View my presentation to see an overview of the article by Pauline Rea-Dickens

1. Mirror, mirror on the wall:
identifying processes of
classroom assessment
Pauline Rea-Dickens, University
of Bristol

2. Agenda
What are we covering?
• Stages of planning for and implementing assessment
• Six purposes for assessment
• Stages in detail
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• Questions
“This article is descriptive. It is not concerned with which nor how
many teachers did X and Y, nor is it concerned with passing judgement
on what did or did not take place. Rather, it has as a primary
goal to illuminate the different identities of classroom assessment in
relation to examples from EAL teachers’ professional practice,
thereby enabling me to explore (in Section V) some of the implications
for classroom assessment as a support to language learning.” (Rea-Dickens, 2001)

3. 6 Purposes for Assessment for EAL’s
• 1. Screening and identification
• 2. Placement
• 3. Reclassification or exit
• 4. Monitoring student progress
• 5. Program evaluation
• 6. Program accountability
On the next few slides we will look at each of
these purposes in more detail!!

4. Stages of Planning & Implementing Assessment
• 1. Assessment planning stage
• 2. Observation stage
• 3. Specific task stage
• 4. Continuous review stage
• 5. Leveling stage
See table 1 in the article for more
details!

5. Stage 1: Planning
• Identifying the purpose for the
assessment (why?)
• Choosing the assessment activity (how?)
• Preparing the learners for the
assessment
• Who chooses/decides for each of the
above?

6. Stage 2: Implementation
• Introducing the assessment (why,
what, how?)
• Scaffolding during assessment
activity
• Learner self and peer monitoring
• Feedback to learners (immediate)

7. Stage 3: Monitoring
• Recording evidence of achievement
• Interpreting evidence obtained from
an assessment
• Revising teaching and learning
plans
• Sharing findings with other
teachers
• Feedback to learners (delayed)

8. Stage 4: Recording &
Dissemination
• Recording and reporting
progress
• Formal review for LEA or
internal school purposes
• Strategies for dissemination
of formal review of learners

9. Findings
• Stage 1: Three levels of planning
• Stage 2: Implementation strategies may
perform a number of different functions.
• These may be loosely grouped according to
different phases
• within the assessment process
• Stage 3: Raises issues in terms of interpretation
of assessment data
• Stage 4: Can be completed with formal tests or
teacher records which formally record progress
for national database or state recording
See the article for mor

10. Discussion
Bureaucratic: There is an external element of assessment where teachers need
to provide information for an agency external to the immediate teacher and
learning context.
Pedagogic: Assessment has an “internal identity.” So there are insiders who can
also determine needs for assessment data, such as general education teachers, a
language support team, special education teachers, etc.
Learning: Another factor of assessment is learning and learning through
assessment. Good assessment for learning motivates learners to “become
engaged in the interaction through which they are enabled to develop skills of
reflection, as well as providing them with an ability to reflect meta-cognitively
on their own learning.”

11. After Reading
• Two questions for discussion:
1. What types of bureaucratic demands or
external factors do you face in your current
teaching position in regards to assessment and
how does it affect your feelings about
assessment?
2. When assessing your students, how do you
determine “evidence of learning?” How do you
know that students “get it?”

12. Moving forward
• We need to understand more about the intricacies
of classroom-based assessment and how we
determine quality and note evidence of language
development.
What is assessment? There is no one right or easy answer!
Identifying Processes of Classroom

13. Thank you! I look forward to reading
your discussion question answers.
Great job!.

14. References
Rea-Dickens, P. (2001). Mirror, mirror on the
wall: Identifying processes of classroom
assessment. Language Testing, 18(4), 429-
462).