View ELSM 2 UNITS 1 TO 3 flipbook.
COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES After completing Units 1–3, learners should be able to: CILO 1: Explain fundamental concepts, principles, and theories of English language testing and assessment. CILO 2; Analyze different types of English language assessments based on purpose, validity, reliability, and fairness. UNIT 1 INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH LANGUAGE TESTING AND ASSESSMENT Unit Learning Outcomes At the end of this unit, learners should be able to: 1. Define English language testing and assessment. 2. Explain the nature and purposes of assessment. 3. Distinguish testing, assessment, measurement, and evaluation. 4. Explain the role of assessment in English language learning. 5. Identify the importance of assessment in teaching and learning. 1.1 What is English Language Testing? English language testing is the systematic process of measuring a learner's knowledge, skills, or ability to use the English language. It may measure: • Grammar • Vocabulary • Reading • Writing • Listening • Speaking • Pronunciation • Language proficiency
Example A teacher gives a 40-item grammar test to determine whether students understand subject- verb agreement. The test provides evidence about the students' grammatical knowledge. KEY IDEA: Testing is a way of measuring language ability through a structured instrument. 1.2 What is Assessment? Assessment is a broader process of collecting, interpreting, and using information about learners' knowledge, skills, progress, and performance. Assessment may involve: • Tests • Quizzes • Projects • Presentations • Portfolios • Interviews • Observations • Performance tasks • Self-assessment • Peer assessment Example A teacher wants to determine a student's English communication ability. The teacher may use: Speaking activity + written task + observation + presentation Together, these provide a broader picture of the learner's ability. Remember: Testing is PART of assessment. Assessment is broader than testing.
1.3 Testing vs. Assessment Testing Assessment Usually uses a formal test Uses many possible methods Often produces scores Collects broader evidence Usually occurs at a specific point Can be continuous Measures specific abilities Monitors learning and performance One component of assessment Broder process Example A 50-item English exam is a test. A teacher's collection of: • quizzes • observations • essays • presentations • projects • exams is assessment. 1.4 Measurement Measurement refers to assigning numbers or scores to a learner's performance based on established rules. Example: Maria gets: 45/50 on an English test. The score 45/50 represents measurement. Measurement = numbers or scores 1.5 Evaluation Evaluation involves making a judgment or decision based on assessment information.
Example: Maria gets 45/50. The teacher concludes: "Maria has demonstrated a high level of mastery of the lesson." The score is measurement. The judgment about mastery is evaluation. 1.6 Test, Assessment, Measurement, and Evaluation Easy-to-remember sequence: TEST → MEASURE → ASSESS → EVALUATE However, these concepts overlap in practice. Concept Meaning Example Test Instrument used to measure ability English grammar tests Assessment Process of gathering evidence Test + project + observation Measurement Numerical result 45/50 Evaluation Judgement based on evidence “Student achieved mastery.” 1.7 Nature of Assessment Effective assessment has several important characteristics. A. Continuous Assessment can happen throughout the learning process. Example: A teacher uses: Pre-test → Quiz → Activity → Project → Final test B. Systematic Assessment should be planned and organized. The teacher should identify: 1. Learning objectives 2. Skills to be assessed
3. Assessment method 4. Scoring procedure 5. Interpretation of results C. Purposeful Every assessment should have a clear purpose. Example: If the objective is to measure speaking, the teacher should include an appropriate speaking task. D. Learner-centered Assessment should provide information that helps learners improve. Example: A teacher discovers that students have difficulty organizing paragraphs. The teacher then provides additional writing activities. E. Evidence-based Assessment decisions should be supported by actual evidence. Instead of simply saying: "The student is weak in English." The teacher should consider evidence such as: • Test scores • Writing samples • Speaking performance • Reading comprehension • Classroom performance 1.8 Purposes of Assessment: Assessment serves many purposes in English language learning. 1. Identifying Learning Needs: Assessment can identify what students already know and what they still need to learn. 2. Monitoring Progress: It shows whether learners are improving over time. 3. Providing Feedback: It tells learners what they did well and what they need to improve. 4. Guiding Instruction: Teachers can modify their teaching based on assessment results.
5. Determining Achievement: Assessment can determine whether learning objectives have been achieved. 6. Making Educational Decisions: Assessment results may help with: • Placement • Remediation • Promotion • Selection • Instructional planning 1.9 Roles of Assessment in English Language Learning Assessment serves as Diagnostic Tool. Identifies strengths and weaknesses. Instructional Tool helps teachers plan lessons. Feedback Tool provides information for improvement. Motivational Tool encourages students to monitor their progress. Decision-Making Tool supports educational decisions. APPLICATIONSituation A teacher will begin a lesson on English tenses. Before teaching, the teacher gives students a short test. The results show: • 90% understand simple present. • 75% understand simple past. • 40% understand present perfect. Question: What should the teacher do? Answer: The teacher should use the results to identify areas that need additional instruction, particularly present perfect tense. This demonstrates the diagnostic role of assessment.
UNIT 2 TYPES OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT Unit Learning Outcomes At the end of this unit, learners should be able to: 1. Identify major types of English language assessment. 2. Explain the purpose of each assessment type. 3. Distinguish diagnostic, formative, and summative assessment. 4. Distinguish norm-referenced and criterion-referenced assessment. 5. Explain alternative assessment. 6. Select an appropriate assessment for a given situation. 2.1 Diagnostic Assessment Diagnostic assessment is used to identify learners' prior knowledge, strengths, weaknesses, needs, and difficulties. It is commonly administered before instruction or at the beginning of a learning sequence. Purpose To determine what learners need to learn. Examples • Pre-test • Diagnostic quiz • Initial writing task • Reading screening • Oral interview Example Before teaching essay writing, students are asked to write a paragraph. The teacher discovers that many students have difficulty: • Writing topic sentences • Organizing ideas • Using transitions The teacher can address these areas.
KEYWORD: DIAGNOSTIC = IDENTIFY 2.2 Formative Assessment Formative assessment takes place during instruction and is used to monitor and improve learning. Purpose To determine how learning can be improved while instruction is ongoing. Examples • Short quizzes • Exit tickets • Question-and-answer activities • Draft checking • Peer feedback • Teacher observation Example Students write an introduction for an essay. The teacher reviews the drafts and provides feedback. Students revise their introductions. This is formative assessment because the information is used to improve the learning process. KEYWORD: FORMATIVE = IMPROVE 2.3 Summative Assessment Summative assessment is generally administered at the end of a unit, course, term, or learning period to determine the extent of achievement.
Purpose To determine what learners have achieved. Examples • Final examination • Quarterly examination • Final project • End-of-unit test • Final presentation Example After completing a unit on persuasive writing, students write a final persuasive essay. The teacher evaluates the final product using a rubric. This is summative assessment. KEYWORD: SUMMATIVE = ACHIEVEMENT 2.4 Diagnostic vs Formative vs Summative Type When? Purpose Diagnostic Before/beginning Identify needs Formative During Improve learning Summative End Determine achievement Memory Guide: D → F → S Diagnostic → Formative → Summative Identify → Improve → Judge achievement 2.5 Norm-Referenced Assessment Norm-referenced assessment interprets a learner's performance by comparing it with the performance of a reference group.
Main question: "How did the learner perform compared with others?" Example A student gets a score that places them in the top 10% of the group. The interpretation is based on the student's position relative to other test takers. Common purposes: • Ranking • Selection • Competitive testing • Large-scale testing KEYWORD: NORM = GROUP 2.6 Criterion-Referenced Assessment Criterion-referenced assessment interprets performance according to predetermined standards, criteria, or learning objectives. Main question: "Did the learner meet the required standard?" Example Learning objective: Students must identify at least 8 out of 10 main ideas correctly. A student gets 9/10. The student has met the criterion. The result does not depend on how other students performed. KEYWORD: CRITERION = STANDARD
2.7 Norm-Referenced vs Criterion-Referenced Norm-Referenced Criterion-Referenced Compares learners Compares performance with standards Focuses on relative position Focuses on mastery Group is important Criteria are important Used for ranking Used to determine achievement Memory: NORM = OTHERS CRITERION = STANDARD 2.8 Alternative Assessment Alternative assessment includes assessment approaches that go beyond traditional selected- response or paper-and-pencil testing. It often requires learners to demonstrate knowledge and skills through meaningful activities. Examples: • Portfolio • Project • Performance task • Presentation • Interview • Role-play • Journal • Self-assessment • Peer assessment Portfolio Assessment A portfolio is a purposeful collection of student work demonstrating learning and/or progress. Example: An English portfolio contains: 1. First draft 2. Teacher comments 3. Revised draft 4. Final essay 5. Student reflection The portfolio shows development over time.
Performance Assessment Students demonstrate their skills through an actual performance. Example: Instead of answering only grammar questions, students participate in an English job interview simulation. The teacher assesses: • Grammar • Vocabulary • Fluency • Pronunciation • Appropriateness Self-Assessment Learners evaluate their own performance. Example: After a presentation, students rate themselves based on: • Preparation • Pronunciation • Confidence • Organization • Language use Peer Assessment Learners evaluate the work of classmates using established criteria. Example: Students exchange essays and use a rubric to provide feedback.
APPLICATION ACTIVITY Situation: A teacher wants to know whether students can use English in a realistic situation. The students are asked to perform a restaurant conversation. One student acts as the customer, while another acts as the server. Assessment Type: Alternative/Performance Assessment Why? Because students demonstrate language ability through an actual performance rather than answering only traditional test questions. It can also be: Authentic, because the situation resembles real-life communication.
UNIT 3 PRINCIPLES OF QUALITY ASSESSMENT Unit Learning Outcomes At the end of this unit, learners should be able to: 1. Define validity, reliability, authenticity, practicality, and fairness. 2. Explain the importance of each principle. 3. Analyze an assessment based on quality principles. 4. Identify weaknesses in assessment design. 5. Recommend improvements to assessment practices. 3.1 VALIDITY Validity refers to the extent to which an assessment measures the intended construct or learning outcome and supports appropriate interpretations of its results. Simple meaning: VALIDITY = MEASURING THE RIGHT THING Example Learning objective: Students will demonstrate speaking ability. Appropriate assessment: Students participate in an English conversation. This has stronger alignment with the objective than a test consisting only of written grammar questions. Content Validity Content validity concerns whether the assessment adequately represents the relevant content and skills. Example If a unit teaches: • Reading • Vocabulary
• Grammar • Writing A final assessment should adequately represent the intended learning outcomes rather than focusing entirely on one minor topic. Construct Validity Construct validity concerns whether the assessment actually measures the ability or construct it claims to measure. Example: A speaking test should primarily measure speaking ability rather than students' ability to understand unnecessarily complex written instructions. 3.2 RELIABILITY Reliability refers to the consistency and dependability of assessment results. Simple meaning: RELIABILITY = CONSISTENCY Example Two teachers use the same writing rubric to score the same essay. Teacher A: 85 Teacher B: 86 The scores are very similar, suggesting good scoring consistency. Factors That Can Affect Reliability 1. Ambiguous questions Students may interpret questions differently. 2. Too few items A very short test may provide limited evidence. 3. Inconsistent scoring Different teachers may assign very different scores.
4. Poor testing conditions Noise and interruptions can affect performance. 5. Unclear scoring criteria Without a rubric, subjective tasks can become less consistent. 3.3 AUTHENTICITY Authenticity refers to how closely an assessment task reflects meaningful and realistic language use. Simple meaning: AUTHENTICITY = REAL-LIFE LANGUAGE USE Example Instead of asking: "Define the word application." Students complete an actual or simulated job application in English. This requires meaningful language use. Authenticity in Different Skills Reading: Reading an actual announcement and identifying: • Date • Time • Location • Instructions Writing: Writing a formal email requesting information. Speaking: Participating in a mock interview. Listening: Listening to an announcement and identifying important information.
3.4 PRACTICALITY Practicality refers to how feasible an assessment is in terms of time, resources, cost, administration, and scoring. Simple meaning: PRACTICALITY = CAN WE REALISTICALLY DO IT? Example A teacher has 50 students and only one hour. Requiring every student to complete a 20-minute individual interview would not be practical. The teacher may instead use: • Pair speaking tasks • Short individual responses • Structured rubrics • Rotating stations 3.5 FAIRNESS Fairness means that learners should have an equitable opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skills. Assessment should avoid irrelevant barriers and inappropriate bias. Simple meaning: FAIRNESS = EQUITABLE OPPORTUNITY Example: If the objective is reading comprehension, the test should not make students fail simply because the instructions contain unnecessarily difficult language unrelated to the reading skill being measured.
3.6 The Five Principles of Quality Assessment Remember: V-R-A-P-F Principle Meaning Key Question Validity Measures the intended skill Am I measuring the right thing? Reliability Consistent results Are the results dependable? Authenticity Real-world relevance Does it reflect real language use? Practicality Feasibility Can we realistically administer it? Fairness Equitable opportunity Is it fair to learners? APPLICATION Scenario” A teacher wants to assess students' ability to communicate in English. The teacher gives students a mock job interview. Students are scored using a rubric covering: • Fluency • Grammar • Vocabulary • Pronunciation • Appropriate responses Analyze the assessment. Validity: The task directly assesses oral communication. Reliability: A clear rubric helps make scoring more consistent. Authenticity: A job interview is a realistic communication situation. Practicality: The teacher must consider class size and available time. Fairness: Students should receive the same instructions and reasonable opportunities to demonstrate their ability.
CILO 1 — LEARNING CHECK Explain the following concepts in your own words: 1. English language testing 2. Assessment 3. Measurement 4. Evaluation 5. Diagnostic assessment 6. Formative assessment 7. Summative assessment 8. Norm-referenced assessment 9. Criterion-referenced assessment 10. Alternative assessment 11. Validity 12. Reliability 13. Authenticity 14. Practicality 15. Fairness CILO 2 — ANALYSIS TASK Read each situation and identify the most appropriate assessment type or quality principle. Situation 1: Before starting a lesson, the teacher gives students a short test to identify their weaknesses in grammar. Answer: Diagnostic Assessment Situation 2: During an essay-writing lesson, the teacher checks students' drafts and gives feedback for revision. Answer: Formative Assessment Situation 3; At the end of the semester, students take a comprehensive English examination. Answer: Summative Assessment Situation 4: Students are ranked according to their performance compared with the rest of the group. Answer: Norm-Referenced Assessment Situation 5: Students must achieve 80% of the specified learning objectives to demonstrate mastery. Answer: Criterion-Referenced Assessment
Situation 6: Students create a portfolio containing their English writing from the beginning to the end of the semester. Answer: Alternative Assessment Situation 7: A speaking test actually measures students' ability to communicate orally. Answer: Validity Situation 8: Two teachers using the same rubric give almost identical scores to the same essay. Answer: Reliability Situation 9: Students participate in a realistic English job interview. Answer: Authenticity Situation 10: The teacher chooses an assessment that can be completed and scored within the available class time. Answer: Practicality Situation 11: The assessment provides learners with an equitable opportunity to demonstrate their skills. Answer: Fairness CILO 1 + CILO 2 MASTER REVIEW CILO 1: EXPLAIN You should be able to explain: What is assessment? What is testing? What is measurement? What is evaluation? What are the different assessment types? What makes an assessment high-quality?
CILO 2: ANALYZE You should be able to look at an assessment situation and determine: What is its purpose? What type of assessment is it? Is it valid? Is it reliable? Is it authentic? Is it practical? Is it fair? FINAL MEMORY MAP UNIT 1 — CONCEPTS: Testing → Assessment → Measurement → Evaluation Know WHAT assessment is and WHY it is used. UNIT 2 — TYPES D → F → S Diagnostic → Formative → Summative N → C Norm → Criterion Alternative Portfolio → Project → Performance → Self/Peer Assessment
UNIT 3 — QUALITY V → R → A → P → F Validity = Right thing Reliability = Consistent Authenticity = Real-life Practicality = Feasible Fairness = Equitable Overall connection: UNIT 1 = What is assessment? UNIT 2 = What types of assessment can we use? UNIT 3 = What makes an assessment good and appropriate? _____________________________________________________________________________________ English Language Testing and Assessment is an essential component of English Language Studies because it provides systematic evidence of learners' language knowledge, skills, progress, and proficiency. Unit 1 establishes the fundamental concepts of testing and assessment; Unit 2 introduces different assessment types according to their purposes; and Unit 3 explains the principles of quality assessment through validity, reliability, authenticity, practicality, and fairness. Together, the three units emphasize that effective English language assessment should not simply produce scores. It should accurately measure language abilities, provide useful feedback, guide instruction, support learners' development, and reflect meaningful language use.