A CLASS DISCUSSION ON SEMINAR ON ELT SUBJECT DEALS WITHPRACTICAL LASSROOM APPLICATION
ASSESSING, TESTING, AND TEACHING
There are some differences between testing and assessment. A testing is an instrument of procedure designed to elicit performance from students with purpose of measuring their attainment of specific criteria. Tests are almost always identifiable time period in a curriculum when learners muster all their faculties to offer peak performance, knowing that their responses are being measure and evaluate. In the other hand, assessment encompasses a much wider domain than tests. Whenever students respond to a question, offer a comment, or tries out a new word of structure, the teacher makes an assessment of the student’s performance.
There some assessment constructs:
1. Informal Assessment is involved in all incidental, unplanned evaluative coasting and feedback on tasks designed to elicit performance.
2. Formative evaluation: assessing student in the process of learning in order to help them to continue the growth process.
3. Process: formative assessment often implied the observation of the process of learning.
- 1. Formal assessment is exercise or experiences specifically designed to tap into a storehouse of skill and knowledge, usually within a relatively short time limit.
- 2. Summative assessment is conducted to measure what a student has grape. Usually occur in the end of a lesson.
- 3. Product: summative assessment is conducted to know does the student traversed to reach the end product.
RECENT DEVELOPMENT IN CLASSROOM TESTING
1. New Views on Intelligent
Firstly, there are only two of intelligence, (1) Linguistic and (2) Logical-mathematical problem solving. In 1983, Gardner adds five others frame of mind to round out his theory of intelligence:
a. Linguistic intelligence.
b. Logical – mathematical intelligence.
c. Spatial intelligence.
d. Musical intelligence.
e. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence.
f. Interpersonal intelligence.
g. Intrapersonal intelligence.
2. Performance-Based Testing
Performance-based testing of typical school subject involves
3. Interactive Language Testing
The tests have to involve people in actually performing the behavior that we want to measure. Paper-and-pencil multiple-choice test certainly do not involve test-takers in speaking, requesting, responding, etc. In interactive testing involves them in all of the above rather than relying on the assumption that a good paper-and-pencil test-taker is a good overall language performer.
4. Traditional and “Alternative” Assessment
Implied in some of the above description if innovation in classroom language testing is a trend away from highly decontextualied (but practically) test designs.
PRINCIPLES FOR DESIGNING EFFECTIVE CLASSROOM TEST
1. Strategies for Test-taker
The first principle is to offer your student opportunities, useful strategies for taking the test. According to Swain (1984) strategies for the test is as you can see at table 22.3.
2. Face validityFace validity mean that in the students’ perception, the test is valid. Here, we can foster the perception with:
a. A carefully instruction.
b. A test that is clearly from doable.
c. Items those are clear and uncomplicated.
d. Directions must be very clear.
e. Tasks should be familiar and related to their course work.
f. A difficulty level is appropriate for students.
3. Authenticity
Make sure that the language in the test is as natural and authentic as possible, also the task themselves need to be tasks in a form that students have practiced and comfortable with.
4. Wash back
Wash back is the benefit that the tests offer to learning. One way to enhance wash back is to provide a generous number of specific comments on the test performance. Many teachers are in habit after giving tests, students are given a letter of grade or score and considering the job is done. But in reality, a letter grade or score give no information intrinsic interest to the student.
So, the teacher should consider giving more than a number or grade or phrase as your feedback.
SOME PRACTICAL STEPS TO TEST CONSTRUCTION
Maybe, for a new teacher, it will be difficult to create a wonderful innovative instrument. The best tack as a new teacher is to work within the guidelines of accepted, known, traditional testing technique, and slowly, with experiences you will get bolder in your attempt.
Read also Total Physical Response / TPR (Theory Princip)
2. From Your Objectives, Draw up test Specification
Test specification use can be very simple and practical outline of your test. The test specifications will indicate how you divided up the 45-minute test period, what skill you will test, and what the item will look like.
3. Draft Your Test
The advantages for having first draft is knowing what the test will look like, how students will perceive it, the length of the listening stimuli and other practicalities.
4. Revise Your Test
To revise the test, here some important questions to consider:
5. Final-Edit and Type the Test
You would to try out all the tests before actually administering them.
a. Linguistic intelligence.
b. Logical – mathematical intelligence.
c. Spatial intelligence.
d. Musical intelligence.
e. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence.
f. Interpersonal intelligence.
g. Intrapersonal intelligence.
2. Performance-Based Testing
Performance-based testing of typical school subject involves
- - Open-ended problem - experiment
- - Hands-on project - labs
- - Student portfolios - essay writing
Such testing is time-consuming and therefore expensive, but the losses in practically are made up for in higher validity. Students are tested as they actually perform the behavior itself.
3. Interactive Language Testing
The tests have to involve people in actually performing the behavior that we want to measure. Paper-and-pencil multiple-choice test certainly do not involve test-takers in speaking, requesting, responding, etc. In interactive testing involves them in all of the above rather than relying on the assumption that a good paper-and-pencil test-taker is a good overall language performer.
4. Traditional and “Alternative” Assessment
Implied in some of the above description if innovation in classroom language testing is a trend away from highly decontextualied (but practically) test designs.
PRINCIPLES FOR DESIGNING EFFECTIVE CLASSROOM TEST
1. Strategies for Test-taker
The first principle is to offer your student opportunities, useful strategies for taking the test. According to Swain (1984) strategies for the test is as you can see at table 22.3.
2. Face validityFace validity mean that in the students’ perception, the test is valid. Here, we can foster the perception with:
a. A carefully instruction.
b. A test that is clearly from doable.
c. Items those are clear and uncomplicated.
d. Directions must be very clear.
e. Tasks should be familiar and related to their course work.
f. A difficulty level is appropriate for students.
3. Authenticity
Make sure that the language in the test is as natural and authentic as possible, also the task themselves need to be tasks in a form that students have practiced and comfortable with.
4. Wash back
Wash back is the benefit that the tests offer to learning. One way to enhance wash back is to provide a generous number of specific comments on the test performance. Many teachers are in habit after giving tests, students are given a letter of grade or score and considering the job is done. But in reality, a letter grade or score give no information intrinsic interest to the student.
So, the teacher should consider giving more than a number or grade or phrase as your feedback.
SOME PRACTICAL STEPS TO TEST CONSTRUCTION
Maybe, for a new teacher, it will be difficult to create a wonderful innovative instrument. The best tack as a new teacher is to work within the guidelines of accepted, known, traditional testing technique, and slowly, with experiences you will get bolder in your attempt.
Read also Total Physical Response / TPR (Theory Princip)
Here some practical steps to take in constructing classroom tests
1. Test Toward Clear, Unambiguous Objectives
We need to know for sure what it is we wont to test, and the purpose of our test. And also, we must have very clear objective for testing purpose. 2. From Your Objectives, Draw up test Specification
Test specification use can be very simple and practical outline of your test. The test specifications will indicate how you divided up the 45-minute test period, what skill you will test, and what the item will look like.
3. Draft Your Test
The advantages for having first draft is knowing what the test will look like, how students will perceive it, the length of the listening stimuli and other practicalities.
4. Revise Your Test
To revise the test, here some important questions to consider:
- a. Are all the directions absolutely clear?
- b. Is there an example item for each section?
- c. Does each item measure a specific objective?
- d. Is each item stated clear, simple language?
- e. Does each multiple-choice item have appropriate distracters?
- f. Does the difficulty level is appropriate?
- g. Do the all item in the test reflect learning objective?
5. Final-Edit and Type the Test
You would to try out all the tests before actually administering them.
Read also: Final Project Research in Literature: Analysis of Novel The Count of Monte Cristo
6. Utilize Your Feedback After Administering the Test
Take a note of your test in form of feedback and use them for the next test.
7. Work for Wash Back
When you evaluate the test, return it to your student.
ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT OPTION
Assessment is not only for test but also for non-test. For many year, language teacher develop non-test assessment options to distinguish between assessment test and traditional test. Here are some examples of assessment options:
ASSESSMENT AND TESTING: PARTNERS IN THE LEARNING PROCESS
There are some values of assessment in the classroom:
6. Utilize Your Feedback After Administering the Test
Take a note of your test in form of feedback and use them for the next test.
7. Work for Wash Back
When you evaluate the test, return it to your student.
ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT OPTION
Assessment is not only for test but also for non-test. For many year, language teacher develop non-test assessment options to distinguish between assessment test and traditional test. Here are some examples of assessment options:
- Self-and Peer-assessments
- Journal
- Conferences
- Portfolios
- Cooperative Test Construction
ASSESSMENT AND TESTING: PARTNERS IN THE LEARNING PROCESS
There are some values of assessment in the classroom:
- a. Periodic assessment, both formal and informal, can increase motivation.
- b. Assessment can spur learner to set goals for themselves.
- c. Assessment can encourage retention of information through the feedback.
- d. Assessment can encourage students’ self-evaluation of their progress.
- e. Assessment can promote students autonomy as they confirm areas of strength and areas needing further work.
- f. Assessment can aid in evaluating teaching effectiveness.
