Assessing Writing

By B. A. Mey Reynolds Panton

Writing is one of the most important skills in which learners write about different topics. Teachers assess the clarity and organization of the message and the mechanics (spelling, capitalization and punctuation).

There are two major approaches to writing assessment indirect and direct. Indirect is more concerned with accuracy as direct assess communication.

A good writing assessment test involves four elements: Rubrics, prompt, expected response and post-task evaluation. Rubrics are the instructions, criteria on which the work will be evaluated; prompt refers to the task; expected response is basically, the teachers’ expectations toward students; post-task evaluation is the way educators will evaluate learners.

 Moreover, timing should be considered when writing, 30 minutes for a section and more for the whole writing process.

Technology can affect the writing process, since students use the spelling checker when they write on computers; this represents a disadvantage for those who do not have access to one.

There are two types of writing: free writing and guided writing. Free writing requires students to read a prompt with a specific situation to write a response using background knowledge. On the other hand, guided writing entail students to manipulate the content provided.

Teachers can assess their students based on different techniques: through student-teacher conferences (asking a set of questions to students), self-assessment (dialogue journals and learning logs), peer assessment (students receive regular feedback on what they write from other students) and portfolio-based assessment (collection of students writing.

 Finally, is important to mention the two main types of writing scales for assessing students writing proficiency: holistic and analytic scales. The holistic is based on the marker´s total impression of the article; the analytic provide separate assessments for each number of aspects.

Assessing Reading

By B. A. Mey Reynolds Panton

Reading is an interactive skill that links the reader´s background knowledge to the new material. Since Reading cannot be observed, teachers need to develop techniques to get an idea of how learners understand texts. For classroom assessment, there are some reading skills that are divided into major and minor reading skills.

Major reading skills include: §  Reading quickly to skim §  Reading carefully for main ideas §  Information transfer to nonlinear texts §  Drawing inferences

Minor reading skills include: §  Understanding vocabulary, syntax, cohesive markers §  Identifying what pronouns it refers to §  Understanding the meaning of graph or chart labels

 

Grammar and vocabulary are part of reading passages. Moreover, reading tests use various formats such as: Recognition or selective-response formats that include multiple choice questions, true/false/no given, and matching and cloze; in which students have to select from given answers.

The specifications help educators join the course objectives with the assessing instruments, as the specifications include: Content (material that the test covers, students’ performance and the type and number of texts), conditions (structure, formats, access to the text and timing) and grading criteria (how they would be evaluated).

Reading texts can be taken from authentic material (from newspapers, magazines, brochures, instruction guides) or adapted. Nevertheless, teachers must avoid texts with controversial or prejudiced material (paragraph about religion, abortion, or international disputes), because they could lose the purpose of the evaluation.

Questions must be written in a level than the reading. Reading comprehension questions should be in the same order as the material in the passage.

Techniques for Testing

By B. A. Mey Reynolds Panton

Since assessment is a very important part of the learning process, teachers must use a specification chart to construct their tests. A specification chart is a guide that contains the specific objectives developed in the classroom. Also, it indicates the amount of points that teachers should assign to each item, based on the given lessons.

The test items should be related to the course objectives. These items are classified in objective and subjective questions. Objective items are short answer-closed response items. On the other hand, subjective items are based on production.

As a whole, there are some tips that educators need to take into account to build tests: First of all, the type of assessment should match the purpose and objectives. Second, vary the levels of difficulty, going from easy to difficult. Third, avoid grammatical inconsistency between the stem and the response options, materials that have a negative emotional impact on students and the use of distractors such as none of the above, or a, b, and sometimes c, but never d options. Finally, but very important give students clear instructions.

The Process of Developing Assessment

By B.A. Mey Reynolds Panton

When people hear the word assessment, they think about exams. Nevertheless, assessment takes into account exams and student’s daily activities. It includes the following phases: planning, development, administration, analysis, feedback and reflection. A teacher could also work on different stages at the same time.

Assessment is part of the curriculum. Teachers must resolve how to assess students from the beginning of a course, define the standards (which refer to the level of instruction) and break them down into specific objectives. This will help students prepare themselves for the assessment. It is important also to consider a time for analysis in order to get some feedback; which is crucial for the positive development of the course.

As a whole, the phases or steps in the assessment process (mentioned at the beginning) are important. Teachers need to focus on them, in order to accomplish their goals successfully. These are some hints about those steps: First of all, teachers must select an assessment that is suitable to their needs, plan thinking on the purpose of the assessment. Second, give students clear specific objectives, so they will know exactly what to study. Then, use the specific objectives to construct the test. Next, inform students about the exam (day of the application, objectives that will be cover and day for the results). Finally, take time for analysis feedback and reflection; remember that learning is a process.

Glossary

Stakeholders: Students, parents, colleagues, administration.	TLU: Target Language Use domain “tasks that the test taker is likely to encounter outside of the test.”
Real-life domain: Situations that student will find in daily life.	Map: Make choices about what to assess.
Specification: Detailed description of what is being assessed.	Reverse engineering: Close inspection of the formats used in standardized examinations.