ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING

TOPIC 8

PURPOSE OF ASSESSMENT IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

TSLB3033 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHINGCHUN @ 2016

Assessment? What is an assessment?

Assess (v.) refers to evaluate or estimate the nature, ability,

or quality of something (Oxford Advanced Learner’s

Dictionary, 2015).

The systematic collection, review, and use of information

about educational programs undertaken for the purpose of

improving learning and development (Palomba & Banta,

1999).

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Why assessment? (Higher Learning Commission, n.d.)

To provide data/information a teacher needs on your students’

learning

To engage the teacher and others in analysing and using this

data/information to confirm and improve teaching and learning

To produce evidence that students are learning the outcomes

the teacher intended to enable them to achieve

To guide the teacher in making educational and institutional

improvements

To evaluate whether changes made improve/impact student

learning, and documents the learning and the teacher’s efforts.

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ASSESSMENTOF LEARNING

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Predominant kind of assessment in schools

Its purpose is summative, intended to certify learning and report to

parents and students about their progress in schools, usually by

signalling students’ relative position compared to other students.

Typically done at the end of something (eg. a unit, course, a grade, a

key stage, a program) and takes the form of tests or exams that

include questions drawn from the material studied during that time.

The results are expressed symbolically, generally as marks across

several content areas to report to parents.

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Purpose: to assess the quantity and accuracy of student work, and the bulk

of teacher effort in assessment is taken up in marking and grading.

A strong emphasis is placed on comparing students, and feedback to

students comes in the form of marks or grades with little direction or advice

for improvement.

These kinds of testing events indicate which students are doing well and

which ones are doing poorly. Typically, they don’t give much indication of

mastery of particular ideas or concepts because the test content is generally

too limited and the scoring is too simplistic to represent the broad range of

skills and knowledge that has been covered.

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This lack of specificity hasn’t presented a problem because the teachers’

perceived purpose of the assessment is to produce a rank order of the students

and assign a symbol to designate the students’ position within the group.

Teachers maintain voluminous records of student achievement that are used only

for justifying the grades that are assigned.

Although the public has been largely supportive of grading in schools, scepticism

is increasing about its fairness and even its accuracy.

Teachers consider many factors other than academic achievement when they

assign grades; teachers weight assessments differently, and they misinterpret

single scores on assessments to represent performances on a wide range of

skills and abilities (Marzano, 2000).

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Primary School Evaluation Test (UPSR)

A national examination taken by all Malaysian students at the

end of their sixth year in primary school.

It is prepared and examined by the Malaysian Examinations

Syndicate (Lembaga Peperiksaan Malaysia), an agency that

constitutes the Ministry of Education.

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Advantages

It provides motivation and helps create an appropriate learning

environment.

Positive results can increase confidence and encourage positive,

subsequent behaviour.

Weaker are identified and alternative methods of learning can be

considered for the future.

The results provide a measurable and directly comparable way of

determining the success of learning.

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Disadvantages

Controversial, and has been suggested to be too rigid

Many schools or governing bodies choose to implement

standardised testing to ensure that pupil’s achievements can be

monitored in a clear way that is comparable across a wider area

It causes the pupils forget the real purpose of learning.

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THANK YOU.

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