1.4.

Alternatives in assessment

It is well-known that reading opens doors of knowledge and there is a great variety of
academic resources that may expand our knowledge on certain topics.

Therefore, the first activity that I propose for the study of this topic is analyzing the
information in the following article: EFL Primary School Teachers’ Attitudes,

Knowledge and Skills in Alternative Assessment.

As you may have noticed, the study is focused on investigating female EFL primary school
teachers’ attitudes as well as teachers’ knowledge and skills in alternative assessment. Even
though this study was conducted with primary school teachers, the information of alternative
assessment is useful to have a better understanding of its role and how we can incorporate
this type of assessment in the classroom.

The authors claim that the use of oral questioning, teacher observation, student self and peer-
assessment, role-plays, oral presentations, and portfolios as examples of alternatives in
assessment. In addition to the article, I invite you to watch a video that better illustrates the
alternatives in assessment. Please click the following link to access the video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSfYddYvF_g

I suggest to take some notes from the article and the video in order to have information for
completing the following recommended learning activity.

Recommended learning activity

The information you analyzed in the article and in the video provided you with the opportunity
to increase your knowledge about the great variety of alternatives that can be incorporated in
the EFL classroom. Now you are ready to use the information to make a concept map about
the contents studied. If you prefer feel free to look for some tools on the Internet that may
help you to make the concept map online; for example, you may analyze MIRO concept map
maker, Lucidchart, Canva, and select the most appropriate for you. On the contrary, work in
the traditional way and draw your own concept map using paper and pencil.

1.5. Standards-based assessment and standardized testing

Standards or benchmarks are appropriate and very necessary in language assessment since
they guide teachers on how to help learners to reach certain performance levels. There are
some countries such as China, England, and Japan that have implemented standards-based
education. In Europe and in The United States, standards-based education is being
implemented as well. Standards are beneficial in education because they clarify what students
should know and what they should achieve.

As you may have noticed, this topic is relevant and interesting, thus it deserves further study
because of its importance in the teaching and learning process.

To better illustrate the idea of Standards-based education, please analyze the information in
the following link https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-europeanframework- reference-
languages/level-descriptions since it provides useful information about the CEFR levels. It is
also important to highlight that the set of standards known as the Common European
Framework of Reference (CEFR) for languages helps make foreign language classrooms more
communicative for both teachers and students.
The information provided about the CEFR levels by The Council of Europe also includes some
links to other topics such as The Reference Level Descriptors,

Common Reference levels: Global scale, Common Reference levels: Selfassessment grid, and
Common Reference levels: Qualitative aspects of spoken language use that I suggest to study
for your further use.

As you may have noticed, this topic deserves a lot of attention and there are some resources
available that can be used for increasing our understanding on the topic. For example, I
suggest the videos Standards-Based Assessment for ESL Curriculum
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw60KzQS2jI and Standardized Testing for Second
Language Acquisition https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=qDQJ4isoJzw since they provide
detailed information and clear examples.

After analyzing the information in the resources provided in the las paragraph, it would be
important to establish the difference between language teaching and language assessment. I
suggest to think of some ideas we may consider as part of language teaching and what we
have to consider in language assessment.

After studying the resources provided for this topic, I suggest to analyze The TOEFL and IELTS
proficiency tests and research about their main characteristics.

Recommended learning activity

This time, I suggest to use a KWL chart to help you better understand the information in these
two videos. Even though, it is mostly used in reading activities, a KWL chart is useful when
audio visual material is applied in the classroom.

Before watching the video, please brainstorm some ideas you may know about the topic and
record the information in the K column. Remember that the information provided in the video
is about Standards-Based Assessment and Standardized testing, what do you want to know
about this topic? With the ideas you have, make a list of questions of some possible issues you
would like to learn and record them in the W column. Finally, after watching the video, record
the information that you have learned about Standards-based assessment and Standardized
testing.

Table 5. KWL chart

What I know What I want to Know What I learned

Easy to aminister, score and How to create a good test Organize each section of the
report that focuses on each skill? test well.

Inapropriate use of test
Fomat of quuestions
is the presence of the
teacher essential throughout
the standardized test
process?
How to evaluate the student
in different sections
Exist different kind of test
and it have different sistem
Ensure that test are founded
on solid research

Assess the questions to Are standardized test Standards serve as a

ensure effectiveness, sufficient? guideline for curriculum
reliability, and validity development
 Designing a language On this kind of test
standard requires hous of standards the teacher
research, planning, review, include linguistic and
and training language development,
planning and meaning
instruction

Self-assessment 1

Self-assess your knowledge by choosing the correct answer.

1. __________ is a formal, systematic (usually paper-and-pencil) procedure used to gather
information about student´s achievement.

a. A test

b. An assessment

c. An ongoing process

2. A variety of evidence – eliciting techniques and activities used to evaluate students´ progress
and growth on a daily basis is called:

a. Testing

b. Assessment

c. Evaluation

3. The primary role of __________ test is to determine whether course objectives have been
met -and appropriate knowledge and skills acquired- by the end of a given period of
instruction.

a. a placement

b. an achievement

c. a proficiency

4. Formal assessments are_____________.

a. used to evaluate students in the process of forming their competencies and skills.

b. exercises or procedures specifically designed to tap into a storehouse of skills or knowledge

c. incidental unplanned comments and responses, along with coaching and impromptu
feedback to the student.

5. Informal assessment __________________________________________.

a. is nonjudgmental and ultimate decisions about students’ performance are not made. Here
performance is elicited without recording results.

b. constitutes a set of procedures constructed to give the teacher and student an appraisal of
student achievement.
c. measures what a student has learned by looking back and taking stock of how well that
student has accomplished objectives.

Self-asses your understanding by writing in the letter of the information on the right
that matches the type of assessment or test on the left

6 _e_ Informal assessment

7 _a_ Formative assessment

8 _d_ Proficiency tests

9 _b_ Diagnostic tests

10 _c_Performance-based assessment

a) uses tasks that are meaningful, engaging, and authentic, they also call for integrated
language skills.
b) identify aspects of a language that students need to develop or that a course should
include.
c) focuses on the ongoing development of the learners’ language.
d) look to the future situation of language use without necessarily any reference to the
previous process of teaching.
e) Includes unplanned comments, responses, and impromptu feedback