Literary

 Review     1  

 
Oral Language Assessment in the Classroom
Frances A. Butler and Robin Stevens

This article talks about the relationship with teaching, learning, and

assessment. Assessment is viewed as a continua and ongoing process not as

just the end process. The most important question when assessing is to know

“What information is needed about the person being assessed?” Following that is

“How can the information best be obtained?” and “How will the information be

used?” The focus of this article is on assessing oral communication ability of

students from ages k-6.

It is important to remember that the third question is the real value of the

assessment. How the information is ultimately used is what is going to guide

teaching and the students learning. With this information the teacher can set

individual goals as well as monitor progress. When monitoring process over a

period of time gives a more accurate picture of student ability. Teachers need to

have criteria for performance that the students are graded on. Students need to

know the evaluation criteria ahead of time so they will understand what is

required and what their goals are.

Book talk is an oral book report that provides the opportunity to measure

growth in a formal presentation. These are usually given every two weeks or

twice a month. The students select the book themselves however the teacher

could choose the genre. Book talks can include the use of drawings, pictures, or

objects.
Literary  Review     2  

It’s important to create a classroom environment where students are free

to use oral language and provides the teacher the opportunity to monitor how

well students are developing their communicative skills. There needs to be

creative stimulus for talking. Students are learning how to share ideas and ask

questions.

Reference

Butler, F. A., & Stevens, R. (1997). Oral language assessment in the classroom.

Theory Into Practice, 36(4), 214-219. doi:10.1080/00405849709543771