Assessment purposes

Classroom Assessment can be defined according to its

purpose; tests can be:
1. Placement tests - tests usually given to a student entering an
educational institution to determine specific knowledge or proficiency
in various subjects for the purpose of assignment to appropriate
courses or classes
2. Achievement tests- tests designed to measure the knowledge or
proficiency of an individual in something that has been learned or
taught over a period of time.
3. Progress tests- These tests measure progress in a specific
textbook series. Teachers usually prepare their own progress tests,
although many textbook series often present some progress or unit
tests.
4. Standardized testing
Standardized testing is any testing which is given to large numbers
of students under standard conditions and with standardized
procedures. Usually they are multiple choice. Today many schools
administer a standardized achievement test to prepare for their
state's annual assessment ( in Romania- BAC )
5. Public examinations and proficiency tests- ( exit tests)
determine what level a student has reached at any one time and are
used by employers and universities who want a reliable measure of a
students language abilities.This type of testing is offered by The
University of Cambridge ESOL, Pitman or Trinity College in the UK
and in the US, the University of Michigan and TOEFL.
Norm-referenced and Criterion-referenced assessment
A distinction in testing is made between norm-referenced and
criterion-referenced assessment as well. A test can be used, for
example, to compare a student with other students, whether locally
(e.g., in a class), regionally, or nationally as in SAT tests. Classroom,
regional, or national norms may be established to interpret just how
one student compares with another. Sometimes teachers speak of
using a curve, which simply means that they test a students
performance in comparison with that of other students in the same
class or in other classes.(contests, Olympiads)
A test can also be used to determine whether a respondent has met
certain instructional objectives or criteria. For this reason, such a test
would be referred to as criterion-referenced assessment.( BAC,
CAMBRIDGE. TOEFL)
Step1.1- GW- Consider a test you are familiar with and briefly
describe its purpose and intended audience.
Answer key- open answer
Step 1.2-GW- Develop a short test covering at least two of the skills-
one oral, one written,one receptive, one productive. In practice this
means that your test should cover either listening and writing or
reading and speaking. Evaluate its effectiveness in relation to its
purpose.Does it meet the needs of the students?
Answer key- open answer
Step 1.3-IW- High jumping is criterion-referenced- can athletes jump
1m 50, 1m 60 or1m 70 , and so on? If they can, they have met the
criterion; if they cant, they havent. Complete the list with other
examples of criterion-referenced tests of language:
1.can students produce Past Tense forms?
2!!!!!!!!!!!
3!!!!!!!!!!!
4!!!!!!!!!!!!
5!!!!!!!!!!!..
Suggested answers- In language testing: can students produce
correct past tense forms? Can students write business letters? Can
students pronounce acceptable consonant sounds?
Norm- referenced tests rank the students( eg. Put them in order from
top to bottom) and often award a pass or fail by either allocating a
pass mark or comparing each students performance with the
average or mean.Give an example of competitive
environment which can reveal assessorsconcern to attain such a
goal.
Suggested answer- contests, olympiads
Step 1.4-IW- Which of the three types of analysis normally preceeds
a proficiency test( deficiency, error or needs analysis? Why?
Answer key- The needs analysis; the language and language skills
needed to study in a certain field/domain