Administering Assessment

                                                                 

                                                                  Administering Assessment


    Administering tests is one of the  most technical  tasks that a teacher has to carry out. There are a number of procedures to carry out namely:


Scheduling Tests
                               These must be done on a day when no extra curriculum activities are planned . No substitutes are recommended they can cause nervousness and stress in students.


Information for students must be clear about what they may or may not bring to a test.


Academic Dishonesty
                                        Students must be clear on what is and what is not acceptable during a test,also about applied  penalties when caught cheating ., examples of these should be given.


Physical Setting
                                The setting is done based on the capacity of the classroom, basically in rows. Environment   or place  where the test will take place with good light and ventilation and of course noise free.


Test Assembly or Format
                                                Tests should be perfectly typed and stapled.   The instructions of each section clear and concise. 


Initial and final time must be stated. Teachers must be zealous when handing out and taking up tests. Rules  should be set before hand like: no talking during tests, turning off cell phones and raising hands in order to clear up doubts.


Teachers on the other hand are the ones who should prompt students to study and teach the importance for the future.








Quote


I have never met a man so ignorant that I could not learn something from him.


                                                                           Galileo Galilei
                    

Assessing Listening

Assessing Listening

The saying listening is not “taught “ can be proved by

 observing the manner in which children learn first to utter

 words as babes, then to produce sentences only listening

 to people and sounds around them.

Listening to any language is an active process which occurs

internally. students receive sounds and relate them to their

environment. To make listen fascinating the use of

authentic material is recommended along with devices with

perfect sound systems. A fairly good amount of techniques

can be used.  Vocabulary and tasks vary according to

students level and every student learns at his own pace.

Assessing writing

 ASSESSING WRITING

   

Writing is basic for academic success. Accurate writing is

Necessary at every level in education, varying of course

Depending on the student`s level. Direct and Indirect

Writing measure different things. Direct measures writing

ability, organization of ideas, vocabulary  and grammatical

usage. Whereas Indirect measures features like :  spelling,

punctuation and sentence construction.

Grading of writing involves  four elements:

Rubric are the instructions.

Prompt is the task to carry out.

Expected response What education wants from students.

Post -task  evaluation checking outcome of task. 

The Rubric is the first and most important element in

assessing, it points out the instructions for carrying out the

task.   Then on the other hand we have the issue of

Technology which affects writing . We cannot fail to mention  

The computer withal it`s tools such as : grammar checkers,

On line dictionaries and spellers .Tools like these make

writing easier and faster.  Some aspects that can be

pointed out are the restriction of topics at times because

students need to be guided  in writing topics that force

them to think. On the other hand free topics are a must in  

order to promote creativity.  Teachers must check guided

writing but, free writing can be also checked by peers.

   

Asssessing Reading

ASSESSING READING

      

    Reading Is one of the skills that cannot be learnt easily ,

A student has to decode symbols, letters , words and   

Sentences.  Students background knowledge plays an

Important role when comprehending readings.

    The author states approaches to aid students which he

calls subskills  like : reading quickly (Scanning ), searching

for main idea, supporting details, transferring information,

and drawing inferences .Vocabulary and grammar, should

not be noted as  separate .

Techniques for Testing

      The test items are the most important elements of a

test we can ascertain  that , without a doubt.

The specifications are used  in the planning ,balancing

objective and subjective formats. Students must be

clear on points to be tested. Items must be classified

according to formats namely :multiple choice ,matching

true/false, short answers, et….

By all means we must avoid ambiguity, instructions

Must be clear, avoiding race, gender, and ethnic back-

-ground bias . Use items to prompt critical thinking .

Principles of Effective Materials Development

By M.Sc. Carol Sutton

e-mail  csutton19@hotmail.es

Writer Brian Tomlinson,  author of Principles of Effective Materials Development, states  that when planning we should take in account following factors: :

1. the need to communicate
2. the need for long -term goals
3. the need for authenticy, and
4. the need for student-centeredness

         I strongly believe in his  position because all that we do in a classroom and out of a classroom such as planning is centered around the students.  On the other hand, materials are essential when you are teaching or learning a language.  They contribute to make learning more exciting.

Materials can be written, spoken or visual .  They can be home-made taking advantage of  old   magazines and others or we can buy at the bookstore if you have some extra cash. For material usage, we must take in account the learners'  interest trying to motivate them. Language acquisition shoud be taken in account based on the five principles that the author mentioned.

Finally, I must say that  Brian Tomlinson's ideas are very useful for us English teachers to apply and to contextualize  in accordance with the different learning and teachings environments.

Learning Assessment Glossary

Useful Words and Meanings

by Carroll Sutton

Washback = negative or positive perception of aPublish Post test.

Accountability =to be responsible.

Benchmark= an evaluation process used in universities.

CEPR= Common European Framework.

 Reliability=test that when taken at different times bring out the same results.

Transparency=Information about tests given to students must be clear and accurate

Specifications=Detailed description of what will be assessed and how.

Rubric =is an instruction given in order to carry out a task.

Outline = a brief summary

Explain= to interpret

Piloting=practice to make corrections on a test.

Prompt= in teaching what  the student has to do.

Compare= means to find similarities.

Contrast = to find difference.

Assessing English Language Learners

An Introduction to Issues in Language Assessment and Terminology

   Assessment includes a wide variety of activities and 

Tasks that teachers use to evaluate pupils. Some of these

Activities are : grading, reviewing, checking, etc….

Now decision making for teachers is about classroom and

teaching. These decisions include many things like: placing

students, students problems, evaluating academic 

performance and preparing tests. None of these can be

omitted.

The Costarican educational system has types of tests

namely placement, aptitude, diagnostic, progress, These

are applied based on student`s  academic level. These

should be made and checked taking in account  the

educational bylaws and requirements.

 achievement and proficiency tests.

.