© M ichael Harris, Paul M cCann 1994, M acmillan Publishers Ltd
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Inf orm al assessm ent
1.1 Int roduct ion
The f irst of t he t hree chapt ers in t his book w ill look at inf orm al assessm ent in and out side t he classroom . We w ill look at w hen and how t o carry out t his kind of
assessm ent of bot h linguist ic and non-linguist ic f act ors like at t it ude. Finally w e w ill look at w hat t o do w it h t he result s f rom t his kind of assessm ent .
Inf orm al assessm ent is:
Inf orm al assessm ent is a w ay of collect ing inf orm at ion about our st udent s’
perf orm ance in norm al classroom condit ions. This is done w it hout est ablishing t est condit ions such as in t he case of f orm al assessm ent . Inf orm al assessm ent is
som et im es ref erred t o as cont inuous assessm ent as it is done over a period of t im e like a t erm or an academ ic year. How ever, f orm al assessm ent can also be done
cont inuously as w e w ill see in t he next chapt er.
W hen w e are in t he classroom w it h our st udent s w e int uit ively assess t heir perf orm ance w hen speaking, w rit ing, reading or list ening. We can see w hich
st udent s are perf orm ing w ell and w hich st udent s are f inding diff icult ies. We are also aw are of st udent s’ at t it udes, how m uch eff ort t hey are m aking and how m uch t hey
are part icipat ing in class act ivit ies. How ever, t o carry out eff ect ive inf orm al assessm ent w e need t o carry out syst em at ic observat ion.
◆ First ly w e need t o w ork out w hat w e are going t o assess, as it is obviously
im possible t o assess all st udent s’ perf orm ance all t he t im e. ◆
Then w e m ust est ablish clear crit eria f or assessing st udent s and not only rely on rough im pressions.
◆ Finally it is im port ant t o link t he inf orm al assessm ent w e do w it h our f orm al
assessm ent t est s and w it h self -assessm ent done by t he st udent s t hem selves. The inf orm at ion w e give st udent s should help t hem ident if y areas w hich m ay cause
t hem diff icult ies w hen t hey do f orm al t est s. We m ust also give our st udent s f eedback and help t hem t o t hink f or t hem selves about t he inf orm at ion, as w ell as
height ening t heir aw areness of how t hey assess t hem selves.
Inf orm al assessm ent is not :
◆ Inf orm al assessm ent
is not a replacem ent f or ot her f orm s of assessm ent such as f orm al or self -assessm ent and should not be considered as t he only w ay of
obt aining and giving inf orm at ion about our st udent s. ◆
It is not a w ay of avoiding t est s alt oget her w hich allow s t he t eacher t o m ake decisions about st udent s based purely on inf orm al observat ion.
◆ It is not a f orm of assessm ent w it hout crit eria on w hich t o m ake judgem ent s
about st udent s’ progress. ◆
It is not a single syst em w hich can be used by all t eachers in all cont ext s in all schools or t eaching est ablishm ent s – each t eacher or group of t eachers needs t o
f ind a syst em w hich is suit able t o t heir part icular sit uat ion. ◆
It is not a f orm of assessm ent t o be considered in isolat ion f rom ot her f orm s of assessm ent but rat her as part of a larger, overall program m e w hich should be a
balanced syst em of decision-m aking.
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6 © M ichael Harris and Paul M cCann 1994. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom.
Informal assessment – Part of a system
Work with a colleague or colleagues. Look at the statements below about assessment.
Discuss each statement and then assign a grade for each statement in the following way:
5 Agree strongly
4 Agree
3 Indifferent
2 Disagree
1 Disagree strongly
1 Informal assessment of language skills is the most important area for us to assess informally.
5 4
3 2
1 2 Non-linguistic factors should not be assessed – this is the job of
psychologists. 5
4 3
2 1
3 Informal assessment is simply the systematic observation of our students.
5 4
3 2
1 4 Informal assessment could replace all those time-consuming tests
that I have to give. 5
4 3
2 1
5 Informal assessment should be part of an overall system of assessment.
5 4
3 2
1 6 Informal assessment means what it says : ‘informal’ – I observe
and make a judgement based on my experience – rating scales are a waste of time.
5 4
3 2
1 7 An adequate system of informal assessment already exists in my
school – we take in essays and compositions and mark them. 5
4 3
2 1
8 Informal assessment can only take place in the classroom. 5
4 3
2 1
9 Even without set criteria, I always mark written work in the same way – I know what I am looking for.
5 4
3 2
1 10 Students sometimes act differently when I walk round the class
and listen to their conversations. 5
4 3
2 1
1.2 When and w hat t o assess
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