Assessment Criteria in FLT

Duration: Two hours

Name: Aigul Shalova (МА21 каз группа)

Instructions

(i) Please answer the questions in your own words not the words in the book or other
sources. You need to paraphrase. You will be penalized for using wording directly
from the book or other sources.
(ii) You are not allowed to use laptop or mobile phone during the exam.
(iii) You may use the textbook and/or paper copies of Power point slides from class sessions
or other handouts
(iv) Please write clearly or type in the space provided under each question.
(v) You must answer all the questions.

1. Define the terms ‘testing’ and ‘assessment’ and compare them.

Testing and assessment are two different terms.

A test is a “product” that measures a particular behavior or set of objectives whereas assessment is seen as
a procedure instead of a product. Testing is actually one of the ways to assess something. Testing means to
put a person or thing through trial in order to determine its worth or quality.
Assessment is used during and after the instruction has taken place. Assessment actually means that to
check the value of something using a variety of different tools. The purpose of assessment is to increase
quality.
5 points

2. Define five different types and purposes of language tests. Which ones do you apply in your class
and why? Give relevant examples.
Generally, there are five types of language tests: placement tests, diagnostic tests, achievement tests,
proficiency tests and aptitude tests.
Placement tests purposes – to know exactly what language program or course the students needs to
register.
For diagnostic purposes – to detect language weakness or language learning difficulties and modify
language teaching accordingly.  
The aim of achievement language test is to measure learner’s language and skill progress in relation to the
syllabus they have been following.
Proficiency tests provide an opportunity to test the language skills of the learners when the testing
objectives are tied not to the instructional objectives, but to abilities in a language regardless of any
specific instruction in it.
Aptitude tests goal is to determine a learner’s capacity to learn a language.
In my class, I usually apply diagnostic tests. I can identify learners’ strengths and weaknesses in the
language. These are closely related to the syllabuses of the specific classes and are also used in learning
centres or self-access study programs to help students themselves decide where to focus their attention.

10 points

3. What are the principles of assessment? Explain why it is important to follow them.
There are five major principles of language assessment; practically, reliability, validity, authenticity,
and wash back. Teaching is not only about delivering knowledge to the students but also about
constructing students' understanding. For most of us, these principles remain undefined unless we are
forced to think about them. They are a result of our upbringing and life experiences, and are therefore
invisible to us, like water is to fish.
Principles are important for the governing of actions and the operation of techniques in any field of
education.
10 points

1
4. Define Summative and formative assessment and give your examples. Provide examples from your
own experience as a teacher or as a learner?
Formative assessment refers to tools that identify misconceptions, struggles, and learning gaps along
the way and assess how to close those gaps. It includes effective tools for helping to shape learning.
Summative assessments evaluate student learning, knowledge, proficiency, or success at the
conclusion of an instructional period, like a unit, course, or program.
Examples of formative assessments: in-class discussions, 1-minute reflection writing assignments;
homework assignments, surveys; questioning. Examples of summative assessments: instructor-created
exams; final projects; final presentations; final grades; portfolios. I always use these kinds of
assessments in my classes.
10 points
5. What are test specifications and why do you need them?
Test specifications provide information on how the academic standards are addressed on a test
and contain specific rules and characteristics that guide the development of a test's content and
format. The test specifications for an exam program provide essential planning materials for the test
development process.
When the specifications for a new test are planned, the underlying aim is always to produce a test
which is valid ( the test should offer an appropriate way of measuring what it claims to measure);
is reliable ( the results produced should be as free as possible from errors of measurement);
has impact (the effect it has on individuals and on classroom practice should be positive);
is practical ( the demands it makes on the resources of the test developer and the test administrator
should be compatible with the resources available). During planning these factors always need to be
kept in mind, and an acceptable balance among them must be achieved.
5 points
6. What are the stages of designing listening and reading tests. What kind of tasks do you use in each
stage of designing them?
To design listening tests we need the following stages:
Pre-listening: transcription
While – listening: Note-taking
Post-listening: completing table/map/diagram
Reaction to listening: writing a brief report/summary
To design reading tests we need the following stages:
Pre-reading: scanning, picture-cues items
While- reading: reading aloud; note-taking;
Post-reading: gap-filling tasks
Reaction to reading: summarizing
Use only one type of testing technique (e.g. matching, short-answer questions, true/false/not stated,
information transfer, gap filling, etc.)
• The task must include as many items as the text supports (minimum 5 items)
• Provide an answer key
• Provide clear instructions and indicate the scoring of the items
• Design the layout carefully (e.g. do not forget to provide space for the answers)
• Do not edit the text for content but feel free to make formal changes to suit the task (e.g. take out
words/clauses/sentences when designing a matching task)
• Choose your target CEFR level and indicate it clearly

5 points
2
 7. Define holistic and analytic scales for assessing productive skills. Discuss advantages and
disadvantages of each scale.
Analytic assessment involves assessing different aspects of student performance, such as mechanics,
grammar, style, organisation, and voice in student writing. One of the main advantage in using analytic
scale is that it gives results that are more detailed. It is much easier for the tutor to discuss the strengths and the
weaknesses of the students with either the student or the parent. A disadvantage of the scale is that it takes a
lot time because it is much detailed.
Holistic assessment means making an overall assessment, considering all criteria simultaneously.
One of the major advantages of holistic scale is that they give a general idea of the achievements made by a
student. The major disadvantage in using holistic rubrics is that they are not adequate in planning instructions,
as they do not consider the strengths and weaknesses of a student’s product.

5 points

8. Discuss types of feedback you learned in the classroom. Which ones do you use in your class? Give
relevant examples from your experience.
Feedback is information about the gap between the actual level and the reference level of a system parameter,
which is used to after the gap in some way.
Motivational feedback is used to encourage and support the students evaluate and to measure students’
achievements with a score or a grade.
Descriptive feedback tells the students how to correct their reason: to improve learning by indicating to the
student what needs to be improved.
Actionable feedback asks the students to move their learning to the next level and gives them ideas on how to
improve leaning by moving students’ reason to the next level.
I mostly use motivational feedback because this will motivate them to continue improving their skills.
Examples: “Your job has been amazing! You really care about your study and you seem to really take the time
to do it the best you can. I’m excited to see your development!”
5 points

9. The following writing task was given to year 1 business students at a university.

These days many people prefer to online dating to traditional face-to-face one. What’s your view?
Which one do you prefer?

Write an essay.

What do you think of the task? Explain your view drawing on your reading. Would you set this task as it is or
would you modify? Why?

The 21st century has brought a whole new life to the world of dating. Traditionally, when a person
wanted to date, she would have to actually meet a person and set up a date from there. That manner did
not leave a lot of options open. To my mind, people who have ever used a dating site or app also have
a more positive assessment of relationships forged online. Traditional dating allows you to gather
some really important information about a person you're interested in. First impressions mean
everything, but when comparing traditional dating to online dating, first impressions are two different
things. Traditional dating relies on finding a person that is attractive to the eye first. With online
dating, first impressions are shaped by other factors, such as age, career and hobbies because there is
no face-to-face contact initially. Online dating is more significant if you are not a naturally outgoing
person, meeting new people can be hard. That's where dating online can help you--with a protective
computer screen between you and the girl you're chatting to, it's much easier to open up without
feeling nervous the way you might in person. As for me I prefer traditional face –to-face dating.
20 points
3
 10. A foreign translation company has entered the Kazakhstani market. They would like to hire 10 employees.
They have asked you, as a language expert, to help them with examining their candidates’ English languages
skills.

Explain what sort of assessment tasks (Type of test) you would set to assess candidates’ English language skills.
Provide examples of the tasks.

The overall purpose of any form of language testing is to sample the language abilities of candidates in

such a way that a realistic representation of their skills and abilities. For a formal selection test, for
example, where important decisions are being made about people’s jobs, reliability and validity will be
a priority.
If I were asked to help a foreign company with examining their candidates’ English languages skills, I would
begin with talking to them. First, I would take a placement test in order to check their grammar and vocabulary
skills. Then there would be a questionnaire where candidates answer some important questions according their
jobs.

25 points

Total 100 points