Unit1(testing, assessing, and teaching)
- 1. Chapter- 1 Testing, Assessing, and Teaching Prepared by Kheang Sokheng, Ph.D Candidate & MEd in TESOL
- 2. TESTING TEST = a method of measuring a person’s ability, knowledge, or performance in a given domain method measure individual ability, knowledge performance given domain a WAY.., HOW TO DO…Techniques, Strategy, Process, Procedures, …with characteristics of Structured, Explicit Instruments/tool to grade…, Specific Student’s Level of Competence Individual Skill, Competence Background experience Ability in performing language Specific area, -Reading, Speaking, Listening, Writing,…
- 3. ASSESSING TEST= is prepared administrative procedures that occurs at identifiable times. ASSESSMENT= is an ongoing process. example: -student responds to a question assessed by: -offers a comment -teacher -tries out a new word -himself -tries out a structure -other students - makes essay, listens to recorder
- 4. TEACHING -Teacher-students interaction -Students must have the freedom to experiment -Students try out their own hypotheses -Freedom to practice their skills in a classroom without being formally graded -No teacher’s judgment in terms of their trials and errors TEACHING=the opportunities for learners to listen, think, take risk, set goals, process feedback from the teacher and then recycle through the skills that they are trying to master.
- 5. DIAGRAM TEST TEACHING ASSESSING teaching goal interaction skill, competence, performance assessing goal reflection (more informal tool) improvement feedback testing goal measure (formal tool) judgment (passed or failed) level/grade goal evaluation (analytical tool resulted values for feedback)
- 8. INFORMAL AND FORMAL ASSESSMENT INFORMAL ASSESSMENT: - It is designed to elicit performance without recording results and making a fixed judgments about a student’s competence. - Example: - At the end of continuum are marginal comments on paper, responding to draft of an essay, advice of how to better pronounce a word, suggestion for strategy, showing how to modify a better note-taking to better remember of the lecture contents.
- 9. INFORMAL AND FORMAL ASSESSMENT FORMAL ASSESSMENT -exercise specifically designed to tap into storehouse of skill and knowledge. -constructed to give an appraisal of students’ achievements. Isa formal assessmentalwaysa test? ALL TESTS ARE FORMAL ASSESSMENTS NOT ALL FORMAL ASSESSMENTS ARE TESTS
- 10. FORMATIVE AND SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT FORMATIVE it deals with the function. - evaluating students in the process of ‘forming’ their competencies and skills with the goal of helping them to continue the growth process CHARACTERISTICS: - delivered by the teacher - feedbacks are internalized by the students - eyed toward the future continuation - informal
- 11. FORMATIVE AND SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT SUMMATIVE Itaimstomeasure ortosummarize whata studenthasgrasped. - A summation of what a student has learned implies looking back and taking stock of how well that student has accomplished objectives.
- 12. NORM-REFERENCED AND CRITERION-REFERENCED TEST Norm-Referenced Tests Each test-taker’s score is interpreted in relation to a mean (average score), median (middle score), standard deviation (extend of variance in scores), and/or percentile rank. The purpose is to place test-takers along a mathematical continuum in rank order. Scores are usually reported back to the test-taker in the form of a numerical score. (230 out of 300, 84%, etc.) Typical of these tests are standardized tests like SAT or TOEFL. These tests are intended to be administered to large audiences, with results efficiently disseminated to test takers. They must have fixed, predetermined responses in a format that can be scored quickly at minimum expense. Money and efficiency are primary concerns in these tests.
- 13. Criterion-Referenced Tests They are designed to give test-takers feedback, usually in the form of grades, on specific course or lesson objectives. Tests that involve the students in only one class, and are connected to a curriculum, are Criterion-Referenced Tests. Much time and effort on the part of the teacher are required to deliver useful, appropriate feedback to students. The distribution of students’ scores across a continuum may be of little concern as long as the instrument assesses appropriate objectives. As opposed to standardized, large scale testing with its emphasis on classroom-based testing, Criterion- Referenced Testing is of more prominent interest than Norm- Referenced Testing.
- 14. APPROACHES TO LANGUAGE TESTING 1950’s an era of behaviorism-----testing focused on linguistic elements such as the phonological, grammatical, and lexical contrast between two languages 1970-1980’s era of communicative theories----testing focused on the whole communicative event. Today-----testing focused on authentic and valid instruments that stimulate real world interaction.
- 15. DISCRETE-POINT AND INTEGRATIVE TESTING DISCRETE-POINT TESTING constructed on the assumption that language can be broken down into its component parts and those parts can be tested successfully. e.g. of skill components: listening, speaking, reading, writing e.g. of unit of language: phonology, graphology, morphology, lexicon, syntax, discourse
- 16. DISCRETE-POINT AND INTEGRATIVE TESTING INTEGRATIVE TESTING (Oller, 1979) argued that language competence is unified set of interacting abilities that can not be tested separately. Communicative competence is so global and requires such integration that it can not be captured in additive tests of grammar, reading, vocabulary, etc. Examples: cloze test, dictation
- 17. COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TESTING In 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. Integrative tests such as cloze only tell us about a candidate’s linguistic competence. They do not tell us anything directly about a student’s performance ability (Knowledge about a language, not the use of language) Communicative Language testing presented challenges to test designers because they began to identify the real-world tasks that language learners were called upon to perform.
- 18. COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TESTING But, it was clear that the contexts for those tasks were extraordinarily widely varied and that the sampling of tasks for any one assessment procedure needed to be validated by what language users actually do with language. As a result, the assessment field became more and more concerned with the authenticity of tasks and the genuineness of texts.
- 19. PERFORMANCE-BASED ASSESSMENT In language courses and programs around the world, test designers are now tackling this new and more student-centered agenda (Anderson, 2001, 2002). Instead of just offering paper-and pencil selective response tests of a plethora of separate items, performance-based assessment of language typically involves oral production, written production, open-ended responses, integrated performance (across skill areas), group performance, and other interactive tasks.
- 20. PERFORMANCE-BASED ASSESSMENT Such assessment is time-consuming and therefore expensive, but those extra efforts are paying off in the form of more direct testing because students are assessed as they perform actual or simulated real- world tasks
- 21. Computer-based testing Some computer-based tests are small-scale. Others are standardized, large scale tests (e.g. TOEFL) in which thousands of test-takers are involved. A type of computer-based test (Computer- Adaptive Test / CAT) is available. In CAT, the test-taker sees only one question at a time, and the computer scores each question before selecting the next one. Test-takers cannot skip questions, and, once they have entered and confirmed their answers, they cannot return to questions.
- 22. Computer-based testing Advantages of Computer-Based Testing Classroom-based testing Self-directed testing on various aspects of a language (vocabulary, grammar, discourse, etc) Practice for upcoming high-stakes standardized tests Some individualization, in the case of CATs. Scored electronically for rapid reporting of results.
- 23. Computer-based testing Disadvantages of Computer-Based Testing Lack of security and the possibility of cheating in unsupervised computerized tests. Home-grown quizzes may be mistaken for validates assessments. Open-ended responses are less likely to appear because of need for human scorers. The human interactive element is absent.
- 24. An overall summary Tests Assessment is an integral part of the teaching- learning cycle. In an interactive, communicative curriculum, assessment is almost constant. Tests can provide authenticity, motivation, and feedback to the learner. Tests are essential components of a successful curriculum and learning process.
- 25. An Overall summary Assessments Periodic assessments can increase motivation as milestones of student progress Appropriate assessments aid in the reinforcement and retention of information. Assessments can confirm strength and pinpoint areas needing further work. Assessments provide a sense of periodic closure to modules within a curriculum. Assessments promote student autonomy by encouraging students’ self-evaluation of their progress. Assessment can aid in evaluating teaching effectiveness.