Assessment refers to monitoring learners' progress and includes formative and summative evaluations. Formative assessment provides feedback during learning, while summative assessment measures achievement at the end. Alternative assessments evaluate students through methods like portfolios, journals, and self-assessment rather than traditional tests. Effective assessment involves learners, communicates goals, and provides feedback to improve learning. Tests are one form of assessment but must be carefully designed, administered, and interpreted to avoid harmful impacts on teaching.

1. Assessment
By
Atheer
Lateef

2. Assessment
Assessment refers to the general process of monitoring or
keeping track of the learners’ progress. ( Hedge, 2008)
Assessment provides students with a tool to be more involved in
their learning, and give them a better sense of control for their own
learning. (Richards, 2002)
It is the concern with measuring significant learning. Or, the act of
judging or forming an opinion about something / somebody.
(Saphier, 1997)

3. Functions of assessment
Evaluate students’ overall level.
Evaluate students’ progress.
Evaluate how well students have learnt specific
material during a course.
Evaluate students’ strengths and weaknesses.
(Ur, 2012)

4. Purposes of assessment
• Formative assessment
 One purpose is pedagogically motivated, i.e. formative
assessment, where the teacher will use information gained
from assessments about leaner's progress as the basis for
further classroom work. (Hedge, 2008)
 Formative assessment happens in the middle of a period of
learning rather than at the end, provides clear feedback in
the form of error correction and suggestion for
improvement.
(Ur, 2012)

5. • Summative assessment
 The second purpose for assessment is to measure learner
achievement. This is referred to as summative assessment.
(Hedge, 2008)
 They provide only a grade, often expressed as a
percentage, offer no specific feedback on aspects of
performance, and are designed to summarize or conclude a
period of learning. Summative assessment may be used as
final school grades, or for acceptance into further education
or employment.
e.g. International exams, like; TOFEL, IELTS,
(Ur, 2012)

6. Alternative assessment
 Teacher assessment.
 Continuous assessment.
 Self-assessment.
(Ur, 2012)

7. Alternative assessment procedure
The main goal of alternative assessment is to “ gather
evidence about how students are
approaching, processing, and completing ‘real-life’
tasks in a particular domain.
(Richards, 2002)

8. Alternative assessment is different from
traditional testing.
 Does not include on intrude on regular classroom activities.
 Reflects the curriculum that is actually being implemented in
the classroom.
 Provides information on the strengths and weaknesses of
each individual student.
 Provides multiple indices that can be used to gauge student
progress.
 Is more multiculturally sensitive and free of
norm, linguistic, and cultural biases found in traditional
testing.
(Richards, 2002)

9. Nontraditional or alternative forms of
assessment of classroom based writing
 Portfolio assessment
 Protocol analysis
 Learning logs
 Journal entries
 Dialogue journals
(Richards, 2002)

10. Assessment should
- remain an essential and integral part of teaching and learning.
- involve sharing learning goals with students.
- help students to know and recognise the standards they
are aiming for.
- involve students in peer and self-assessment.
- provide feedback which leads to students recognising their
next steps and how to make them.
- involve both teacher and students in reviewing and reflectin
on assessment data.
(Saphier, 1997)

11. Assessment and testing
Assessment
Assessment refers to the general
process of monitoring or keeping
track of the learners’ progress.
Assessment is a boarder concept, it
is a part of the whole educational
process of teaching and learning.
Testing
Testing is one kind of
assessment, one which is typically
used at the end of a stage of
instruction of measure student
achievement.
Testing is a term that is not always
used precisely, here, it refers to the
specific procedure that teachers and
examiners employ to try to measure
ability in the language.

12. What is testing?
 Testing is by far the most common basis for assessment. The
criterion for success is a fixed level which the student is
expected to reach; and the result is usually expressed as a
percentage. Tests are relatively easy to design and check, take
place at pre-test times and places, give clear-cut results, and are
in general accepted as reliable bases for course grades.
( Ur, 2012)
 Good tests provide the opportunity for learners to show how
much they know about language structure and vocabulary, as
well as how they are able to use these formal linguistic features
to convey meaning in classroom language activities through
listening, speaking, reading, and writing. ( Hedge, 2008)

13. What is a language test ?
 The purpose of language test is to determine a person's
knowledge and/or ability in the language and to
discriminate that person's ability from that of others. Such
ability may be of different kinds; achievement, proficiency or
aptitude.
( Davies, 2006)
 Language tests can be a valuable tool for providing
information that is relevant to several concerns in language
teaching. They can provide evidence of the results of
learning and instruction, and hence feedback on the
effectiveness of the teaching program itself.
(Bachman & Palmer, 1996)

14. Principle of administrating tests
 Inform your students about the test well in advance.
 Allot some class time to preparation.
 Provide, or review, essential information about the test as you present it.
 Help students with instructions.
 Check and return tests as soon as you can.
( Ur, 2012)
 Preparing the testing environment.
This involve arranging the place of testing, materials and
equipment, personal, time of testing, and physical conditions
under which the test is administered.
( Bachman & Palmer, 1996)

15. Functions of the test
 act as ‘station’, marking off the ends of units.
 encourage students to review material.
 Motivede students
 give a sense of achievement and progress.
 Provide learning or review.
(Ur, 2012)

16. Problems of tests
They are not always valid.
They may not be reliable.
They are a one-off event which might not give a fair
representation of the student’s overall ability.
They discriminate against students with test anxiety
who perform badly under test conditions.
( Ur, 2012)

17. Four major types of tests
 Proficiency tests
 Aptitude tests
 Diagnostic tests
 Achievement tests
( Hughes, 1998)

18. Features of good tests
Accuracy
Objectivity
Reliability
Validity
Scorability
(Hughes, 1996)

19. Other types of test
 Standardized and non-standardized tests
 External and internal tests.
 Oral and written tests.
 Objective and subjective tests.

20. Standardized and non-standardized tests
• Standardized tests usually includes tests prepared by teams of
specialists. Standardized test are used widely in some
educational settings for both first and second language
assessment.
• Teacher-made school test is non-standardized because it may
be applied once and then forgotten.
( Genesee, 1996)

21. Standardized tests have the following qualities
 They provide a "systematic procedure for describing behaviors, whether in
terms of numbers or categories."
 They include specified procedures for administration and scoring.
 The test items are derived from experience, either by experiment or
observation, rather than theory.
 They have an established format and set of materials.
 They present the same tasks and require the same response modes from
all test takers.
 They provide tables of norms to which the scores of test takers can be
compared in order to ascertain their relative standing.
( Genesee, 1996)

22. According to their content of language;
 Reading comprehension
 Vocabulary
 Grammar
 Pronunciation test
 Writing
 Speaking
 Spelling
 Dictation
 Translation
(Ur, 2012)

23. Tests vary from scoring
 Objective tests. 1) true/false
2) multiple choice
3) matching, ……………..
 Subjective tests. 1) discuss
2) compare
3) describe, ………………..

24. Performance Evaluation
 A performance evaluation is a dynamic tool by the help of
which the performance of an individual could be measured by
the concern authority. For example, such document is
presented to the school and college students for gauging the
status of the institute.
Bartolomei, Kyra (2010)

25. Planning evaluation
 To monitor student’s language proficiency in and outside class.
 To understand student’s learning styles and strategies
 To know student’s interests and attitude about learning
 To know student’s background experience that can influence their learning
in the classroom.
 To ascertain student’s understanding and perceptions of classroom
activities
 Develop student’s self assessment skills
 Promote student responsibility and ownership of evaluation
 Involve student in identifying instructional goals and planning instructional
activities.
( Genesee, 1996)

26. Backwash
 The effect of testing on teaching and learning process is
known as backwash. Backwash can be useless (harmful) or
useful (beneficial) . If a test is regarded as important and
made as well as by teachers , then preparation for it can come
to control all teaching and learning activities according to
textbooks or courses taken by students, it will be useful
process or good test. And if the test content and testing
techniques are at variance with the objectives of the
course, then there is likely to be harmful backwash.
Hughes (1996)

27. . Language skills
Oral written
1. Reading
2. Writing
1. Listening
2. Speaking
Recognition
( listening and reading )
Production
( speaking and writing )
To see something and
get the main idea
To make something

28. . As teacher
Less attention More attention
on on
Listening and reading Speaking and writing
Precede

29. References
Bachman, L. F. & Palmer, A. S. (1996). Language testing in practice. New York:
Oxford.
Bartolomei, Kyra . (2010). What is performance evaluation? January 14, 2013.
1956635www.answerbag.com/q_view/http://fromRetrieved
Davies, A. & et al. (2006). Dictionary of language testing. Studies in language
testing.(7th ed.). UK: Cambridge University Press.
Genesee, F. & Upshur, J.A. (1996). Classroom-based evaluation in
second language education. UK: Cambridge University Press.
Hedge, T. (2000). Teaching and learning in the language classroom. New York:
Oxford.
Hughes, Ar. (1996). Testing for language teachers. Great Britain: Cambridge.
McNamara, T. (2000). Language testing. New York: Oxford.
Saphier, J. & Gower, R. (1997). The skillful teacher. (5th ed.). USA: RBT.
Ur, P. (2012). A course in English language teaching. Great Britain: Cambridge.