module 14 tefl notes

Unit 1: Key Principles of Assessment

Before we explore the day-to-day aspects of assessment and testing, it's critical that we help you grasp (where needs be) the key elements underpinning assessment. These are: The key principles of assessment Standardisation Summative and formative assessment Test compilation Key Principles of Assessment: Whenever we're assessing students, we can't just rush into drawing up an assessment vehicle (a fancy word for any test) quickly without reflecting on the underlying principles of assessment, e.g. is this fair for all the students in the class? Here's an easy (and common) trap we can fall into: Example: A short written piece in English delivered to a class in China Instruction: Some Chinese people are superstitious. Think about someone you know who is superstitious. Give two examples of their superstitions and how the superstitions affect them. 1. This would be unfair if there is a non-Chinese student in the class. 2. This would be unfair if a student doesn't know anyone who is superstitious. 3. This would be unfair if the student only knows about one superstition. Here are the key principles which underpin any assessment vehicle: 1. Validity An assessment is valid if it measures what it is supposed to measure. The assessment must match the elements and performance criteria of the unit of competence. 2. Reliability (consistency) A good test will be a reliable test and this basically means that if the same students are given the same test on two different occasions (and marked by the same or different markers) they will achieve the same or very similar scores. 3. Fairness Fairness means using the same assessment process for all candidates. Fairness is achieved mainly by: Ensuring assessment methods and procedures are not developed or implemented in such a way that they exclude or limit individuals due to race, age, gender, disability, employment status, social or educational background Ensuring candidates understand the assessment process, assessment methods and expected outcomes Ensuring that candidates are able to perform at their best, e.g. the examination room is not too hot, too cold, too noisy 4. Sufficiency Sufficiency means that there is sufficient evidence or examples of work to make an assessment decision. 5. Flexibility Flexibility means using a variety of methods of assessment. 6. Practicability Practicability means that assessments must be capable of being carried out both efficiently and cost effectively and to do this there needs to be adequate resources and time.

Unit 5: Test Compilation

In this section we will consider the procedures that must be in place for developing any test. On this occasion, we have assumed you are teaching EFL in an institution. This will enable us to cover the optimum steps in test-writing, as others are involved in the process. You can bypass some of these steps if you are working independently. 1. The need for a test is agreed Usually, the head of the department will lead this and seek agreement from the teaching team that it's time for a test, e.g. end-of-term or end-of-Unit. 2. Identify the purposes of the test There can be several purposes for testing. For example: To diagnose a candidate's strengths, weaknesses and difficulties To measure achievement To measure attainment against a set international standard To measure aptitude and potential To identify readiness for a programme (`placement testing') The purpose is identified. 3. Identify the test specifications or blueprint The test specifications include: Which programme objectives and candidate learning outcomes will be addressed Which competency content areas will be addressed The relative weightings, balance and coverage of items The total number of items in the test The number of questions required to address a particular competency element of a programme or learning outcome The exact items in the test To ensure validity in a test it is essential to ensure that the objectives of the test are fairly addressed in the test items. Objectives should: Be specific and be expressed with an appropriate degree of precision, focusing on: exact test items that will test certain aspects of achievement of objectives coverage and balance of coverage of the test items relative weightings of the test items (will some areas be given more attention and therefore a higher chunk of marks (weighting) - or not?) Represent intended learning outcomes Identify the actual and observable behaviour which will demonstrate achievement Be unitary (focusing on one item per objective)

Unit 6: Need Analysis and Baseline Testing

Many of the schools you will work in will have already put their students into different levels. Some private language schools will have tests in place so that you can accurately determine the level of a student. Overall, it's crucial to continually monitor students just in case they are in the wrong class. It will be wonderful if your schools offer this sort of levelling. However, be aware that many schools will have mixed classes and you will have to work with differentiation. A great way to start trying to find the levels of your students is to give them a baseline test. Following the test, you teach them what you think they need to know and then give them an activity to assess what they have learnt. This will immediately give you the levels of your students and baseline from which to work from. There are many advantages of conducting a baseline test. It will give you an idea of where individual students are with their English. It will challenge your students and it will identify any weaknesses your students may have. Once you have carried out the 2 activities or tests and you have done your teaching, it will also allow you to be reflective with your students and ask them directly 'What did you enjoy?' or 'What did you like about today?' Prompt them and ask if they liked the activity. Was it too hard or too easy? You can include grammar, vocabulary and spelling parts in the initial test. You can also test the 4 main areas of listening, reading, writing and speaking.

Unit 7: Assessment

Many schools will give a self-assessment form to their students when they join a course. This means that students will assess themselves by some form of ranking system. Once you have got your students in the right place for their ability, it's now time to test their progress. Giving a student a deadline and a target to meet increases the motivation of the student. If appropriate feedback is given, this will encourage any student to do better. Motivation Providing Standard Levels Provides reflection to assess your teaching and make changes There are many ways you can assess students. Some of the tests I have done include the following: Getting the students to write the questions in groups Getting the students to give a presentation to the rest of the class Peer to peer marking and feedback Project work or display work End of Module test There are many types of mini assessments and activities that you can use in your classes. Some of the following work very well: True or false Gap fill Splat Matching dictation Translation Essays Presentations Pair work tests Don't worry about setting a test because you will have to mark it. One of the best ways for students to learn is to do some form of peer to peer marking, which means that a student will mark another student's piece of work.

Unit 4: Summative and Formative Assessment

Nowadays, both formative and summative assessment methods are used for students' performance and learning evaluation. However, relying on one of the two methods of classroom assessment more than the other may lead to student learning needs becoming unclear, since one form of assessment cannot provide a full picture of the situation. 1. Formative Assessment for Students' Learning Evaluation: Formative assessment is the type used to evaluate the process of learning in its process, and, consequently, is a part of the teaching process. Incorporated into the educational process, it is used by the teacher to discover gaps and adjust both teaching and learning processes to the students' learning needs immediately in the process of learning. Such an approach enables teachers to raise the learning standards in real time in the process of teaching. Having evaluated the current needs of each individual student, including those with lower abilities, a teacher can address them immediately. The information provided by formative assessment is used for modifying the teaching and learning activities in the classroom in order to get the best possible learning results. Formative assessment is important and useful for getting feedback on students' progress to identify and correct any possible errors. As a result, the teacher may change the methodology or approach of developing speaking and writing skills, for example. Here are some typical types of formative assessment (also called informal assessment): Observing learners' spoken or written work and answers to tasks Keeping notes on the learners' performance during particular classroom tasks Getting learners to complete self or peer assessment sheets Getting feedback from students themselves on their learning Noting attitude and effort Some of the activities mentioned below under summative assessment may also be used. 2. Summative Assessment for Students' Performance Evaluation: Summative assessment is used to evaluate certain learning needs, and usually consists of a form of quiz, exam, end-of-Unit, end of course test etc. It is an evaluation conducted by the teacher at the end of certain periods of time in order to judge the level of students' performance and knowledge. Such a form of classroom assessment is used to define a student's final mark, as well as helping you to make corrections and adjustments to your syllabus, where needed, in order for the learning needs to be met in future. However, summative assessment cannot reflect the efficiency of teaching in its process, because assessment is carried out only after the instruction; thus, any syllabus or methodological improvements can be implemented in future practice only. Here are some typical types of summative assessment (also called formal assessment): True/false: A statement is given which is to be marked true or false. This may also be given as a question, in which case the answer is 'yes' or 'no'. Multiple-choice: The question consists of a stem and a number of options (usually four), from which the test taker has to select the right one. Gap-filling and completion: The test taker has to complete a sentence by filling a gap or adding something (e.g. the correct form). Matching: The test taker is faced with two groups of words, phrases or sentences; each item in the first group has to be linked to a different item in the second. Cloze: Words are omitted from a passage at regular intervals (for example, every seventh word). Usually the first two or three lines are given with no gaps to establish a context for the student. Cloze testing has been shown to provide a very reliable assessment of a student's general linguistic ability as long as the test contains about 50 gaps for the students to complete. If a test has less than about 50 gaps, the test may become unreliable. You may want to provide two passages with 25 gaps each in order to cover two different subject areas. Transformation: A sentence is given and the test taker has to change it according to some given instruction, e.g. change to another tense.

Unit 8: Testing Progress

Once you have your classes, it's important to test your students so that you can monitor progress and create motivation for your class. You can record these marks and you will be able to quickly identify weaknesses and areas where you need to give individual attention. Let's look at some of the ways you can assess students throughout the term or year. Project Based Work: Project based testing is always a great way to assess students, especially if you put your students into groups. Give them a project which will run over a set time period and will have a deadline they need to meet. You can spend time in your lesson working on the project, which will give you a great opportunity to monitor and work with individual students. If you can base all your lessons around meeting the objectives of the project, you will have a great deal of success. If you can also get your students to present their work, then it's even better. Also don't worry too much about the complexity of the project; a poster is great fun. Presentations: Presentations are a great way to test students; group presentations take the pressure off students immediately. They also allow for a lot of creativity as music, images and questions can be added. For class enjoyment and stress-free testing, this is one of the best. They create a fun and rewarding experience for all. Peer-to-Peer Assessment: Peer-to-peer assessment is an excellent way for students to learn. It means that students mark other students' work in the class time. This does two things: it allows weaker students to see how a stronger student answered the questions it saves you a great deal of making time Tests: True or False Questions: These types of questions are the least stressful for students and can be incorporated into any type of test. Gap Fill Exercises: Gap Fill exercises will be used in many of your lessons and they are a good way to test students because they are familiar with the format. Cloze Exercises: Cloze exercises are similar to gap fill exercises but they are more random and they will test a broader understanding of the student's knowledge. Matching Exercises: Matching exercises are great and can be used for lower levels of classes. You can give them images and words and ask them to match the pictures with the words. Dictation: This is a great way to test listening skills with your class. It's also valuable to test for spelling as well. Essay: You can test students by getting them to write an essay, the length and content depending on the level. Multiple Choice: Multiple choice tests are also a great way to test students' knowledge. Role Play Test: This works in the same way as a presentation. Before you set the role play test, give your students marking criteria which they will have to aim for. In this way the marking becomes fair and objective.

Unit 2: Correctness versus appropriateness

Remember: With the adoption of a more communicative approach, there are occasions where an answer could contain a number of errors, but still be appropriate in terms of a response, while another answer could be grammatically perfect, but an inappropriate response. Through experience, you will decide how best to handle situations like this. Always be aware that effective communication with an appropriate response is often more important than grammatical accuracy.

Unit 3: Standardisation

Standardisation is used here to refer to a process that aims to ensure that: Each teacher/assessor consistently makes valid decisions All assessors make the same decision on the same evidence base All candidates are assessed fairly One of the primary aims of standardisation is, where possible, to improve reliability. When valid decisions are made with a tolerable level of reliability, assessment judgements could be said to have been standardised. How can assessors' judgements be standardised (made consistent and reliable)? Assessors make judgements about the competence of students by reference to written standards. They base their judgements on a variety of evidence accumulated e.g. observing the student, questioning them and/or judging an activity carried out by the students. The tasks that each student performs and the other evidence they provide to prove that they are competent may be different for each assessment judgement. For assessment to be reliable, each assessor's judgements must be consistent for various students and tasks and consistent with the judgements of other assessors. Achieving standardisation is not easy for inexperienced teacher assessors. The following activities help to cement this skill: Frequent discussion sessions on standardisation, led by the lead assessor/internal verifier, i.e. someone who heads up the whole area of assessment in the school and verifies that the assessments by teachers are consistent (e.g. the head of department, the director of studies) Regular feedback on an assessor's assessment decisions by the lead assessor/internal verifier Regular training on standardisation skills and techniques Regular sessions during assessment team meetings covering and identifying best and/or bad standardisation practice Some difficulties in embedding standardisation: Here are the key difficulties: 1. Some assessors - and lead assessors and internal verifiers - tend to believe that standardisation is the process of ensuring that all assessors follow the same assessment procedure and that such standardisation ensures that assessors make reliable judgements. Of course, it is difficult to entirely separate assessment decisions as they are part of the assessment process. But standardising the assessment process and operationalising the internal verification system is not the same as standardising consistency in assessment decisions. 2. Assessment teams are sometimes unsure how much disagreement/inconsistency is tolerable. For assessment decisions on the borderline between 'competent' and 'not yet competent', we would have to establish what represents an acceptable level of agreement.For instance, would a figure of 75% of assessors reaching the same decision represent a credible level of agreement? 3. Consistency of assessment judgments may be affected by the diversity of evidence that students can present.

Unit 9: Global English Tests

There are many global English tests, which many of you will help students prepare for. Here are some of the main ones. IELTS has become a popular choice for many ESL students wishing to study at universities outside their home country. Level University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations Common European Framework (CEF) Description Advanced Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE) Level C2 This examination meets the requirements for British universities and for business and academic purposes. This qualification shows you have mastered English and can use it for academic and professional situations. Upper Intermediate Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) Level C1 This is a qualification for professional or study purposes. This qualification shows that an individual's level of English has reached a professional or undergraduate degree level. Intermediate First Certificate in English (FCE) Level B2 This qualification shows that you can speak and write English to a standard where you can work or study in an English-speaking environment. Pre-Intermediate Preliminary English Test (PET) Level B1 Your communication skills include practical everyday English. Elementary Key English Test (KET) Level A2 This qualification shows that you can communicate using basic English for every day situations. Beginner Level A1 INFORMATION MISSING - ADDED IN This level indicates that you can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type. IELTS IELTS is an International English Language Testing System. There are two parts of IELTS. The first is Academic IELTS, which is for people wanting to study at universities and for professionals who wish to work in an English-speaking environment. The other is for General Purposes for people who want to gain work experience for immigration reasons.