Adopting Different Assessments

What is assessment?

Assessment is a “systematic procedure used to gather, analyze, and interpret information on student learning, achievement, or development.” (Peregoy&Boyle, 2008, p.119)

Adopted from http://www1.pgcps.org/reading/index.aspx?id=21114

1. It can be used to identify students’ level before entering the class, and decide if special language support is needed. Not all students are in the same level even though they are in the same age and will going to the same grade level. Therefore, it is necessary to identify students’ level through a placement test. It will make sure that low language proficiency students can get extra help to catch up with their peers. It will also guarantee that high language proficiency students can get appropriate instruction and do not spent time learning what they have already known. 
2. It can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of a language program. If most of students in a language program can pass the test. It will demonstrate that the program, curriculum, and teaching strategies can help students reach academic success. If not, it will help principle and teachers to get feedback and change the curriculum, teaching strategies, or assessment.
3. It can be used to document students’ learning and progress. Teachers and parents can see students’ progress from the result of the assessment. The assessment will help them know students’ strength and weakness, so they can adopt appropriate strategies to help them. Also, assessment will help students check their understanding and adjust their learning or test taking strategies.

Why differentiate assessment is important for the L2 literacy?

1. To benefit diverse learners. Students have different learning styles. In order to accommodate the learning needs of all students, teachers need to adopt different assessment. If a student cannot do very well in a writing test, it will not prove that the students cannot get high score in presentation. Also, if teachers use one type of assessment over and over, students will feel boring and cannot focus on the test.
2. To get reliable data. Adopting different assessment can help teachers get more reliable data. For example, if a teacher always uses multiple choice tests to assess students’ reading, the result may not be reliable. It could be affected by other reasons, such as the environment (the classroom is too noisy), students’ personal reasons (they are very tired), or the format of the reading passage (the front size is too small). Therefore, it is necessary to use different assessment and collect data form different dimensions. How can we do?

How can we do?

1. Providing multiple assignment/assessment.Teachers need to avoid using one type of assessment too much. For example, teachers can combine multi-choice questions, matching, and writing, or use different combinations each time. Also, performance test is a helpful way to test multi-skills in one assessment. According to Bailey (1998), performance test is an assessment in which students can response questions with “comprehending and producing language under the types of contextual constraints that would be involved in performing one’s job.” 
   
   Adopted form http://www.qualitykiosk.com/performance-testing.html
A Performance test to assess flight crew’s English language proficiency: It is an oral test in an air-to-ground radio setting. All topics base on recording of actual conversations between air traffic controllers and airline pilots (Bailey, 1998). 

This test bases on real-life situation. 
It is also a direct assessment which focuses on communication skills.
It tests both language level and problem solving skills. 

Here is a link for further information about Performance Test http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/assessment/perfassess.htm
1. Combine formal assessment and informal assessment.Teachers can combine both types of assessment to get reliable result. 
   
   Adopted from http://jeffreymdelacruz.wordpress.com/2013/02/20/informal-vs-formal-assessments-tests-are-not-the-only-end-all-be-all-of-how-we-assess/
(Ting Liu)

References

Peregoy, S. F., Boyle, O. F., & Cadiero-Kaplan, K. (2008). Reading, writing, and learning in ESL : a resource book for teaching K-12 English learners (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Bailey, K. M. (1998). Learning about language assessment: dilemmas, decisions, and directions. Boston, MA: Heinle, Cengage Learning.