Planning assessm ent program m es

30 © M ichael Harris and Paul M cCann 1994. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom.

2.2 Planning assessm ent program m es

Having t aken t he decision t o assess st udent s f orm ally, it is vit al t o do it syst em at ically. It is not enough t o t est st udent s in a piecem eal w ay, as t he need arises. We need t o plan a clear assessm ent program m e at t he beginning of t he academ ic year. First , w e need t o t hink about our syllabus object ives and w ork out a program m e, t hinking about w hat w e are going t o t est and w hen. Then w e need t o decide how w e are going t o t est and choose t he m ost suit able t est f orm at s f or our purpose. Having done t his w e can act ually st art t o w rit e t est s and adm inist er t hem . Finally, w e need t o t hink about t he result s and use t hem t o com e t o conclusions about our learners’ progress. The stages in progress testing 1 Planning syllabus objectives Assessment programme weighting skillslanguage timetable for assessment 2 Construction test formats Test construction writingediting tests 3 Administration finished test Administration test conditions answer sheets marking schemescriteria 4 Results students’ scores Conclusions students’ progress information for evaluation of course When are w e going t o t est ? Tradit ionally, exam s are at t he end of t erm or at t he end of year. St udent s are under great pressure and of t en do not do t heir best ; t eachers are snow ed under w it h preparat ion of exam s and t hen vast am ount s of m arking. The crucial decisions of pass and f ail are of t en t aken during, or in t he af t erm at h of t his period. The end of t erm exam t hus has several m ajor disadvant ages: ◆ St udent s and t eachers are under st ress. For t he t eacher a large am ount of w ork is concent rat ed int o a short period of t im e. For t he st udent , if he or she has a bad © M ichael Harris, Paul M cCann 1994, M acmillan Publishers Ltd 31 day, t he w ork done t hroughout t he year is quest ioned. Thus t he end of t erm exam is of t en not a represent at ive sam ple of st udent s’ perf orm ance over t he course. Used as t he only inst rum ent it can result in unreliable assessm ent . ◆ The diagnost ic inf orm at ion f rom t he exam s is usually discarded. W hat w e learn about st udent s’ w eaknesses and problem s com es very lat e and is of t en f orgot t en in t he end of t erm rush. At t he st art of t he f ollow ing t erm t his inf orm at ion is hardly ever checked up on and used by t he next t eacher of t he class. ◆ St udent s t hem selves are m uch t oo w orried about t heir result s t o t hink about t he dif f icult ies t hey had, or ref lect on t he progress t hey m ade. ◆ In t he eyes of t he st udent s, assessm ent is divorced f rom learning. Exam t echnique, luck on t he day and t he abilit y t o w rit e quickly are qualit ies prized m ore t han hard w ork, int erest and ent husiasm . ◆ The period af t er exam s is a kind of academ ic no-m an’s-land bet w een school and t he holidays; t he t eacher has t o occupy large groups of dist ract ed and pot ent ially disrupt ive adolescent s w hose m ot ivat ion t o st udy is low. To overcom e som e of t he problem s relat ed t o end of t erm exam s it is possible t o balance your f orm al assessm ent w it h t he inf orm al assessm ent you have been doing t hroughout t he t erm . This helps t o t ake int o account t he f act t hat st udent s could have had a bad day w hen t hey did t he t est . You can also m ake sure t hat you go t hrough t he exam s t horoughly w it h your st udent s, m aking sure t hat t hey receive adequat e f eedback about t heir problem s. St udent s can ref lect on t he problem s t hey had and you can set rem edial w ork f or t hem perhaps t o do over t he holidays. It is also w ort h considering an alt ernat ive t o t he end of t erm exam : a series of short ‘ assessm ent t asks’ t o t ake place t hroughout t he t erm . The t im e spent assessing f orm ally is t he sam e, but t his t im e is a great deal m ore product ive. Here is an exam ple of an assessm ent t ask program m e: Assessment t asks: Aut umn t erm Week 1: Writ ing t ask 20 min To f ind out w hat st udent s have rem em bered af t er t he holidays or f ind out about new st udent s and t heir w eaknesses. Week 3: List ening t ask 15 min Som et hing f airly easy t o build conf idence. A list ening t ask w ell w it hin st udent s’ reach, eg short dialogue. Week 4: Reading t ask A t ext relat ed t o one of t he t opic areas being looked at , eg pict ure st orycart oon. Week 6: Language assessment t ask To check on gram m ar and vocabulary st udied so f ar. Week 8: Writ ing t ask To check one of t he w rit ing areas looked at so f ar, eg inf orm al let t ers. Week 9: List ening t ask M ore challenging t ask and t ext t han t he f irst one, eg st orylonger dialogue. Week 11: Reading t ask M ore challenging t ask and t ext t han t he f irst one, eg ext ract f rom children’s non-f ict ion. Week 12: Language assessment t ask To check on t he gram m ar and vocabulary st udied since t he previous language t ask. Tot al t ime spent 150 minut es This syst em has considerable advant ages over t he t radit ional end of t erm exam . First ly, t here is less st ress f or bot h st udent s and t eachers. If a st udent has a bad day, heshe has a chance t o do bet t er anot her day. Thus, t he ‘ assessm ent t ask’ syst em should provide a m uch m ore accurat e pict ure of st udent s’ abilit y. Secondly, t he w ork involved in preparing t est s and correct ing t hem is spread over t he t erm , inst ead of 32 © M ichael Harris and Paul M cCann 1994. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom. being concent rat ed int o one hect ic period. Reliabilit y in m arking should be correspondingly enhanced. Thirdly, t he assessm ent t asks provide vit al diagnost ic dat a f or t he t eacher, w hich can t hen f eed back int o t he course. In addit ion, st udent s get very usef ul inf orm at ion about how t hey are doing t hroughout t he course. Assessm ent t asks avoid t he divorce bet w een t est ing and t eaching t hat end of t erm exam s of t en produce. As w ell as t aking place during t he learning period, t asks can be relat ed t o t he t opic areas being st udied. At t he sam e t im e as m easuring progress, t asks can be int erest ing and f un. If t he t hem at ic area being covered is ‘ Anim als’ , a reading t ask on polar bears could ext end st udent s’ know ledge. Finally, w it h a syst em of assessm ent t asks, t here is no ‘ post -exam ’ period. It is how ever an idea t o give a t ask right near t he end w hich st udent s have t o do, t o avoid st udent s m issing classes t o st udy f or ot her exam s, or discuss w it h t eachers of ot her subject s t he idea of giving up end of t erm exam s com plet ely. Planning an assessment programme Look at the example of the assessment task programme on page 31. Choose one of your classes and plan your own programme of assessment tasks for a term. Write out the number of weeks in the term and then space formal assessment tasks as you see fit. What are w e going t o t est ? An import ant t hing is t o decide on w eight ing bet w een diff erent element s in t he course. This w ill depend on t he kind of class you have and t he syllabuses you are f ollow ing. If you pay a lot of at t ent ion t o w rit ing and grammar, your f ormal assessment should ref lect t his and you should t est in t he same w ay. If , on t he ot her hand, you concent rat e largely on speaking and list ening, you should t est mainly t hese. W hile t his m ay seem obvious, it is surprising how of t en ‘ com m unicat ive’ classes have t est s w hich are gram m ar-based. This has a very negat ive w ashback eff ect on st udent s. They quit e nat urally com e t o f eel t hat w hile speaking and list ening are good f un, w hat really m at t ers is gram m ar. W hen planning f orm al assessm ent at classroom level it is usef ul t o m ake a clear breakdow n of w hat you are going t o t est and how m uch w eight each area carries. This breakdow n should clearly ref lect t he overall syllabus balance of your course. For exam ple: reading 35 w riting 40 grammar 25 speaking 20 reading 20 Listening 20 language 20 w riting 20 Assessment weighting Look at the example of weighting on page 32. Draw a pie graph illustrating how you weight your formal assessment for one of your classes. Does it reflect your syllabus objectives? If it does not, change the weighting for the next time that you organise your programme. Having decided on w eight ing, w e need t o est ablish priorit ies. We cannot t est everyt hing t hat st udent s have done t hroughout t he course. We m ust t heref ore look at our syllabuses and choose a sam ple of areas t o assess f orm ally. Syllabus priorities Look at the example of syllabus priorities below, for 1314 year old post-elementary students. Then list your own priorities for your classes. Think about the following areas: • speaking • writing • listening • grammar • reading • vocabulary Syllabus objectives Speaking general fluencyability to talk about own life likesdislikeshomesfoodpast Listening extensive listening – listening for gist and for specific information storiesdialoguesradio programmes Reading extensive reading – skimmingscanningdictionary use magazinescomicschildren’s fictionnon-fiction Writing writing about own lives – lettersstoriespostcards Grammar revision and introduction of: present simple continuous, past simple, present perfect, future: going to, countables Lexis lexical areas: classroomanimalshomestravel © M ichael Harris and Paul M cCann 1994. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom. 33 34 © M ichael Harris, Paul M cCann 1994, M acmillan Publishers Ltd

2.3 Choosing t est f orm at s