skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and various unit of language (discrete points) of phonology, graphology, morphology, lexicon, syntax, and discourse Examples: cloze test and dictation Communicative Language Testing (1980’s) Following Canale and Swain's ( 1980) model of communicative competence. Bachman (1990) proposed a model of language competence consisting of organizational and pragmatic competence, respectively subdivided into grammatical and textual components, and into iIlocutionary and sociolinguistic components "ln order for a particular language test to be useful for its intended purposes, test performance must correspond in demonstrable ways to language use in non-test situations. Real-world tasks. Example: interview Performance-Based Assessment (2000) Typically involves oral production, written production, open-ended responses, integrated performance (across skill areas), group perfomance, and other interactive tasks. More student-centered. Students perform actual or simulated real- world tasks. Example: Group discussion DESIGNING CLASSROOM LANGUAGE TESTS Some important questions to ask before you start; What is the purpose of the test? What are the objectives? How will the test specifications reflect the purpose and the objectives? How will the test task be selected and the separate items arranged? What kind of scoring, grading and/or feedback is expected? TYPES OF LANGUAGE TESTING Language Aptitude Test Proficiency Test Placement Test Diagnostic Test Achievement Test REFLECTIONS