Assessment

Is it time to rethink your assessment program?

When developing strategy to promote their language course, many teachers overlook the opportunity that assessment tasks can be. In this section we will look at assessment from several angles including :

1. Simple tips for an assessment that works for both you and the students

2. Ideas for assessment that involve your sister school - Coming soon!

Tips for a better assessment schedule

Many times I see what began as a good idea turn into a marking nightmare, with both teachers and students limping out of the task demoralized by their efforts. Of course assessment tasks need to meet syllabus/curriculum outcomes but there are several other factors you may want to consider. So what makes a great assessment task?

1. Great assessment allows you to learn something.

Sometimes it will allow you to learn about your student, and by this I mean more than just details about their language proficiency. I love tasks where the students tell me about themselves, their families, their interests. A recent task required my Year 8 students to video a self-introduction speech and it was interesting to see who had a family member help film, who filmed in the kitchen, who filmed in front of a computer in their room etc.

When a cultural based task is relatively open ended, I find I often learn something new about Japan as the students take me down google search paths I would not usually venture down. They have a lot more time and inclination to surf the net, so they sometimes come up with great finds. This term students had to create a persuasive text in English highlighting a place or activity they would like to experience in Japan. (This was part of a larger video task.) As a result I discovered that Shibukawa has a belly button festival and Osaka hosts a soccer contest for mini-robot making enthusiasts!

2. Great assessment is time efficient.

When you are spending more time correcting the errors of your students than they spent doing the task, then the balance is out. Make sure that everything in the task serves a real purpose and is not left over from a previous version. An important consideration is whether they will need a lot of class time and teacher support to complete the task. This will cut down on your teaching time so make sure that it is worth it. Make sure that the bulk of student time is spent on language outcomes, and not on presentation.

3. Great assessment utilizes ICT for creative or communicative purposes

Online resources sometimes appear to be added on for motivational reasons rather than being the core business of learning. We need to be careful that ICT does not become the new “busy work”, the equivalent of a colouring in sheet. We need to ensure we are reflective in our eteaching choices, regarding the task we give a student, the amount of time it will take to complete and the real cognitive learning that will result from it. Some tasks may lead to an emphasis on presentation and motivation to do the task, rather than development of content knowledge. Just as the colouring sheet of the past kept the students quiet and on task, some elearning choices may end as pretty decorations with limited cognitive benefits in the long term

Research by Hammond et al has found that ICT use by students at school is less creative and communicative than student ICT usage at home. We are teaching a language though so we are actually in the best position to move beyond presentation to real creative and communicative tasks.

Hammond, M. (2014), Introducing ICT in schools in England: Rationale and consequences. British Journal of Educational Technology, 45: 191–201. doi: 10.1111/bjet.12033

4. Great assessment provides progress indicators

Boys complain it is difficult to see the extent they have improved due to a lack of progress indicators (Pavy 2006). Without such indicators of achievement, their motivation wanes. I would argue that this also impacts on female student satisfaction as well. It can be hard to see language progress as we don't usually tally up how many words or grammatical structures a student has mastered. But there are other ways to track this progress. Levels tests for mastering script is a simple way of doing this at the most basic level. Allowing students to resit these levels tests as many times as they need to, to pass and at their own rate, will increase their motivation. This opportunity to fail and try again without shame, is a key element to the success of video games. Set the bar high enough though eg 75% so that there is value and satisfaction in achieving the goal.

5. Great assessment meets principles of self-determination theory

This theory simplified suggests that our motivation levels will rise when we have feelings of competence, autonomy and relatedness. The acronym CAR is used to reflect this principle. A successful task should enable the student to feel they had an opportunity to input into and make choices about their learning (autonomy); allow them to feel accomplishment as they were challenged to an appropriate degree (competence) and where possible, the task allowed them to relate to others or reflect on their relationship with others (relatedness).

For more information on this theory read :

Ryan,R.M., & Deci, E.L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68-78. Doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68

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