Assessment is a step quantifying the result of any specific activity, including ateaching session, results of a semester, a school year, a education level, a module orstudents' overall p
Trang 11.4 The aim, meaning and role of assessment 5
Trang 21 Rationale for topic choice
Assessment plays an essential role in teaching activities However, theeffectiveness of assessment varies significantly with its methods
Assessment is a step quantifying the result of any specific activity, including ateaching session, results of a semester, a school year, a education level, a module orstudents' overall performance Assessment is meaningful for not only learners butalso teachers, educators and related parties It enables teachers to recognize thestrength and weakness of their teaching.It also help learners to evaluate theknowledge gained through grading, which is a high-stake form of assessment because
it may influence their further education, graduation or even life choice.Therefore,assessment is an indispensable part of teaching and improving teaching quality.Assessment necessarily and nearly compulsorily involves three criteria: impartiality,objectivity and in order to turn it into an precise and effective evaluation tool forteaching, improving social equality and motivating learners Otherwise, impreciseassessment might create inequality and demotivate learners Moreover, the basis ofassessment, despite various available elaboration, ultimately takes root in 4 mainaims of learning: learning to know, learning to do, learning to actualize oneself,learning to integrate socially Thus, precise assessment is only feasible to some extentbecause its target is intangible thoughts and knowledge, which can only becommunicated and qualified via verbal or written language
Innovation in formal education is the process of innovating aims, contents,methods, facilities, assessment as well as concepts, methodology and management incourse design, among which assessment innovation is a significant tool to determinethe capability of learners, adjust the process of teaching and learning motivatechanges in pedagogy and contribute to progress in human education
Assessment in high school education has been underestimated due to manyreasons Teachers mainly focus on evaluating within the scope of knowledge and skillattainment, ignoring the requirements to perform tasks similar to real life situation inorder to evaluate the level of skills.Educators usually recommend that the importance
of education in high school is teaching study skills Thus, the broadening ofassessment scope should be considered when content and format of assessment arechosen The principle 'teacher assessment should motivate students' self-assessmentand measure the precision, objectivity of learning results and the extent to whichteaching aims are achieved' should also be ensured.[
Assessment in high school strongly requires innovative changes in Vietnameducation system and Thanh Hoa ethnic boarding high school is not an exception.From the objective and subjective reasons mentioned above, the subject of my study
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Trang 3is "Measures to innovate assessment of English in grade 10 of Thanh Hoa Ethnicboarding high school".
2 Aims of study
The study aims to find a practical, precise and impartial method od assessmentwhich helps improve students' confidence, motivation and creativity; helps teachersadjust pedagogy and education management
3 Methodology
3.1 Theoretical methods
Theories about assessment of English language teaching
3.2 Empirical methods
Pedagogical practice, comparison methods
4 Scope of the study
4.1 Subject of the study
The process of assessing learners in grade 10 D of Thanh Hoa ethnic boarding highschool in academic year 2016-2017
4.2 Object of the study
Techniques to assess English language teaching for grade 10
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Trang 4PART B SOLVING THE PROBLEM
1 Rationale
1.1 The concept of testing and assessment
1.1.1 Testing
According to Vietnamese dictionary by Hoang Phe, , the test term is defined as
"Inspection is a review of the actual situation for evaluation and comment"[3].Testing is investigation, consideration and review of a task or reality for commenting,appreciation and review Overall, scientists and educators unanimously agree thattesting means collecting data, evidence to investigate reality in order to evaluate andcomment In education, there are various types of assessment, namely formativeassessment (daily assessment), periodic assessment (at the end of chapters, sections)and summative assessment (end of term assessment)
1.1.2 Assessment
Assessment is the process of forming appraisal and judgement of the results of
a task based on the analysis of data in comparison with a set of aims and standard inorder to make suitable decision in improving reality, advancing quality andeffectiveness of that task
The concept of assessment used in the field of education is understood indifferent ways According to C.E Beeby (1997) "Evaluation is the systematiccollection and interpretation of evidence that leads to judgment of value from thepoint of view of action,"[1] which emphasizes value Owen & Rogers (1999)[6]
"Evaluating is a systematic gathering of information and making judgments based oninformation obtained." Thus, the concept of assessment is considered in accordancewith the purpose and specific object to be assessed It is understandable that theevaluation is a systematic collection of information about the state of the object beingassessed, thereby providing accurate statements based on the information obtained asthe basis for the subject matter Introduce measures to improve the quality ofeducation
To sum up, assessment is the activity of concluding the judgement andevaluation of students' level It initially involves the examination of students' work,then the measurement to collect necessary data and finally a conclusion Thus, testingand assessment are two closely related processes Testing is to provide informationfor assessment and assessment is based on the result of testing They can becombined into a unified process called testing-assessment
1.2 Classification of assessment
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- The concept of testing in part 1.1.1 , author is based on reference [3]
- The concept of assessment in part 1.1.2, author is based on reference [1] and [6].
Trang 5Having decided on the test format, teachers can choose suitable exercises totest students' skills and linguistic knowledge The type of exercise used in testinginclude:
1.2.1 Placement tests
This concept does not involve the content or format of the test but only focuses
on the aim of testing Therefore, various formats and processes can be chosendepending on the course aims Tests for a linguistic course usually consist ofinterviews and paper tests A paper tests can combine both multiple choice and essays
or separate these two types
1.2.2 Diagnostic tests
They are testing at the implementation of a course in order to predictablysupplement insufficient or weak knowledge and to determine the real current level ofstudents, aiming to adjust a course design in accordance with the original aims
1.2.3 Progress tests
They are testing after the beginning of a course, in other words, periodic tests
in the middle of a course or on the request of the managers or students The content
of the test is also in the lesson Progess tests are different from achievement tests inthe limitation of aims and content This type of testing is usually designed by teachersand can only evaluate the teacher's achievement in teaching and recognize thestrength and weakness of learners
1.2.4 Achievement tests
This type of testing is usually used at the end of a course, and may be to award
a certificate They are relatively similar to progress tests because the only difference
is in time The basic aim of this type of testing is to evaluate the results students haveachieved after a course or a program
1.2.5 Proficiency tests
They measure the level of proficiency independently from learning or teachingprogram Proficiency tests assess based on specific aims, such as to meet a requiredlanguage proficiency level to further education
1.3 Criteria for assessment
Assessment should ensure comprehensiveness (knowledge, skills, ability,attitudes and behaviors of students), reliability (precision and objectivity), feasibility(content, format and facilities) and classification requirement [2] It involves 3 levels,namely recognition, understanding and application (low and high level) Specifically,the range of classification should be as broad as possible and should be highly
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- Criteria for assessment in part 1.3, author based on reference [2].
Trang 6effective (it could evaluate all necessary aspects and have positive influence on theteaching process).
1.4 The aim, meaning and role of assessment
1.4.1 The aim of assessment
To publicize the evaluation of an individual student and a class's capability andresult in order to create opportunities for them to develop self-assessment skill,recognize personal progress and motivate learning
To aid teachers in recognizing their own strength and weakness, improvingpedagogy, striving for teaching quality and effectiveness advancement
1.4.2 Meaning of assessment
Assessment is significantly important to students, teachers and especially educationalmanagement
- To students: Systematic and continuous assessment provide 'backward information',
which enables students to adjust learning activities It shows students the extent towhich they have absorbed knowledge and their limitation It also develops cognitiveskills through mental activities such as memorizing, recalling, precision, generalizing,systematizing knowledge These activities give students opportunities to developcreativity and flexibility to apply knowledge into real life situations.Besides, theygive students a sense of responsibilities and discipline, a will for better achievementsand belief in their potential Moreover, assessment partly remedy students' ignoranceand arrogance [5]
- To teachers: To provide 'outside backward information', which may contribute to
pedagogical adjustment
- To educational management: To provide information on teaching and learning
reality in an educational education so that timely policy can be used to ensureconformity, encourage creative ideas and to guarantee that educational aims are met
1.4.3 The role of assessment in education
The content and approach of teaching are equally important in currenteducational system Innovation in educational method is an urgent need to improveteaching quality Innovation in teaching requires simultaneous changes fromteaching, learning materials, teaching methods to assessment Assessment playsnoticeable role in advancing educational quality The results of assessment is thebasis for adjustment in teaching, learning as well as management In contrast, ifassessment is misleading, it will possibly results in inaccurate perception ofeducational quality and considerable negative impact on human resource use.Therefore, innovation in assessment is urgently necessary in education as well as
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- The meaning of assessment to students in part 1.4.2, author based on reference [5].
Trang 7society Reasonable, impartial and precise assessment will help improve learners'self-confidence, enthusiasm and creativity in study
1.5 Assessment procedure
Assessment in education is a complicated and challenging issue because it is holisticand multi-faceted Thus, in order to assess a student, a class, a cohort accurately, thefirst step is to build a procedure, choose a method and to collect necessary data Thisprocedure may involve 4 stages: measure, quantify, evaluate and decide
Measure: Record test result in nummerical marks, which are symbols indirectly
reflecting students' level qualitatively though not necessarily quantitatively
Quantify: Use data to make quantitative calculation on knowledge and skills of
students This is a transitional step between measurement and evaluation.Quantification can be based on standards or criteria
Evaluate: This step requires teachers to make jugement on the reality of a student's
level in the tested topic sp as to come up with measures to remedy weakness or topromote effectiveness
Decide: This is the final step in assessment, teachers will inform students of specific
measures for students' improvement
2 Reality.
According to Professor Dr Nguyen Cong Khanh [4], the weakest of theassessment of our secondary eduacation is based on unsuitable purposes, which
makes the educational process lacks developments The implementation of current
assessment procedure in Vietnam only focus on summative purpose, which concludes
on students' capabilities, but neglects formative purpose In other words, it is oriented (towards high school graduation and university entrance exam) Nearly allactivities of teachers and students revolve around improving test results by, forinstance, learning sample essays by heart, practice solutions to typical exercises inexams All effort of the school management only serves as a preparation for asummative conclusion and students do not receive any support to get better When it
test-is highly unlikely that they are going to make any achievement, some student maychoose cheating
In addition, assessment is inadequate in methods, which makes educationimpractical.The popular methods of assessment in current high school educationsystem, especially in senior high school, are only limited to paper tests They consist
of two familiar parts: written tasks and multiple choice, both of which are onlysuitable to prove the attainment of theoretical knowledge
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- The reality in part 2, author is based on reference [4]
Trang 8Another weak point of assessment is rigid thus does not encourage initiativeand creativity of students in learning The current assessment regime does not allowstudents to have personal choice in proving their potential and it may limit students'initiative and creativity The methods of assessment only emphasizing recollection ofacademic knowledge do not enable students to show the knowledge and capabilitythey have gained outside the classroom Moreover, those knowledge and skills mayworsen their performance if they are different from the specified answers inmechanical tests On the other hand, numerical test results will be useless if high-scoring students do not have opportunities to share the experience and strategies forsuccess with others to learn from As a consequence, students lose their initiative,creativity and problem solving skills In contrast, the innovative assessment methodsutilize assessment as opportunities for students and interaction and students' peer-interaction Those problems are faced by teachers and students at Thanh Hoa ethnicboarding high school How to innovate assessment of English there? Here are somesolutions to solve these problems.
3 Solutions for implementation
As teachers are chiefly responsible for student assessment, they should payattention to the following changes in order to enhance the precision of assessment
Solution 1: Innovation in timing for assessment
Assessment should not be made by the end of a semester or academic year butduring the whole learning process instead Assessment should be carried outimmediately after each teaching session and the next assessment should be moredemanding but with a different format from the previous one
Solution 2: Innovation in using assessment results
Most school management only use test results to classify students' academiclevel and to nominate awards Nonetheless, these results can provide important andprecise information about students' learning as well as teachers' teaching progress inEnglish language subject for the school management, and regulatory authorities.These information is the basis for timely and effective decision, which may improvethe teaching and learning of English language subject
Solution 3: Innovation in aims of assessment
Teacher heavily rely on the end-of-academic year results, which means thatfinal tests is extremely important to both teachers and students However, whileteachers stressed summative aim of 'final exams', its formative purpose of'encouraging learning' may play second fiddle despite the fact that the second purpose
is an essential part of assessment It directly influence and encourage students to
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Trang 9improve their knowledge and learning process In addition, although induction testsare always arranged, teachers occasionally pay attention to these tests, which mayhelp teachers classify students to choose suitable teaching methods In conclusion,teachers should focus on formative assessment so as to evaluate students' capabilitiesholistically
Solution 4: Innovation in assessment content
Teachers should not emphasize mechanical recollection of theoreticalknowledge and should pay more attention to understanding and application intopractice instead Tests should cover all learning content, knowledge, skills as well aslevel, which help classify students Tests should be compatible with standardschedule, knowledge and skill They should also be suitable for students' level
Teachers must pay equal attention to all four skills (listening, speaking,reading, writing) for three following reasons: first, to precisely evaluate students(recognize the right level, students think results are fair, evaluate students from low tohigh level, evaluate impartially, tests are sparsely spaced in order not to discourageweak students but to create learning habit which avoids being arrogant, negligent,prepare lessons before class
Teachers must test knowledge and skills in combination such as writing, grammar-vocabulary, listening-speaking in different kind of tests
reading-Solution 5: Forms of assessment
In addition to using different teaching methods ( teachers pay equal attention tostudents, design varying types of exercises for students of different levels so thatteachers can classify and aid weak students while encourage good students), teachersshould use self-assessment method which help students evaluate themselves andfurther their strengths or improve their weaknesses In English language subject inhigh school, the forms of assessment consists of oral tests, 15-minute tests and 45-minute tests
Oral tests
Teachers should omit oral tests at the beginning of a session but testingprevious knowledge while teaching new lessons As the results, teachers will havemore time to teach new lessons thoroughly and can still test students Moreover,teachers can tests speaking skill of many pairs of students
* Tests at the beginning of a session: teachers deliver an exercise, call a student to
do in on the board and the rest of the class do it on their notebooks Then, teacherscan collect some students' answer to mark Finally, the whole class can makecomments on the exercise written on the board Alternatively, teachers can call 4
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Trang 10students at once to do the same exercise Any of them can answer if ready, the othersmake contribution or answer additional questions
Example: Checking vocabulary of Lesson: Reading of Unit 12 Teacher's request:
'Write a word in English that means : “trang nghiêm ” Student 1: write the word,Student 2: determine its part of speech, Student 3: write synonym, Student 4: Writeantonym
This method may reduce students' reticence to speak in oral tests and havemore choices Teachers can also check pronunciation by distributing handouts whichcontains some words and require students to choose words whose underlined partsare different form those within the same groups
Another way, which is commonly used in Language Focus lesson, is tocombine checking practice exercise done on the board and homework done onstudents' notebooks If teachers want to check different structures at the same time forseveral students, teachers need to limit them to a few groups of grammaticalstructures and check several structures at once through written answers while teachersrequires the specific groups of grammatical structures within a specified time Thenteachers collect and correct students' answers
* Tests during new lessons:
Teachers ask students to do written exercises during discussion on a newlesson and do cross checking Teachers collect students' answers to mark and evaluatestudents' learning Alternative, teachers ask deductive question for students tovolunteer to answer, through which teachers can give comment and marks
For example: In unit 12-writing a profile, teachers may divide students into groups towrite the profiles based on the given information Students write and then correctother groups' writing Teachers check both students' writing and comment
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1 born on February 28th 1939 / Huế
2 write more than 990 songs: Diêm Xưa, Nối vòng tay lớn
3 died in HCM city / April 1st 2001
1 born in 1975 in Hanoi
2 graduate from Hanoi Conservatory / 1977
3 received many prizes: the first prize in Hanoi’s Singing
Competition, the Golden Voice of Asian / 1998
4 famous albums: Made in VietNam, Chat with Mozart
Trang 11* Tests through other activities: Test through homework such as making relia
(making mind maps, tables and charts about Conditionals)
CONDITIONAL SENTENCES
Or to prepare a revision, an exercise about a specific topic, to take part in anextracurricular activity Take the following test for example: students are required towork in groups to collect materials about HISTORICAL PLACES (English 10- Unit16- speaking) then discuss with other students and write a report, the report will bepresented in groups All groups will discuss an evaluate each presentation innumerical marks or in comments Students work is groups and the product is groupwork instead of individual work Students are implementors as well as evaluators
Or through revision at the end of each lesson: for example: summarize alistening exercise based on the previous tasks ( English 10 – Unit 12 – Listening)
Van Cao &
his music
Written in………
Tien quan ca
Best
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