TESTING & ASSESSMENT Questions for discussion 1.State what you know about innovation/change in testing and assessment.. Innovation/Change in Testing In traditional language teaching, f
Trang 1Methodology-E.11- Intensive Program
Testing
Presented by Lê Kim Tường
Trang 2TESTING & ASSESSMENT
Questions for discussion
1.State what you know about innovation/change in testing and assessment
2.List some test types you usually give your 11-grade students.
3.Suggest what should be done to make fair tests.
Follow-up activity
In groups, choose one point to be tested (either
language skills or vocabulary or grammar or
pronunciation) Design a 45-minute test with key answers.
Trang 3Innovation/Change in Testing
In traditional language teaching, formal and informal tests are given to students by their teachers
Nowadays, based on student-centered approach, language testing includes tests, continuous/continual assessments
- Formal tests are given to students at the end of a semester/ school year, marked, and assessed by teachers
- Continuous/continual assessments are informal tests given regularly to students during the course They are assessed by teachers( teacher assessment), or classmates (peer
assessment), or the student himself/ herself (self-assessment)
Trang 4Note to the teacher
PEER OBSERVATION & EVALUATION ( for advanced
discussion skills only)
According to Green (2002:225), peer evaluation may be carried out in one, two, or all of three main ways:
Observer ring While a group conducts its discussion, the
observer-evaluators sit with the discussion group and monitor the proceedings Observers need to complete observation and evaluation sheet
Shadowing Shadowing provides for intensive one to one
evaluation A specified member of the partner group sits next to
or behind a discussion group participant At a prearranged
point in the discussion, the shadow may substitute for the
participant and adopt his/her line of argument
Using video and audio recorders The recording of each
group should be made away from the classroom in a quiet
space to obtain excellent results
Trang 5Testing and Assessment
“…Testing is one kind of assessment One which is typically used at the end of a stage of instruction to measure student achievement Assessment is a broader concept: it is part of the whole educational process of teaching and learning…”
“…Whilst tests can be used as a ‘bolt-on’ procedure at
end-points in a learning program, assessment is integral to the
whole process of teaching and learning…”
Assessment is undertaken and for different purposes The first
purpose is pedagogically motivated, i.e formative
assessment The second one is to measure learner
achievement, i.e summative assessment.
Source: Hedge, T (2000) Teaching and Learning in the
Language Classroom, OUP (pp 336-337)
Trang 6Formative versus Summative Assessment
Source: Hedge, T (2000) Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom, OUP (pp 336-337)
Formative assessment
is prepared and carried out by
the class teacher as a routine
part of teaching and learning.
is specifically related to what
has been taught, i.e content is
in harmony with what has been
taught.
the information from the
assessment is used
diagnostically; it focuses on the
individual learner’s specific
strengths and weaknesses,
needs, etc.
Summative assessment
is not necessarily prepared and carried out by the class teacher.
does not necessarily relate immediately to what has been taught.
the judgement about a learner’s performance is likely to feed into record-keeping and be used for administrative purposes, e.g checking standards and targets.
is frequently externally imposed, e.g by institution or a ministry of education.
Trang 7Some test types
Teachers might use a variety of test types which will depend on
a) The level of students
b) The skills they want to test
c) The language points they want to test
A Listening tests
1 Multiple choice
2 True-False
3 Open-ended questions
4 Grid-filling
5 Gap-filling (cloze)
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Some test types (cont.)
B Reading tests
1 Multiple choice
2 True-False
3 Open-ended questions
4 Grid-filling
5 Gap-filling
C Speaking tests
1 Prompts/Picture prompts
2 Asking and answering questions
3 A set of topics
Trang 9
Some test types (cont.)
D Writing tests
Guided writing tests:
- Gap-filling
- Re-ordering words/sentences
- Summary writing based on texts
Free writing tests:
- Sentence writing
- Paragraph writing
- Essay writing
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Some suggestions for making fair
tests
Ask enough questions to test accurately.
A test will be less reliable if it has too few questions
With more questions, one question will not cause too much a problem.
Write clear instructions/directions for the test
and use examples.
Clear instructions will help students understand the
questions, know how to answer, and answer the
questions accurately.
Trang 11Some suggestions…
Test what has been taught in class.
A test based on what has not been taught in class would not be a reliable test.
Write clear test items.
Compare the following:
Item 1: Directions: Choose the best response.
Today it is rather cloudy.
A It will probably rain.
B Yesterday the weather was nice.
C Yes, I think so, too.
Trang 12Some suggestions…
Item 2: Directions: Choose the letter for the answer
which means the same as the statement.
Today it is rather cloudy.
A The clouds are dark.
B It is not too sunny today.
C It might snow tomorrow.
Which item is clear?
Item 2 is clear; Item 1 is unclear.
Trang 13Some suggestions…
When writing multiple choice questions, use realistic distractors Distractors are wrong answers A test will not be reliable if impossible
distractors are used.
Consider the following question:
What color is the sun?
A Yellow ( This is intended correct answer)
B Orange ( too close to the correct answer)
C Soft (not a color & too far from the correct answer)
D Yes (It is a bad distractor because this is an answer to a yes/no
question)
A better set of answers to test knowledge of colors would
simply be a list of colors:
A blue B green C yellow D black
Trang 14Some suggestions…
Score tests consistently with a key.
When scoring, use a key that will help teachers grade
objectively The key should have examples of correct answers ( though other correct answers should be accepted) and the
appropriate points/marks as well
Avoid traps for students
A good test should never be constructed in such a way as to trap the students (testees) into giving an incorrect answer All tests should be constructed primarily with the intention of
finding out what a student knows _ not with trapping him