Principles of Assessment

I. Introduction
Assessment is an indispensable element of the teaching and learning process. It is
a way of collecting interpretable data that may serve as a basis for judgment or decision-
making. It is needed for evaluation. It gives the information which makes it possible for
evaluation to take place. In designing classroom assessments and evaluating existing
ones, it is important that the following principles are taken into consideration: Validity,
Practicality, Reliability, Authenticity, and Washback. What are they, specifically? How are
they applied?

II. Main Discussion

Authenticity
Bachman & Palmer (1996) defined authenticity as the degree of correspondence
of the characteristics of a given language test task to the features of the target language
task. It is an assessment principle that serves as a guide for teachers to craft authentic
learning activities. This means that the assessment should be similar to what the students
might encounter in the real world as opposed to encountering only in the school. For
Mueller (2018), it is exemplified in a task for students to perform and a rubric by which
their performance on the task will be evaluated.
Said principle is evident in a task, according to Burke (1999), when the following
salient features are observable: the performance task is meaningful; it has clear standards
and public criteria; it yields quality products and performance; it paves an avenue for
positive interaction between the assesse and the assessor; it emphasizes on
metacognition and self-evaluation; it ensures transfer of learning. Aside from that, the
following criteria must be taken into consideration when ensuring authenticity of a
classroom assessment. First is Disciplined Inquiry. It is important that the assessment
really requires in-depth understanding of the problem and a move beyond knowledge
produced by others to a formulation of new ideas. Second is Integration of Knowledge. In
the assessment, students must be able to realize things as a whole rather than fragments
of knowledge. Third is Value Beyond Evaluation. This means that what students do have
some value beyond the classroom.

Out of the said principle springs the authentic assessment. Wiggins (1998) defines
it as "…engaging and worthy problems or questions of importance, in which students must
use knowledge to fashion performances effectively and creatively. The tasks are either
replicas of or analogous to the kinds of problems faced by adult citizens and consumers
or professionals in the field." Before him, Stiggins (1987) calls it “performance
assessments that call upon the examinee to demonstrate specific skills and
competencies, that is, to apply the skills and knowledge they have mastered." Mueller
(2018) explains that the aforesaid assessment springs from the following reasoning and
practice: 1) a school's mission is to develop productive citizens; 2) to be a productive
citizen, an individual must be capable of performing meaningful tasks in the real world; 3)
therefore, schools must help students become proficient at performing the tasks they will
encounter when they graduate; 4) to determine if it is successful, the school must then
ask students to perform meaningful tasks that replicate real world challenges to see if
students are capable of doing so.

To ensure that you will be able to develop an authentic assessment, you have to
consider the following steps. First, identify the learning objectives. “Begin with an end in
mind,” as Covey (2006) would say. This will ensure that the assessment you are designing
is aligned with the objectives and other corresponding materials for instruction. Now that
you are done identifying the objectives, you can already proceed with the second step;
that is, to start conceptualizing what task you wish your students do. Third, identify the
performance criteria. This will allow you to assess whether they have attained the
expected outcome. Developing a rubric goes with it, as well. For the students, this will
serve as their guide on how to accomplish the task. For you as the teacher, this will be for
accurate and easy scoring and giving of feedback.

Suppose that your students are taking up education as their course, you can
discuss with them how to prepare a lesson and ask them to create their own lesson plan
on a particular subject matter, say in English, for eighth-grade learners. In some other
courses, authentic assessment or performance-based assessment can also be applied,
as Shaw (2019) enumerated. For instance, in nursing courses, students may interact with
mock patients and be graded on a performance rubric. Also, law students may participate
in mock trials, or speech students may participate in debates. These performance-based
assessments are authentic because students are doing work equivalent to a real-world
task they may encounter in their profession or area of expertise.

Washback
Another principle that needs to be considered when developing a classroom
assessment is Washback. According to Hughes (1994), Washback is “the effect of testing
on teaching and learning.” Messick (1996) elaborated this, stating that washback is “the
extent to which the introduction and use of a test influences language teachers and
learners to do things they would not otherwise do that promote or inhibit language
learning.” As a teacher, you should bear in mind that the assessments you administer to
your students should or would have an impact to you and to them. With that in mind, you
should aim for the positive one. Preferably, assessment should have a positive
consequence to students; that is, it should motivate them to learn. Assessment should
have a positive consequence to teachers; that is, it should help them improve the
effectiveness of their instruction. If the testing washback, however, turns out to be
negative, it is imperative that the teacher reflect on the matter and make necessary
adjustments with the assessment tool and other related elements.

Applying Principles to the Evaluation of a Classroom Test

The five cardinal principles of language assessment serve as guidelines for
testmakers to not just develop a test but also evaluate one. Common tests administered
in the classroom—such as quizzes, final examinations, and the like—can all be assessed
using such principles. Here are the guide questions or checklists that can be used in
testing a test.

In scrutinizing the practicality of a test, you can refer to the following questions: 1)
Are administrative details clearly established before the test?; 2) Can students complete
the test reasonably with the set time frame?; 3) Can the test be administered smoothly,
without procedural glitches?; 4) Are all materials and equipment ready?; 5) Is the cost of
the test within budgeted limits?; 6) Is the scoring/evaluation system feasible in the
teacher’s time frame?; 7) Are methods for reporting results determined in advance? With
every teacher’s busy life, it is important that he or she ensures the practicality of time
scoring the test; and that it does not consequently damage the other principles applied.

Reliability, on the other hand, can be evaluated with respect to the test and the
rater. Questions, such as the following, can be used in evaluating the test reliabilty: 1)
Does every student have a cleanly photocopied test sheet?; 2) Is the sound amplification
clearly audible to everyone in the room?; 3) Is the video input equally visible to all?; 4)
Are lighting, temperature, extraneous noise, and other classroom conditions equal for all
students?; 5) Is the procedure of scoring objective? As for rater reliability, another set of
questions can be used: 1) Does the rater use consistent sets of criteria for a correct
response?; 2) Does the rater give uniform attention to those sets throughout the
evaluation time?; 3) Does the rater read through tests at least twice to check for your
consistency?; 4) Does the rater go back and apply the same standards to all when he or
she has mid-stream modifications of what he or she consider as a correct response?
Aside from the idea in these questions, rater reliability can also be ensured when the rater
avoids fatigue by reading the tests in several sittings, especially if the time requirement is
a matter of several hours. Such guidelines are helpful in ensuring rater reliability in rating
open-ended responses.

When the validity of a test is evaluated, there are two aspects that need to be
scrutinized: content validity and face validity. Evaluation of content validity may be best
achieved when you are guided by the following questions: 1) Are classroom objectives
identified and approximately framed?; 2) Are lesson objectives in the form of test
specifications? Evaluation of face validity, on another hand, can be done by asking this
question: Is the procedure face valid and biased for best? It is also important to note that
in evaluating a classroom test, ideal procedures before, during, and after the test are
expected to be fulfilled.

In evaluating the authenticity of a classroom test, the following questions can serve
as your guide: 1) Is the language in the test as natural as possible?; 2) Are items
contextualized rather than isolated?; 3) Are topics and situations interesting, enjoyable,
and/or humorous?; 4) Is some thematic organization provided, such as through a storyline
or episode?; 5) Do tasks represent, or closely approximate, real-world tasks? When
applied properly, this would lead to accurate findings that may be helpful in designing
future high quality classroom assessment tools.

Finally, in scrutinizing the washback of an assessment, this question can be used

as your guide: Does the test offer beneficial washback to the learner and the teacher?
Same with other procedures, this would definitely help in upgrading existing tests and
designing tests with good quality in the near future.

III. Conclusion
Designing an assessment tool is part and parcel of the teaching profession. It is a
challenging task. It entails a number of principles to consider, such as the ones discussed
above: validity, reliability, practicality, authenticity, and washback. It may consume a lot
of your time contemplating, planning, and administering. When you are able to come up
with an effective one, however, then other related elements will just fall into place. Just
always remember the words of Dr. David Boud, “We owe it to ourselves and our students to
devote at least as much energy to ensuring that our assessment practices are worthwhile as we
do to ensuring that we teach well.”

IV. References (IPA 7th Edition)

Brown, H. D. (2004). Language assessment principles and classroom practices. Pearson

Longman.

Wiggins, G. (1998). Education assessment: Designing assessments to inform and improve

student performance. Joey-Bass Publishers.

Wiggins, G. (1990). The case for authentic assessment. ERIC Digest.

Mueller, J. (2005). The authentic assessment toolbox: Enhancing student learning through
onlinefacultydevelopment.http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/examples/examples_tasks_e
nglish.htm

University of Florida. (2018). Authentic assessment in online learning.

http://citt.ufl.edu/onlineteaching-resources/assessments/authentic-assessment-in-online-
learning/