The document discusses the need for reform in language and literacy assessment. It notes that current research shows reading is a complex, interactive process, yet traditional assessments test isolated skills and are test-centered rather than student-centered. The document advocates for assessments that are performance-based, reflect strategic reading abilities, and occur in authentic, interactive contexts. It provides examples of alternative assessments that could better evaluate comprehension, vocabulary, and reading abilities. Overall, the document argues that literacy assessments need to change to align with current understandings of the reading process.

1. 2121stst
Century LanguageCentury Language
and Literacyand Literacy
AssessmentAssessment
Gemma Marie C.
Baltazar

2. TIFFANY GRACE UYTIFFANY GRACE UY

3. Think and
Reflect

4. ConflictsConflicts between knowledge about
readingreading and assessmentassessment practices
(Valencia and Pearson (1990))
RESEARCH SAYS: YET:
Prior knowledgePrior knowledge
is important to
reading
comprehension.
Our tests use a
lot of shortshort
passages on apassages on a
lot of topics.lot of topics.

5. ConflictsConflicts between knowledge
about readingreading and assessmentassessment
practices
(Valencia and Pearson (1990))
RESEARCH SAYS:RESEARCH SAYS: YET:YET:
InferenceInference is an
essential part of
comprehension.
Our tests rely
greatly on literalliteral
comprehensioncomprehension.

6. ConflictsConflicts between knowledge about
readingreading and assessmentassessment practices
(Valencia and Pearson (1990))
RESEARCH SAYS:RESEARCH SAYS: YET:YET:
The diversitydiversity in prior
knowledge across
individuals and variedvaried
causal relations incausal relations in
human experiencehuman experience
invite many possiblepossible
answers to aanswers to a
questionquestion.
Our tests use multiple
choice items with onlyonly
one correct answer.one correct answer.

7. ConflictsConflicts between knowledge about
readingreading and assessmentassessment practices
(Valencia and Pearson (1990))
RESEARCH SAYS:RESEARCH SAYS: YET:YET:
The ability toability to
synthesizesynthesize
informationinformation from
various parts of
the text is a
hallmark of good
readers.
Our tests rarelyrarely
go beyondgo beyond
finding the mainfinding the main
ideaidea of a
paragraph or
passage.

8. ConflictsConflicts between knowledge about
readingreading and assessmentassessment practices
(Valencia and Pearson (1990))
RESEARCHRESEARCH
SAYS:SAYS:
YET:YET:
Good reading
involves the
integration ofintegration of
many componentmany component
skills thatskills that
interplayinterplay with one
another in a variety
of ways.
Our tests fragmentfragment
reading into isolatedreading into isolated
skillsskills and report
performance on each.

9. ConflictsConflicts between knowledge about
readingreading and assessmentassessment practices
(Valencia and Pearson (1990))
RESEARCH SAYS:RESEARCH SAYS: YET:YET:
Skilled readers areSkilled readers are
fluentfluent; word
identification is so
automatic to allow
cognitive resources
to be used for
comprehension.
Oral reading fluency
is rarely consideredrarely considered
in our tests.

10. Literacy Assessment:Literacy Assessment:
A Time For ChangeA Time For Change

11. Do we need change in
language and literacy
assessment?

12. A big and
loud
YES!!!

13. Is there a need for change in
literacy assessment?
•Pikulsky expressed an emphatic “YES!”
in specifying needed changes:
• Broadened assessment perspectives.
• Shift from being test-centered to student-
centered;
• Reflect the dynamic and interactive
nature of the reading process.

14. Reform in Language
and Literacy
Assessment

15. • ...since the goalgoal of literacy
instruction is to developdevelop
strategic readersstrategic readers, literacy
assessment should look into
metacognitive behaviors thatmetacognitive behaviors that
make strategic readers.make strategic readers.

16. So, what is a strategic
reader?
• Strategic readers understand that
reading should make sense.
• Strategic readers are motivated,
active learners.
• Strategic readers are independent
readers.

17. •Strategic reading should be our goalgoal
for literacy instructionfor literacy instruction,
and hence, it should be the basis ofbasis of
all assessment.all assessment.
- Winograd (1991)

18. What are the
Characteristics of
LiteracyLiteracy
AssessmentAssessment?

19. Literacy Assessment
should be...

20. •Based on current
research andresearch and
theorytheory.

21. •Reflect the complex andcomplex and
dynamicdynamic
interrelationshipinterrelationship of
reading, writing and language
abilities.

22. •Incorporate a variety ofvariety of
observationsobservations, and include
high quality texthigh quality text and a range
of authentic literacy tasks.authentic literacy tasks.

23. •Reflect ageage
appropriate literacyappropriate literacy
taskstasks for students.

24. •Reveal changechange
over timeover time at the
levellevel of the
learners.

25. •Not be biasedNot be biased
toward students.

26. Principles ofPrinciples of
LiteracyLiteracy
Assessment:Assessment:
Whole Language
Classroom

27. •Assessment strategies
must honor thehonor the
wholeness of languagewholeness of language.

28. •Reading and writing
are viewed as
processesprocesses.

29. •Teacher intuitionTeacher intuition
is a valuable
assessment tool.

30. •TeacherTeacher
observationobservation is at
the centercenter of
assessment.

31. •Assessment in reading
and writing must reflect
what we know aboutknow about
the reading process.the reading process.

32. •Norm-referenced
achievement testing is
no helpno help to the wholewhole
language teacherlanguage teacher.

33. •AssessmentAssessment
instrumentsinstruments are
variedvaried and literacy is
assessed in a varietyvariety
of contexts.of contexts.

34. •Assessment is
integralintegral to
instructioninstruction.

35. •Assessment strategies are
developmentally anddevelopmentally and
culturallyculturally
appropriateappropriate.

36. •Assessment occurs
continuously.continuously.

37. •Assessment must
reveal students’students’
strengths.strengths.

38. Is it time to welcome
and use informal
literacy assessment?

39. Think and
reflect...

40. •Reading is a dynamic processdynamic process
where the reader interactsreader interacts with
the text and the contextthe text and the context. Thus,
literacy assessment must also be
dynamic anddynamic and
interactiveinteractive.

41. And so?

42. It is time to embrace and
use informal orinformal or
alternative languagealternative language
and literacyand literacy
assessment.assessment.

43. And why?

44. •It allows learners to constantlyconstantly
evaluate their performanceevaluate their performance as
they engage in, discuss, reflect
on, transform, and apply what
they learned.

45. SO, LITERACY
ASSESSMENT
SHOULD BE?

46. •Literacy assessment
should be
performance-based.performance-based.

47. Why performance-
based assessment?

48. DeLain (1995) says: Performance-
based assessment is...
• Aligned with instruction and simulatesinstruction and simulates the
instructional environment.
• It provides students opportunities to express orexpress or
representrepresent their knowledge in different ways.
• It provides better indicatorsbetter indicators of the depth of the
student’s knowledge.
• It stretches students’ mindsstretches students’ minds by requiring them to
construct, design, compose, model, build their
response—rather than select it from an array of
choices.

49. Take a look...

50. Alternative
Assessment of
Vocabulary
Development:
A FrameworkA Framework

51. Remember Farr and Carey
• Vocabulary is not a unitary behaviorVocabulary is not a unitary behavior. Thus
assessment of vocabulary may take manymany
formsforms.
• Reading vocabulary is part of reading
instruction, thus, it is an area that should be
assessed.assessed.
• Vocabulary is best taught in contextis best taught in context. Thus, it
should also be assessed in contextassessed in context.

52. The Word Bank and Semantic Map
Abilities Assessed:Abilities Assessed: Student’s Task:Student’s Task:
Depth and breadth of vocabulary a. Write as many words as you
can think of that are related
to the topic/title.
(Give them time to write until
they have 20-50 words)
Precision of vocabulary Place your words in a semantic
map.
Fluency of vocabulary Write 1 or 2 paragraphs using
the words in your semantic map.

53. Rate as follows:Rate as follows:
Depth and breadth
(No. of related words
listed)
Fair Good Very Good
Precision
(Correct clustering)
Fair Good Very Good
Fluency
(Correctness of use)
Fair Good Very Good

54. Alternative
Assessment of
Reading
Comprehension:
A FrameworkA Framework

55. MetacomprehensionMetacomprehension strategies:
•Predicting
•Verifying
•Previewing
•Purpose setting
•Self-questioning
•Drawing from background knowledge
•Summarizing
•Applying fix-up strategies

56. Story Retelling
(Marrow & Smith, 1990)
• This is a free recall test, both product- and process-
oriented. The student recalls the events in the story
(product). He monitors and self-corrects his
memory of the events (process).
• The retelling may be oral and tape-recorded (for
younger and less able students), or written (for
older and more able students). The oral and/or
written protocols are evaluated using the story
retelling analysis chart.

57. Abilities Assessed: Student’s Task:
Recall events in sequence Read the story carefully.
Self-monitoring Then retell the story as you
understood it.
Self-correction
Interpret events

58. •The quality of the retelling may
also be rated using a 3 – or 5-
point rating scale, instead of
simply giving 1 point for the
presence of every criterion in
the student’s retelling.

59. Roger farr’s
“dream aboutdream about
literacyliteracy
assessmentassessment”

60. Farr “dreams” that
literacy assessment:

61. Will help teachers planplan
instruction.instruction.

62. Will be based in trust on
teacher’s judgmentteacher’s judgment

63. Will guide learnersguide learners to
identify their ownown
strengthsstrengths

64. Will supportsupport each learner
in becoming the bestthe best
that he can be

65. Will emphasize whatwhat
learners can do,learners can do, rather
than simply what theythey
knowknow

66. Will honorhonor what
learners can docan do, rather
than destroydestroy them for
what they cannotcannot
do.do.

67. One last time...
TRAD OR NONTRAD?
What words best describe
traditional assessment? How about
nontraditional assessment? Write as
many as you can for each.
Traditional Nontraditional

68. Traditional (T) Nontraditional (NT)
Cognitive
Counter-productive
Formal
Isolated items
Limited
Machine-scored
Product-oriented
Simple recall
Single answer
Standardized
Summative
Test-centered
timed
Authentic
Continuous
Dynamic
Engaging
Holistic
Informal
Interactive
In context
Metacognitive
Multi-dimensional
Open-ended
Performance-based
Process-oriented
Purposeful
Student-centered

69. Rate yourself. Which one are you?
• If you checked: You’re a
8-10 Ts & 8-10
NTs
Born Winner
5-7 Ts & 5-7 NTs Struggling
Winner
1-4 Ts and 1-4
NTs
Born Loser (try
harder)