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1.3.3 ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING: PRINCIPLES AND TYPES OF ASSESSMENT
1) What is the purpose of the test? The purpose of the test is to identify knowledge and skills of our students, giving them chance of choice what they have learnt during the academic year or every lesson.
2) What sort of learners will be taking the test? All sorts of learners can take the test but not all of them are successful. Visual learners are more successful as they have more attention on seeing and differentiating during the choice of correct answers.
3) What language skills should be tested (reading, writing, speaking and/or listening)?
In my opinion two skills are more productive for testing. Listening and speaking should be tested because students are taught to be able to communicate. In this case they should first listen(understand), then try to speak to express their ideas or thoughts. Reading and writing are also important. But they are mostly for academic purposes. Consequently, students should be tested on listening and speaking if they don’t want to continue scientific researches or educational innovations. Listening and speaking skills are enough for changing ideas in everyday life while they are busy with another profession.
4) What language elements should be tested (grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, speech acts, etc.)? In the beginning of communicative practice, we should be aware of grammar for accuracy, pronunciation for phonetics and vocabulary for words choosing. That is why grammar and vocabulary should be tested more than the others. Pronunciation or speech acts testing are also important but they are less necessary than the previous two. In my opinion, students mostly shouldn’t be tested in written form but they should be questioned orally or given independent works for presenting and their speech accuracy and word choice can be checked and evaluated during these presentations.
5) What target language situation is envisaged for the test, and is this to be simulated in some way in the test content and method? (For instance, is this a test of academic French? Of English for international TAs? Of Japanese for hotel workers?)
When I have a test with my students I use language situations. They are based to the content and methods which we use during the lesson. We give them authentic materials to test their skills and abilities. There is a debate on the use of authenticity in language classrooms in terms of language, tasks and situation. The materials and language situations should be created by the teacher. Learning and understanding classroom language is essential for a smooth English language teaching experience. Many expressions and phrases used in the classroom are also frequently used in everyday life. Teacher can use them when they make tests for assessing.
6) What text types should be chosen as stimulus materials -- written and/or spoken?
Broadly speaking, there are two main text types, factual and literary. A text is a piece of writing that you read or create. The type or the characteristics of a text are very important for any work of summarization on it. It is easier to select the main ideas from certain types of texts, as the narrative ones (texts “telling a story”).
The types of a texts depend on their purpose, structure and language features. On of the most commonly used classification text materials is that one based on text’s purpose and meaning. In this classification there are 3 main categories: Expository texts, Narrative texts, Argumentative texts. Expository text is intended to identify and characterize experiences, situations and vacations in either abstract or real elements. Narrative texts deal with imaginary or real world and can be fictional (fairy tales, novels, science fiction, horror or adventure stories, fables, myths, legends) and non-fictional (articles, newspaper reports, historical writings). Argumentative texts’ aim is to change the readers’ beliefs. They often contain negative qualities or characteristics of someone or try to persuade their readers that an object, product, idea is in some way better than others.
7) What sort of tasks are required -- discrete point, integrative, simulated ‘authentic’, objectively assessable? (That is, what will the test-takers do?) There are many required sort of tasks. They are discrete point integrative simulated and so on. The discrete point test also called discrete-item test, is a language test which measures knowledge of individual language items, such as a grammar test which has different sections on tenses, adverbs and prepositions. Test consisting of multiple-choice questions are usually regarded as discreet-point test. Discrete point test is all too often contrasted with what are called integrative tests. An integrative test is one of which requires a learner to use several skills at the same time. An essay writing is an integrative test because it leans heavily on the knowledge of grammar, vocabulary and rules of discourse.
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