Assessing English Language Learners

CHAPTER 1
The Process of Developing Assessment

          Assessment can be considered as everyday activities or observation of how students are performing in class, also as  exams and so forth. Assessment includes planning, development, administration, analysis, feedback and reflection.

          Assessment is essential and in an integral part of curriculum. That´s the reason why teachers must be very careful about how they assess their students and have in mind that it should be considered from the very beginning of course planning.

          When we are planning for assessment we must first consider why we are assessing and choose a type of assessment that suits our needs, know the purpose of it, the kind of information we need to get from that assessment and the abilities we want to measure. Besides, we must know exactly what is being assessed and how it is being done.

          We must also prepare students. They need accurate information about assessment and they need to develop good testing skills. This means that students must have accurate information about when assessments occur, what they will cover, how much the assessments are worth, and when they can get their results.

          As teachers we must point out that assessment tasks are design to check that students have achieved the outcomes. Stress that the goals are achievable, and be positive about the progress students are making towards these goals.

CHAPTER 2
Techniques for testing

Teachers need to be aware of the implications for English language learners in choosing different test formats. The type of response can impact a student´s ability to demonstrate what she or he actually knows or can do.

  According to the Assessing English Language Learners textbook , we have many different items such as : subjective items, objective items, multiple choice questions, true/false questions ,matching items, cloze/gap- fill items, short answer items and essay questions.

   

  To ensure we are making using the items correctly and creating good testing techniques we must take into account ten things as follows:

   1-Design tests and assessment tasks based on blueprints or test specifications.

  2-Ensure the format remains the same within one section of the exam.

  3-Make sure the item format is correctly matched to the test purpose and course content.

  4-Include items of varying levels of difficulty.

  5-Start with an easy question first.

  6-Avoid ambiguous items, negatives, and especially double negatives.

  7-Avoid race, gender, and ethnic background bias.

  8-Prepare answer keys in advance of test administration.

  9-Employ items that tests all levels of thinking.

  10- Give clear instructions.

CHAPTER 3Assessing Reading

 

   A dilemma language teachers face when they test their student´ abilities in reading is the difficulty to assess an invisible skill. We cannot actually see what is going on in students mind when they read or listen,  so we design assessments. Here we will examine current ideas about reading before exploring techniques for assessment.

  It is very important for learners to develop their reading skills because reading is a key to success. In daily life we encounter a wide range of reading material and tasks yet it is difficult to define what we mean exactly by reading.

 

  It is not possible to observe reading behavior directly, we can only get an idea of how students actually process texts through techniques such as think-aloud protocols. Some major skills include: reading quickly to skim or scan through texts, reading carefully for main ideas and supporting details, transfer information, drawing inferences.

  Some minor skills include: vocabulary, syntax, understanding what pronouns refer to, the meaning  of chart levels.

  There are some reading specifications for assessment such as:

ØReading subskills

ØVocabulary and Grammar

ØConsiderations in Designing tasks

ØSpecifications: content, conditions, grading criteria

ØTexts

ØQuestions

ØFormats: multiple choice, true/false/not, short answer, sequencing tasks, combination tasks.

Whenever we are assessing reading we must remember to:

ØMake sure our assessment  matches our reading program.

ØSample a range of reading subskills with different task types.

ØChoose a ranger of text types appropriate to our program.

ØUse both prose and non-linear texts.

ØUse authentic or adapted texts whenever possible.

ØExploit the entire text.

ØInclude grammar and vocabulary in context.

ØAssess inferencing and critical thinking.

ØConsider timing to assess skimming and scanning.