© M ichael Harris, Paul M cCann 1994, M acmillan Publishers Ltd
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1.3 Inf orm al assessm ent of linguist ic f act ors
The m ost com m on w ay of assessing st udent s inf orm ally has t radit ionally been by m arking pieces of w ork t hat st udent s do eit her in class or f or hom ew ork. These
m arks are t hen added up at t he end of t he assessm ent period t o w ork out a f inal grade. W it hout doubt t his m arking of st udent s’ w ork is one of t he m ost im port ant
sources of inf orm at ion t hat w e have. How ever, t his approach has serious draw backs:
◆ First ly, it m eans t hat w e m ight t end t o concent rat e on w rit t en w ork and on
gram m ar exercises rat her t han f ocusing on oral skills. ◆
Secondly, w hen w e m ark w ork w e m ight assign m arks on t he basis of t he ‘ im pression’ t hat w e have of t he w ork. We are not t hinking in det ail about w hat
exact ly w e expect t he st udent s t o achieve. ◆
Finally, w hen w e add up m arks at t he end of t erm w e t end t o m ake judgem ent s in t erm s of im pressions and w it hout a clear idea of w hat w e are assessing.
Theref ore, it is im port ant t o m ake a conscious eff ort t o assess oral skills during classes and est ablish clear crit eria t o help us assess specif ic perf orm ance by st udent s
and com e t o decisions about st udent s’ progress.
Assessm ent crit eria can be described in t erm s of w hat w e expect our st udent s t o be able t o do. This m ay be YesNo or PassFail ie t he st udent can or cannot sat isf y a
cert ain crit erion. An exam ple m ay be ‘ abilit y t o w ork w it hin a group’ . W it h linguist ic f act ors, how ever, it is m uch m ore likely t hat st udent s can sat isf y crit eria t o a great er
or lesser degree ie t hey w ill be im proving along a cont inuum on w hich at t he present m om ent t hey are quit e good at som et hing and w it h m ore pract ice t hey w ill
becom e bet t er, eg oral expression.
In t hese cases a m ore descript ive syst em of grading is needed t han YesNo or PassFail
. An alt ernat ive is t o grade st udent perf orm ance in t hese areas int o a num ber of bands, eg 0 is a poor perf orm ance and 5 is an excellent perf orm ance. We
can t hen describe each level or band. The m ore bands w e have t he m ore delicat e and descript ive t he syst em w ill be. At t he sam e t im e, t he m ore delicat e and
descript ive t he syst em is, t he f iner t he dist inct ions you w ill have t o ident if y in st udent perf orm ances. This m ay prove t o be m ore dif f icult t han it sounds –
assigning a st udent a 13 inst ead of a 14 on a 20 band scale m ay prove t o be a very dif f icult t ask due t o t he f ine dist inct ions bet w een t he t w o bands. On t he ot her
hand, t he f ew er t he bands w e have, t he easier t he t ask is t o assign band num bers t o st udent s as t he dist inct ion bet w een a 3 and a 4 on a 5 band scale w ill be great er
t han on a 10 band scale and w ill t heref ore be m ore easily ident if ied. Of course, t he f ew er t he bands, t he m ore rough and ready t he syst em is.
Bearing all t his in m ind, w hat w e need is t o f ind t he opt im um num ber of bands w it h clear and easily underst andable band descript ers f or our purpose. If w e f ind t his,
t hen w e w ill have a syst em w hich is usable and suit ed t o our needs.
W e w ill now look in m ore det ail at assessm ent of t he f ours skills, of language and assessm ent of non-linguist ic f act ors.
Speaking
Inf orm al assessm ent is part icularly im port ant f or speaking as m any t eachers have pract ical diff icult ies in organising oral t est s lack of a place t o do t hem or lack of
t im e. Because of t his, oral assessm ent in m any sit uat ions has t o be done inf orm ally. In addit ion, inf orm al assessm ent of speaking can have an im port ant ef f ect on
learners. If t hey see t hat speaking English and part icipat ing in class is rew arded t hey w ill be m ore m ot ivat ed t o part icipat e act ively and t ry t o use English in t he class.
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© M ichael Harris, Paul M cCann 1994, M acmillan Publishers Ltd
Inf orm al assessm ent of speaking is done by observing st udent s’ oral perf orm ance in class, by m onit oring speaking act ivit ies as t hey happen. In a busy classroom w hen
you have lot s of ot her t hings t o do t his is not alw ays easy. If you are w alking around t he class m onit oring a class oral act ivit y f or exam ple all st udent s are w orking in
sm all groups discussing a part icular issue or solving a problem you m ay w ell obt ain a f airly good idea of class perf orm ance as a w hole and individual perf orm ance in
part icular areas. You m ight com e t o t he conclusion t hat a part icular class needs rem edial w ork in pronunciat ion, or t hat a part icular st udent ’s int onat ion is not as
accept able as t hat of ot her m em bers of t he sam e class.
As you w ill probably spend a lot of time w ith your classes you w ill gain many insights into these areas as a rapport builds up betw een you and the students and you begin to
function as one w orking unit w ith mutual confidence. It must be pointed out here that your intuitive judgements are often very useful. One w ay in w hich you can systematise
this gathering of impressions is by giving students points based on pre-defined criteria w hen you see that they are performing w ell, either in groups or in front of the w hole
class. At the end of the assessment period you can then add up the points that students have to get an idea of how w ell they are doing.
How ever, t he quest ion of unreliabilit y and inaccuracy of judgem ent should be considered in t he f ollow ing w ays. First ly w e m ay get a dist ort ed view of overall class
abilit y if w e cannot list en t o all st udent s during all act ivit ies as so of t en happens w it h large num bers of st udent s. Secondly, w e m ay get a dist ort ed view of part icular
st udent s w ho m ight t ry harder w hen t hey know w e are list ening t o t hem ; on t he ot her hand, st udent s m ay perf orm w orse in t he know ledge t hat t he t eacher is
act ively m onit oring t hem .
The f irst t hing w e need t o do is t o produce a syst em w hich at t em pt s t o give us t he possibilit y of m aking reliable and object ive judgem ent s about our st udent s. The
crit eria w e choose and t he descript ors f or each crit eria, eg on a 5
band scale w ill provide a degree of reliabilit y w e w ould not have if w e used no crit eria at all except
our int uit ion. The crit eria m ight f ocus on a part icular aspect of speaking, eg f luency, int onat ion, pronunciat ion, self -correct ion w here necessary et c. W hat our crit eria w ill
do f or us is allow us t o place a st udent on a scale according t o hisher perf orm ance at any one given m om ent in t im e.
W e can est ablish our ow n crit eria, but if ot her t eachers in t he school are using dif f erent crit eria t here can be a considerable am ount of unreliabilit y in assessm ent in
t he school. Theref ore it is im port ant f irst ly t o agree on crit eria f or assessing st udent s w it h our colleagues. The f ollow ing st ep is t o m ake sure t hat w e all agree on exact ly
w hat t he assessm ent scales m ean. This st andardisat ion of percept ions can be achieved t hrough m eet ings, discussions and w here possible list ening t o recorded
perf orm ances and using t hese f or st andardisat ion purposes.
Our bands m ay have m ore t han one aspect of speaking and m ay describe t he speaking skill as one or t w o general crit eria. Look at t he f ollow ing band scale:
5
Speaks f luent ly – alm ost no errors
4
Speaks quit e f luent ly – som e errors
3
Som e dif f icult y in speaking – m any errors
2
Dif f icult y w it h speaking – alm ost incom prehensible
1
Unable t o use language – incom prehensible W hile t his scale m ay serve as a rough guide t o t he f luency and num ber of errors our
st udent s are m aking and w hile it m ay be possible t o place our st udent s on t his scale
© M ichael Harris and Paul M cCann 1994. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom. 11
as a result of inf orm al observat ion, t here are cert ain quest ions and problem s w e w ould have t o clear up bef ore using it ;
W hat does ‘ f luent ly’ act ually m ean? W hat or how m uch is ‘ som e’ in band scale 4? Do t he bands m ove f rom one t o t he ot her in a
unif orm w ay or is t here a big jum p bet w een one part icular band scale and anot her? and m ost im port ant ly – Is t his exact ly w hat w e w ant t o assess?
Oral assessment criteria
Look at the scale on page 10 and, if at all possible with your colleagues, write a fuller description of the bands. Think about
including descriptions of these things:
• fluency speedamount of hesitation • message relevance and appropriacy
• accuracy grammatical and lexical errors • pronunciation soundsintonationstress
Compare your descriptions with those on page 44
Once you and your colleagues have decided on t he assessm ent crit eria and t he t ype of scale t o use, you w ill w ant t o put t he syst em int o pract ice. How can you
im plem ent t he syst em ? W hat f ollow s is a list of suggest ed w ays of carrying out syst em at ic observat ion and recording t he result s. How ever, you should adapt t hese
m et hods t o your ow n part icular sit uat ion and w here necessary t hink of ot her w ays of syst em at ically observing and recording your f indings w hich m ay be m ore suit ed t o
your needs. No single m et hod is suit able in all t eaching sit uat ions or all inst it ut ions.
◆ The f irst st ep is t o produce band scales t o assess oral perf orm ance. You can eit her
do t his on your ow n or m uch bet t er w ork t hem out w it h your colleagues. Having done t his you can t hen use t hem t o assess your st udent ’s com pet ence at
any given t im e, eg at t he end of each m ont h or at t he end of each t erm . Your judgem ent s w ill be based on your observat ion of st udent s in t he preceding
period. It is also possible t o give your st udent s t he sam e bands and ask t hem t o assess t hem selves. Your assessm ent and t hat done by learners can t hen be
com pared. Furt herm ore, assessm ent crit eria should be m ade available t o everybody concerned including inst it ut ions and parent s of st udent s. For f urt her
discussion, see self -assessm ent page 63
. ◆
Anot her alt ernat ive is t o assess st udent s’ perf orm ance at a part icular t im e. The best w ay of doing t his is perhaps t o t ell st udent s t hat you w ill be assessing t hem
over t he next f ew lessons. Then you can m ake sure t hat in t he lessons t here are a series of speaking t asks. W it h large classes it is probably a good idea t o choose
f ive or six st udent s t o assess in each lesson t hough do not t ell t hem as w hen t hey know t hey have been assessed t hey m ay st op m aking an eff ort . During t he t asks
you can go around t he class and w rit e dow n your assessm ent s of st udent s’ perf orm ance. The best t asks t o use are t hose t hat st udent s norm ally do in class
and in general group or pairw ork act ivit ies are t he m ost suit able: pairw ork int erview s, group surveys, roleplays, inf orm at ion gap act ivit ies et c. You can
t hough use som e w hole class act ivit ies, w here st udent s give a present at ion individually or in groups or w here t hey act out roleplays t hat t hey have prepared.
Bot h of t hese act ivit ies can be a good conclusion t o project and t ask based w ork and also provide good opport unit ies f or peer and self -assessm ent w it h
assessm ent bands given t o t he st udent s. The f irst m et hod suggest ed m easures pot ent ial perf orm ance t his m et hod m easures act ual perf orm ance in t asks. As w ell
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© M ichael Harris, Paul M cCann 1994, M acmillan Publishers Ltd
as assessing speaking by oral bands alone, t hey can be used in conjunct ion w it h a set of pre-def ined crit eria w hich are object ives t o be aim ed at and w hich are
YesNo t ype crit eria, eg ‘ part icipat es in discussions’ . They can also be used along
w it h m ore syst em at ic im pression m arking, f or exam ple giving st udent s point s f or good perf orm ance t hroughout t he t erm .
◆ The last quest ion t o ask is ‘ W hen w e should carry out inf orm al assessm ent of
speaking?’ This w ill depend on t he t im e w hich is available and t he num ber of
hours of class you have each w eek. It is obvious t hat t he m ore hours you have in t he classroom w it h t he st udent s, t he great er t he opport unit y t o assess. Anot her
f act or t o consider is t he f requency w it h w hich you have t o give report s on your st udent s. If result s of assessm ent s are t o be report ed each t erm , t hen t he inf orm al
assessm ent program m e w ill have t o t ake t his int o account and w ill have t o t ie in w it h t he ot her f orm s of assessm ent being used t o m ake up t he overall assessm ent
of each st udent . If result s are t o be report ed each academ ic year, t he inf orm al assessm ent program m e w ill have t o t ake t his int o account in t he sam e w ay.
Writ ing
Assessing our st udent s’ w rit t en w ork can be very t im e consum ing and unless you are caref ul you can f ind yourself w it h m any hours of m arking, w hich t akes t im e
aw ay f rom ot her aspect s of t eaching like lesson planning. It is t hus very im port ant t o choose t he m ost im port ant pieces of w rit ing t hat st udent s do and not t ry t o assess
every piece of w rit t en w ork. Thus w e need t o decide how m any and w hat sort of com posit ions w e are going t o assess. Younger secondary learners m ay not need t o
do as m uch w rit ing as older secondary st udent s w ho have t o do w rit ing in public exam inat ions. The degree of im port ance t hat w rit ing has should be ref lect ed in your
syllabus plans. Anot her point t o consider is t he am ount of w rit ing w hich should be done individually and t hat w hich is done in groups. Group w rit ing act ivit ies are not
only good f or developing w rit ing skills, part icularly in a m ixed abilit y sit uat ion, t hey can also m ake your m arking load m ore viable and enable you t o give m ore f eedback
t o m ore of your st udent s. For exam ple, in a large class of over f ort y it is m ore pract ical t o m ark t en group com posit ions every w eek t han f ort y individual ones.
Anot her point t o consider is giving f eedback. We need t o m ake very sure t hat t he f eedback w e give t o st udent s is used by t hem . It can be very f rust rat ing t o spend a
lot of t im e m arking w hen st udent s just look at t he m ark and not hing else. W hen w e give f eedback t o our st udent s it is im port ant t hat t hey t hink about it t hem selves and
w ork out how t hey can do bet t er in t he f ut ure. Theref ore t he link bet w een inf orm al assessm ent of w rit ing and self -assessm ent is vit al.
Anot her crucial f act or is t he need t o m ake sure t hat t he assessm ent w e do of our st udent s is as reliable as possible. For exam ple, if you are correct ing or assessing an
essay or com posit ion, you w ill of t en give an ‘ im pression’ or ‘ im pressionist ic m ark’ . This m eans t hat you w ill read t hrough t he piece of w ork once, t w ice or perhaps
m ore t im es, and give it a m ark. This could be som e point on a scale of 1–10 or a let t er f rom A– E. The chances are t hat if you are assessing t he w ork f rom a class like
t his you w ill apply som e sort of crit eria w hich you m ay have in your head, w it hout consciously list ing t hem . Even if you are w orking on your ow n it w ould probably be
m uch bet t er if you act ually list ed t hese crit eria, and it w ould cert ainly be very usef ul f or st udent s t o know exact ly w hat t hey are.
How ever, w e need t o t hink about t he quest ion of unreliabilit y and inaccuracy of judgem ent in several w ays. First ly, w hen w e are m arking by im pression it m ay
happen t hat w e give a diff erent m ark t o t he sam e piece of w ork on a diff erent day
© M ichael Harris, Paul M cCann 1994, M acmillan Publishers Ltd
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or even part of a day. For exam ple, w hen w e are t ired at t he end of t he day w e could give a com posit ion a low er m ark t han in t he m orning. Conversely w e m ight
be m ore generous on a Friday t han on a M onday. Secondly, as w e are all diff erent w e m ight have diff erent set s of crit eria. Thus a st udent could get a diff erent m ark
f or t he sam e piece of w ork if it w ere m arked by diff erent t eachers.
As w it h speaking w e need t o t hink very caref ully about w hat crit eria w e use. Look at t he f ollow ing scale:
5
Excellent w rit er
4
Good w rit er
3
M odest w rit er
2
M arginal w rit er
1
Poor w rit er If w e use t his scale, w e need t o def ine previously w hat t he m eaning of t he
descript ors is. For exam ple:
W hat m akes a st udent an ‘ excellent ’ w rit er rat her t han a ‘ good’ w rit er? ◆
Is it com prehensibilit y? ◆
Is it gram m at ical accuracy? ◆
Is it spelling? ◆
Is it t he w ay t hey organise t he t ext ? W hen w e are w orking out rat ing scales and descript ors t o use t here are t w o
possibilit ies. We can eit her produce overall descript ions of w rit ing abilit y or concent rat e on diff erent aspect s of w rit ing and separat e t hese aspect s out int o
individual scales. General overall descript ions, ie t hose cont aining diff erent f eat ures of abilit y, are called holist ic scales. Those w hich separat e out diff erent aspect s of
abilit y are called analyt ic scales.
Exam ple of holist ic scale f or w rit ing abilit y:
5
Const ruct s gram m at ically correct sent ences and phrases and show s f ull m ast ery of appropriat e vocabulary. Text is organised coherent ly. Correct spelling
at all t im es. Excellent cont ent and present at ion. M essage w holly relevant
4
In general, gram m at ically correct sent ences and phrases but som e errors w hich do not aff ect underst anding. Does not use appropriat e vocabulary at all t im es.
Som e dif f icult ies w it h organisat ion of t ext . Som e errors in spelling. Good cont ent and present at ion. M essage m ost ly relevant .
3
Gram m at ical errors and use of vocabulary af f ect s underst anding as does organisat ion of t ext . M any errors in spelling. Sat isf act ory cont ent and
present at ion. M essage not alw ays relevant .
2
Text underst ood w it h diff icult y due t o inaccurat e gram m ar and inappropriat e use of vocabulary. Poor cont ent and present at ion. M essage generally lacks
relevancy.
1
Im possible t o underst and t ext due t o f requency of gram m at ical errors and incoherence of organisat ion. Poor spelling M essage irrelevant .
14 © M ichael Harris and Paul M cCann 1994. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom.
Informal assessment – Number of bands
Look at the 1– 5 band scale in the box below. Work alone or with a colleague or colleagues and expand the five
bands into a ten band scale by writing more detailed descriptions.
5 Constructs grammatically correct sentences and phrases and shows full mastery of appropriate vocabulary.
Text is organised coherently and is well structured. Correct spelling at all times.
4 In general, grammatically correct sentences and phrases but some errors which do not affect understanding.
Does not use appropriate vocabulary at all times. Some difficulties with organisation of text.
Some errors in spelling.
3 Grammatical errors and use of vocabulary affects understanding as does organisation of text. Many errors in spelling.
2 Text understood with difficulty due to inaccurate grammar and inappropriate use of vocabulary.
1 Impossible to understand text due to frequency of grammatical errors and incoherence of organisation. Poor spelling.
When you have finished, answer the following questions: • What difficulties did you encounter when writing the expanded
scale? • Do you think that with your expanded scale teachers would find it
easy to differentiate between a 6 and a 7 or a 3 and a 4? • Does each activity, eg spelling appear in each band?
• Do you think that your holistic band scale could or should be
broken up into analytic scales? • By looking at your ten point scale, would it be obvious what is an
acceptable level, ie the cut-off point or ‘pass mark’?
Analyt ic scales separat e t he aspect s or act ivit ies given in t he box above and t hus
cat er f or t he st udent w ho cut s across t he bands and t heir descript ors. For exam ple, it is possible t hat a st udent m ay be a 3 in t he scale above f or gram m at ical accuracy but
a 2 f or spelling. How ever, bot h analyt ic and holist ic scales can be used successf ully t o assess abilit y if t he descript ors are clear enough and if percept ions are st andardised.
If a st udent f alls int o m ore t han one band on a holist ic scale, t he t eacher should be able t o choose t he m ost appropriat e or best f it f or t hat st udent ’s w ork.
W hen m arking st udent s’ com posit ions you m ay f ind t hat rat her t han t rying t o m easure perf orm ance com prehensively, you can f ocus on a couple of aspect s. For
exam ple, w hen assessing a st ory you could f ocus on t ext organisat ion and linking, not m arking gram m at ical accuracy or spelling. For a project post er giving
inf orm at ion about a count ry you could f ocus on cont ent and present at ion. W hile t his approach does not m easure all aspect s of w rit ing it is a good w ay of giving
st udent s m anageable f eedback.
© M ichael Harris and Paul M cCann 1994. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom. 15
W hat ever set of crit eria you use it is im port ant t o t ell st udent s w hat t hey are bef orehand so t hey w ill be aw are of w hat is expect ed of t hem and w ill hopef ully
t hink m ore closely about your assessm ent w hen t hey receive it . The clear est ablishm ent of crit eria enables t hem t o assess t heir ow n w ork as w e w ill see in t he
chapt er on self -assessm ent . Anot her t hing t o consider is how you are act ually going t o give f eedback t o your st udent s. If you correct everyt hing and w rit e t he
correct ions on t heir w ork st udent s can be very de-m ot ivat ed. There is not hing w orse t han receiving a piece of w ork back w hich is covered w it h red ink One w ay in
w hich you can do t his and at t he sam e t im e get st udent s t o t hink about t heir m ist akes is by using a correct ion code. Through a code you can signal problem s t hat
st udent s are having. W hen you give w ork back st udent s can w ork eit her individually or in groups t o see if t hey can correct t heir ow n w ork. W hile t hey are doing t his you
can go around t he class and answ er any problem s t hat t hey m ight have.
Correction codes
Look at this correction code. Work out your own code to use with your students.
S spelling
V vocabulary
P punctuation
G grammar
WO word order Pa paragraphs
L linking
Pr prepositions
When you use a code with your students, go over it on the board and to explain give them examples of mistakes and problems.
W hen you m ake judgem ent s about your learners’ progress in w rit ing over a period of t im e you can add up t he result s t hat t hey have had in t heir com posit ions or use
t he w ork t hey have done t o assess t hem globally, using t he rat ing scales looked at earlier here. An im port ant point t o rem em ber is t hat if you have been doing a lot of
group and project w ork it w ill be necessary t o com plem ent t his w it h som e f orm al assessm ent , so t hat you can check on individual perf orm ance.
List ening
W e norm ally develop list ening skills in t he classroom in lockst ep f ashion. This m eans t hat all t he st udent s list en t o one t ext at t he sam e t im e. M ost t ext books or
coursebooks include list ening passages f or use in t he classroom . Typical st udent t asks involve f illing in boxes w it h inf orm at ion, t icking t rue or f alse opt ions, ordering
event s in chronological order and ot hers designed t o develop list ening skills.
We can inf orm ally assess st udent s’ list ening prof iciency by get t ing an im pression of w hat t hey have underst ood or by sim ply looking at t he answ ers given by any one or
m ore st udent s.We can m onit or and assess st udent s’ list ening prof iciency w hilst m onit oring act ivit ies such as pair w ork act ivit ies or react ions t o inst ruct ions f rom you.
One sim ple w ay of checking on answ ers m ay be asking f or a show of hands t o f ind out how m any st udent s, eg answ ered 10 correct ly, 9 correct ly, 7, 6, 5 and so on.
Perhaps t here are st udent s w ho m ay put up t heir hand at 8 w hen t hey act ually answ ered 3 it em s correct ly – t his can give you f alse result s and m ay also im ply an
at t it ude problem on t he part of one or m ore st udent s. Ext ralinguist ic clues can of t en be a basis on w hich t o assess a st udent ’s list ening prof iciency, eg f acial
gest ures, especially eyes – ‘ I could t ell he didn’ t underst and a w ord because he just
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© M ichael Harris, Paul M cCann 1994, M acmillan Publishers Ltd
looked blank’ . Or t he converse sit uat ion – ‘ I could t ell she underst ood everyt hing
because she nodded in agreem ent at everyt hing I said’ . Obviously, neit her m ay be
an accurat e assessm ent of t hese st udent s’ prof iciency in list ening. In t he f irst case t he st udent m ay have underst ood m ore t han credit ed f or but w as sim ply not
int erest ed. In t he second case t he st udent m ay have underst ood not hing but w ant ed t o give t he opposit e im pression by nodding.
An alt ernat ive w ould be t o go t hrough t he answ ers one by one and ask t he class af t er each quest ion w ho answ ered correct ly. In t his w ay, t hose w ho scored highly
are not being overt ly praised and t hose w ho achieved low scores are not being asked t o adm it t his in f ront of t he rest of t he class and are t hus not placed in a
pot ent ially t hreat ening sit uat ion. You should f ind t hat t his m et hod of elicit ing scores w ill provide m ore honest and open report ing f rom st udent s as t he elem ent of
com pet it ion and perceived t hreat has been rem oved. You should also m ake it clear t o st udent s w hy you are asking f or inf orm at ion. You can m onit or class responses t o
each quest ion and assess:
◆ t he class as a w hole in relat ion t o part icular quest ions in t he list ening t ask
◆ any st udent s w ho do not raise t heir hands very of t en and w ho have t heref ore
gained low scores in t he t ask, t hereby ident if ying quickly and eff icient ly problem areas and st udent s w ho m ay be having problem s w it h list ening.
Anot her w ay of assessing underst anding of t ext s is t o ask st udent s t o recycle w hat t hey have heard. This can be in t he f orm of recycling orally or in w rit t en f orm . For
exam ple, f ollow ing a sect ion of list ening t ext , st udent s can be asked t o sum m arise w hat t hey have heard. In large classes, t his can be ineff icient in t erm s of t im e and if
individual st udent s are asked in f ront of t he rest of t he class it m ay have a negat ive ef f ect , by producing a t hreat ening sit uat ion f or t he shy or less able st udent . A w ay
around t his is t o ask st udent s t o w ork in groups or pairs and t o report t o t heir part ners t he im port ant point s of a t ext . Alt ernat ively, anot her w ay of checking is t o
ref ocus t he quest ion by saying t hat you w ant t o know t he result s in order t o est ablish t he diff icult y of t he t ask.
A f urt her m et hod of assessm ent is t o use a recorded t ext as t he basis f or a speaking act ivit y. For exam ple, a recorded t ext about t he econom y of an island m ay be used
as a prologue t o a speaking t ask in w hich st udent s are asked t o discuss t he problem s of t he island and t he solut ions t o t hem . During t he speaking phase you
could go around t he class and list en t o t he discussions, f ocusing on how pairs are using t he inf orm at ion t hat t hey have been given in t he list ening t ext . As w ell as
using list ening t ext s you can assess st udent s abilit y t o underst and you or ot her st udent s in t he class. You can gauge abilit y t o underst and language by observing
st udent react ion t o inst ruct ions. Here you w ill be able t o observe t hose st udent s w ho m ay be having problem s w it h list ening sim ply because t hey are not able t o
f ollow your inst ruct ions. Also during speaking act ivit ies you can go around t he class and observe st udent s’ abilit y t o underst and each ot her.
You m ay w ant or need t o m ake a judgem ent of list ening abilit y. You can collect m arks f rom list ening act ivit ies t hat st udent s have done and t hat you have t aken in.
One point t o bear in m ind here is t hat list ening can be easily t est ed in t his w ay and t hat it m ay not be w ort h doing t he sam e t hings t w ice. W hen you com e t o m ake an
overall judgem ent of list ening abilit y, you can use band scales as f or speaking and w rit ing. Once again, you need bands w hich ref lect t he kind of list ening t hat you
have been doing. For exam ple, t he band scale show n on page 17 f ocuses on aspect s such as sim plecom plex m essages, diff erent f orm s of t ext present at ion eg radio, TV,
song et c. and diff erent iat ion bet w een im plicit and explicit inf orm at ion.
© M ichael Harris and Paul M cCann 1994. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom. 17
Exam ple of band scales f or list ening abilit y:
5
Can underst and com plex m essages Can underst and diff erent oral present at ions
Can dist inguish bet w een explicit and im plicit inf orm at ion
4
Som et im es has diff icult y w it h som e com plex m essages Can underst and m ost oral present at ions
In general, can dist inguish explicit and im plicit inf orm at ion
3
Has dif f icult y w it h com plex m essages Has dif f icult y w it h som e oral present at ions
Cannot , in general, dist inguish bet w een explicit and im plicit inf orm at ion
2
Cannot underst and com plex m essages Has dif f icult y w it h m ost t ypes of oral present at ion
Cannot dist inguish bet w een explicit and im plicit inf orm at ion
1
Cannot underst and sim ple m essages Cannot underst and any t ype of oral present at ion
Choose five or six students from your class. During a listening activity in normal class hours, use the above rating
scale for listening to assess your students’ listening ability.
Reading
W e of t en do reading t asks in class in lockst ep f ashion: t he w hole class reading one t ext and answ ering quest ions on it . Typical exam ples are t he skim m ing and scanning
act ivit ies so w idely used or t he ‘ com prehension quest ions’ at t he end of a t ext .
There are various w ays of assessing t his kind of reading in t he classroom . The f irst is by going around t he class w hile st udent s are doing a reading act ivit y and observing
w hich st udent s seem t o be underst anding it and w hich are having diff icult ies. The im pressions t hat you get f rom t his can be m isleading as som e st udent s w ill be
reluct ant t o adm it diff icult ies. Anot her w ay is by checking class underst anding of f our or f ive point s f rom a given reading passage. You can go t hrough t he answ ers
w it h t he w hole class and af t erw ards ask f or a show of hands of w hat quest ions t hey got right . As m ent ioned bef ore w it h list ening, t his is not a very reliable source of
inf orm at ion. An alt ernat ive is t o collect in answ ers t o reading t ext s and m ark t hem yourself . Because t his is som et hing you can easily do as a t est you m ay pref er t o do
t his kind of act ivit y as part of f orm al rat her t han inf orm al assessm ent .
W hen assessing reading in t his w ay a f act or t o bear in m ind is subject know ledge. Som e st udent s m ay know a lot about t he subject of t he t ext and t hus have a clear
advant age over t hose w ho know lit t le or not hing about it . For exam ple if you are looking at a scient if ic t ext non-science based st udent s are at a disadvant age,
w hereas t he science st udent s are considerably helped. In t his sit uat ion your judgem ent of t hese st udent s’ abilit y t o read w ould probably not be very accurat e.
Answ ering a f ew quest ions about a t ext does not give reliable inf orm at ion about overall underst anding of it . One solut ion t o t he problem is sim ilar t o t hat ident if ied
in t he sect ion on list ening ie recycling. This m ay t ake t he f orm of discussion of reading passages or w rit ing about reading t ext s. For exam ple st udent s can read a
let t er and t hen w rit e a reply t o it or read a t ext and t hen roleplay a sit uat ion f rom it . Jigsaw reading can be usef ul here, w hen you divide a t ext up and diff erent groups
have t o t ell t he ot hers about t heir part of t he t ext . One w ay of checking underst anding is by asking st udent s t o t ell you about a t ext in t heir ow n language.
18 © M ichael Harris and Paul M cCann 1994. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom.
St udent s can also w ork out t heir ow n t asks on t ext s f or ot her st udent s t o do. By looking at underst anding of specif ic t ext s w e are not really cat ering f or st udent s
w ho have diff erent reading st yles, speeds, int erest s and abilit y. In m ixed abilit y classes it can be part icularly int erest ing t o assess individual reading. Som e schools
have a library and in t hese cases you m ay be able t o use it f or t his kind of reading. If you do not have one, a m ini-library could be set up in t he classroom . There are
com m ercially available series of graded readers w hich give clear indicat ions of t he num ber of w ords used and approxim at ely how m any hours of English a st udent
should have st udied f or in order t o be able t o cope w it h t he t ext s in t he reader. If you can set up an individual reading schem e you can m onit or t he act ivit ies, t alk t o
individual st udent s, helping out w here necessary and t hus be able t o m ake judgem ent s about reading abilit y f or diff erent individuals. One-t o-one conversat ion
is a key concept here. You m ay w ish t o discuss a t ext , reasons f or it s choice and it s dif f icult y level w it h individual st udent s w hile t he class as a w hole is perf orm ing a
t ask or com plet ing a w orksheet . As w ell as assessm ent t hrough oral f eedback, a quicker w ay is t o get st udent s t o w rit e about w hat t hey have read.
Informal assessment – Reading records
Look at the Reading Record Form below: READING RECORD FORM
Name Class
Title of book Author
Summary of plot
Personal opinion
© M ichael Harris and Paul M cCann 1994. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom. 19
The reading record f orm on page 18 w ould allow you t o: ◆
m onit or w hat your st udent s are reading ◆
assess w het her t hey have underst ood t he m ain point s of t he t ext t hey have read ◆
assess how st udent s have react ed t o t he t ext by giving t hem t he opport unit y t o m ake a brief crit icism
◆ inf orm ally assess t heir w rit t en expression
Phot ocopy t he Reading Record Form and t ry it out w it h a group of st udent s. Find out st udent s’ react ion t o t he f orm . Does t he f orm provide you w it h t he
inf orm at ion you require? How w ould you use t he inf orm at ion you have collect ed?
W hat of t he crit eria f or m aking overall judgem ent s about reading abilit y? As w it h all ot her skills, t he kind of judgem ent you m ake should ref lect t he kind of reading t hat
you have been doing. For exam ple, if st udent s need t o be able t o read new spapers, m agazines and inf orm al let t ers, t hen you should expose t hem t o t hese t ypes of t ext s
and assess t heir perf orm ance only on t hese t ext s. It w ould be unw ise, unf air and unreliable t o expose t hem only t o m agazines and t hen expect t hem t o m ake a
judgem ent about how w ell t hey read let t ers.
One sort of band you can use can be used in diff erent sit uat ions as it does not specif y t he kinds of t ext s. You can use t he band t oget her w it h your ow n syllabus
plan t o assess st udent s.
For exam ple:
5
Can underst and all necessary t ext t ypes w it h no diff icult y
4
Has m inor diff icult y w it h diff erent t ext t ypes
3
Has considerable diff icult y w it h diff erent t ext t ypes
2
Cannot underst and diff erent t ext t ypes
1
Cannot underst and any t ext t ype Anot her approach is t o specif y t ext t ypes and use a YesNo crit eria.
For exam ple:
1
Can underst and f act ual art icles in m agazines YES
NO
2
Can underst and inf orm al let t ers YES
NO
Choose five or six students from your class. During a reading activity in normal class hours, use the above rating
scale for reading to assess your students’ reading ability. If possible, use both the
holistic scale and the YesNo scales. Which do you prefer?
Gram m ar and vocabulary
As w ell as assessing st udent s’ perf orm ance and progress in t erm s of t he f our skills, it can also be usef ul t o m easure t heir know ledge and abilit y t o use specif ic st ruct ures
and vocabulary. This is an area w hich can probably be best assessed t hrough periodical short progress t est s but inf orm al assessm ent can also be used.
20
© M ichael Harris, Paul M cCann 1994, M acmillan Publishers Ltd
Having present ed a st ruct ure it is im port ant t o assess learners’ underst anding of it and abilit y t o use it . This should be done at t he pract ice st age of t he lesson. During
cont rolled pract ice act ivit ies you can go around t he class and ident if y problem s t hat st udent s are having and observe w hich st udent s are having part icular diff icult ies.
Having done t his you m ay need t o w ork out ext ra pract ice act ivit ies f or all or som e of t he st udent s in t he class. To avoid dividing t he class and est ablishing a special
rem edial group you can do f urt her act ivit ies in groups, w here t he st ronger st udent s can help t he w eaker ones.
In addit ion t o assessing st udent s’ know ledge and use of specif ic st ruct ures direct ly af t er present at ion in t he language pract ice st ages of a lesson, you m ay f ind it
usef ul t o assess st udent s’ grasp of st ruct ure and lexis in general w hile t hey are doing f ree w rit ing and speaking act ivit ies. Rat her t han assess com m unicat ion as a
w hole, w hich w e have looked at in previous sect ions, you can f ocus solely on language. For exam ple, in a speaking act ivit y you could go around t he class and
w rit e dow n t he m ost im port ant m ist akes t hat t he st udent s are m aking. You can t hen go t hrough t he m ist akes w it h t he w hole class, or alt ernat ively plan rem edial
act ivit ies t o deal w it h t he problem s.
As w ell as f ocusing on st udent s’ use of language you can also check t heir know ledge of it in an inf orm al w ay. This is part icularly usef ul bef ore t hey have f orm al t est s so
t hat you can give t hem ext ra pract ice if necessary and t hey get an idea of w hat language t hey need t o st udy m ore. One w ay of doing t his is t hrough class quizzes.
You can divide t he class up int o groups and organise a com pet it ive quiz bet w een t he groups, m aking sure f irst t hat each group has a balance bet w een m ore and less able
st udent s. You can w ork out a series of quest ions t o ask about bot h gram m ar and lexis and you can run t he quiz in an enjoyable w ay, giving st udent s bonus point s,
prizes et c. The sort of quest ions you can ask t he groups are as f ollow s:
‘ W hat is w rong w it h t his sent ence? M y f at hers are called John and M ary’ . ‘ M ake a sent ence f rom t hese w ords.’ ‘ W hat does bicycle m ean in Spanish, It alian et c?’
In t his inf orm al w ay you can get an idea of your learners’ know ledge and abilit y t o use specif ic st ruct ures and lexis. Any problem s t hat you diagnose t hrough t his sort
of assessm ent can t hen be dealt w it h by rem edial present at ion or f urt her pract ice. W hat you cannot get f rom t he kind of inf orm al assessm ent of language suggest ed
here is an idea of individual st udent s’ know ledge and abilit y t o use language. This is best done t hrough short language t est s spread out over t he course.
© M ichael Harris and Paul M cCann 1994. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom. 21
1.4 Inf orm al assessm ent of non-linguist ic f act ors
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