2. EDUC 1814:
Assessing English Proficiency
American Culture & Language Institute, TESOL Certificate Program
Northern Virginia Community College
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3. Overview
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Testing vs. Assessment
Why Assess Students?
Functions of Assessment
What Can We Assess?
Assessment Types & Test Types
Formal & Informal Assessments
Ideal Assessments
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4. Testing in the Past
“Assessment is often shrouded in
mystique, governed by tradition and has the
tendency to be notoriously inadequate.”
Beaumont-Kings, 1994
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5. Testing Today
“Tests need not be degrading or threatening.
• Can they build a person’s confidence and
become learning experiences?
• Can they become an integral part of a
student’s ongoing classroom development?
• Can they bring out the best in students?
The answer is yes”
Brown & Abeywickrama, 2010
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6. Reflection
• Think of your most memorable testing
experience.
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Was it positive or negative?
Was it fair?
What did it test?
How did it affect your studying/learning
habits?
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7. Tests vs. Assessments
• A test is:
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A form of assessment
An instrument given at a discrete time
Done at the end of a unit/semester/year
Measures mastery
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8. Tests vs. Assessments (cont.)
• An assessment is:
– A process of gathering data related to
student progress
– A combination of multiple methods
(tests, observations, interviews, etc.)
– Done at any time (continuous)
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9. Why Assess Students?
• As Teachers, we want to discover:
– What students know (knowledge)
– What students can do (skills) & how well
they do it (performance)
– How students learn (process)
– How they feel about their work
(motivation/effort/attitudes)
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10. Why Assess Students? (cont.)
• As Administrators/Researchers we want
to:
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Analyze language learning & use
Design & modify programs
Provide feedback to students
Provide feedback to other stakeholders
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11. Functions of Assessment
• Diagnostic:
– What does the student (Ss) know?
– What are the gaps in the Ss knowledge?
• Formative:
– How well is the Ss doing during the course?
(motivation)
• Summative:
– How well did the Ss do at the end?
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12. What can we assess?
• Students’ learning styles and abilities
• Students’ interest, goals, and attitudes
• Students’ content knowledge &
application
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15. Activity One
Which Test is Which?
• In pairs, read about the different types of
tests.
• Match the test name to each type.
• Compare your results with another pair’s.
• Discuss.
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16. Formal Assessments
- Planned
- Time constrained
- Occur outside of
the lesson
- Focused on content
- Results recorded
- Individual
Informal Assessments
- Unplanned or planned
- Not time constrained
- Occur during the lesson
- Focused on growth
- Results not recorded
- Individual or group
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17. Formal Assessments
- Easy to grade
- High face value
- Fosters “cramming”
- Assesses declarative
knowledge
Informal Assessments
- Difficult to grade
- Lower face value
- Fosters development
of skills
- Assesses creative
thinking/problem
solving
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18. Ideal Assessments
• Reliable
– Given by different testers yields a similar
result
• Valid
– Has students produce and measure what it
claims to test them on
• Practical
– Easy to administer
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19. Ideal Assessments (cont.)
• Authentic
– Similar to real world tasks
• Washback
– Positive effect on learning and teaching
Brown, 2004
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20. Assessments Used at ACLI
- Placement Tests
(four skills)
- Departmental Exams
(speaking & writing)
- Class Exams
(listening & reading)
- Quizzes
- Essays
- Journals
- Role-plays
- Presentations
- Games
- Online Tests
- Debates
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21. Activity Two
Assessing the 4 Skills
• In groups of 3-4, think of an assessment
to evaluate each of these skills:
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Speaking
Listening
Reading
Writing
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22. Activity Three
Assessment Practice
• In pairs
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Read three pieces of writing.
Assess which is weak, middle, strong.
Listen to three speakers answer a question.
Assess which is weak, middle, strong.
• Discuss what, if any, challenges you
experienced while assessing students.
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23. Put it into Practice
• Create an assessment to primarily test one
skill, i.e. what students will do so you can
evaluate them:
– Speaking or Listening
– Reading or Writing
• Conduct your assessment for 10 minutes.
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24. Suggested Reading
• Bailey, K. Learning about Language
Assessment
• Fulcher, G. www.languagetesting.info
• Fulcher, G. Practical Language Testing
• Hughes, A. Testing for Language
Teachers
• Madson, H. Techniques in Testing
• Winger, T. “Grading What Matters”
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