One of the most memorable language assessments I have taken would have to be the TOEFL iBT Test. It is an internationally-recognized proficiency test which aims to measure academic English across all four skills including writing, speaking, listening, and reading. According to its website, the language test is utilized by more than 12,000 universities and institutions around the world (ETS, n.d.), one of which is the University of Oregon. I took the test two years ago to get into the LTS Program. 

      To prepare for the test, I read numerous articles and watched videos about tips on how to get a high score in the exam. One critical piece of advice was to familiarize myself with the test format because given that the test is time bound, spending too much time processing the test instructions is not ideal. Minor mistakes like forgetting to take notes or writing more than the word limit can also lead to deductions of points. One part of the test that stood out for me was in the listening section where I had to listen to a conversation between a professor and a student. It somehow gave me a preview of a possible conversation I would have in the future. Another part that stood out, but for a less fortunate reason, was feeling exhausted towards the very end but still having to complete the writing test. It had been a little over two hours since starting the test. For the last section, I had to write a 200-word essay about a familiar topic (actual question cannot be disclosed). In better circumstances, I would have answered it easily but with the little energy I had left, it was ten times more difficult. I scored 26 out of 30 and I wonder if I would have scored higher if I had not felt so tired. After the test, I remember being amazed with the testing process. Taking the exam in a testing center would have required me to travel for more than three hours. With the online format, all I needed was to prepare my laptop, a pen and a piece of paper, and I was good to go. When I completed the test, I turned off my laptop and went on to continue with my day at home as if I had not just taken one of the most important exams of my life. Looking back, taking the TOEFL test proved to be a timely and valuable experience for me. It gave me the opportunity to view assessments from a test taker’s point of view. Through my positive and negative experiences, the TOEFL iBT Test helped me better understand and visualize the concepts discussed in all my LTS courses, especially Measuring Language Ability (LT549), and it became one of my inspirations when designing assessments throughout the program.

The Writing Assessment which I created in the LT549 class is an informal achievement test for Filipino heritage language learners ages 6-7 years old. The objectives of the test are for students to demonstrate the ability to appropriately use capital letters, punctuation marks, and word spaces in sentences, and construct short narrative and/or descriptive sentences. Brown and Abeywickrama (2019) define reliability as the consistency and dependability of tests. This means that a reliable test “yields similar results” (p.29) even if one administers a test in two different time periods or circumstances. When I was designing this assessment, I had the TOEFL exam in mind. Just as I familiarized myself with the test format, I made sure that students understood the directions even before taking the test. I included various ways for them to process the directions, such as orally giving the instructions, printing them on the test sheet, showing examples, and providing opportunities for them to ask questions for clarification. Since it was an informal assessment, the task is not time bound, meaning students can ask for extensions if needed. Another strength of this assessment is its authenticity. Authenticity is another principle of assessment that refers to the degree in which a test reflects real-life tasks (Brown & Abeywickrama, 2019). In the TOEFL exam, the listening section, which involves listening to a conversation between a professor and a student, can be considered authentic because it is relevant to the test takers and the conversation can happen in the real world. In this writing assessment, authenticity is applied by having students write a short narrative about their own experiences. For children, storytelling is a task they are familiar with and having them talk about their own stories makes it even more meaningful for them. 

Another TOEFL-inspired assessment which I created in the LT549 class is the Reading Assessment. This particular assessment was designed for the same context as the previous one. The goals, however, focus on reading skills, which include (1) decoding or “sounding out” 2-3 syllable words with CV and CVC syllable patterns, and (2) demonstrating the ability to comprehend short sentences using these types of words. Much like how easy it is to implement the TOEFL test and accessible it is to the test takers, I designed this particular assessment with Brown and Abeywickrama's (2019) third principle of assessment in mind. This principle is practicality, which refers to the ease of preparation, administration, and checking of tests. In my test design, I use a pen and paper type of test because it is easy to produce and implement. Students can take it at the same time and allow for quick feedback because the test items are objective rather than subjective. Students can even check their own papers, which provided further opportunity for learning. This is an example of the fourth principle, which is washback. Washback is the consequences, whether positive or negative, that lead to students’ learning. Like the TOEFL, I wanted my assessment to have an impact on my students, so I chose to have them check their own papers so they can monitor their own progress and identify their strengths as well as points for improvement. 

In Part 2 (Design) of this portfolio, I feature a course design for a Tagalog immersion class for young learners. This course design includes a Needs Assessment Plan, which describe strategies to measure student learning and evaluate the course. In my assessment plan, I explain in detail who, what, when, and how the assessment will be implemented, and the rationale behind these assessments. Similar to the writing and reading assessment introduced earlier, validity, reliability, washback, and practicality were considered in my plan. Aside from these characteristics, another consideration was the types of assessment used, specifically if it integrates Bloom’s lower and higher order thinking skills. Although more commonly used to help design lesson objectives, Bloom’s Taxonomy is also just as important when designing assessments. Bloom’s Taxonomy is a hierarchical model that features learning stages that range from the lower order thinking skills such as remembering and understanding, to higher order ones, which include evaluating and creating (Krathwohl, 2002). Utilizing both lower and higher order thinking skills helps students to develop the ability to think critically and apply what they are learning in more meaningful and productive ways.