PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

By
Indyra Mahdiana (181002007)

A. Definition of Performance Assessment

There are many definitions of performance assessment based on some experts. Some
of them are:
1. Stiggins (1987) stated that performance assessments can be defined as kind of
assessment in which the examinee are asked to demonstrate specific skills and
competencies, that is, to apply the skills and knowledge they have mastered.
2. Mueller (2017) defined performance assessment as a form of assessment in which
students are asked to perform real-world tasks that demonstrate meaningful application
of essential knowledge and skills.

Based on some definitions about performance assessment above, we can conclude that
performance assessment generally can be defined as a kind of assessment that provide
some tasks indicate students to perform in real situation. Performance assessment also
called as alternative assessment or direct assessment. Moreover, related to English
language teaching, performance assessment can be defined as a form of assessment which
enables students to demonstrate specific skills and competencies by performing or
producing something in English language learning to examine students’ English skill
level.

B. The Use of Performance Assessment

The performance assessment enables students to use their knowledge and apply skills in
realistic situations. It also measures students’ skill in the context of practical tasks.
Furthermore, performance assessment focuses on the process students engaged in a task by
performing or doing some activities, enabling them to solve problems and make decisions
throughout the learning process. In addition, performance assessment stimulates the
development of other important dimensions of learning, namely the affective, social and
metacognitive aspects of learning.

Linn and Burton (1994) in Abedi (2010) have indicated, performance assessments have
appeal as assessments that better reflect good instructional activities, are often thought to be
more engaging for students, and are better reflections of criterion performances that are of
importance outside the classroom. In line with this, Darling-Hammond (2006) in Abedi
(2010) indicated performance assessments that require students to evaluate and solve
complex problems, conduct research, write extensively, and demonstrate their learning in
projects, papers, and exhibitions have proven key to motivate students and attain high levels
of learning.
 Performance assessment is also instructional, allowing students to actively engage in
worthwhile learning activities within the classroom. In performance assessment settings,
students may be encouraged to seek out additional information in some situations. These
assessment strategies are all beneficial for English language learners as the students benefit
from engagement in classroom activities. Teachers who use this kind of assessment believe
that students demonstrate their real learning and understanding by performing tasks or
creating products. This is because performance assessments require students to use higher-
order thinking skills like analysis, synthesis, problem solving, and critical thinking in order to
create the responses or perform the tasks (Tsagari, 2004; VanTassel-Baska, 2013) in Espinosa
(2015). Many educators also prefer to use performance assessment since it includes
meaningful, challenging, and engaging tasks that simulate real-world contexts, and combine
language abilities with knowledge and skills of different content-areas.

C. Implementation of Performance Assessment in ELT

The process of implementing performance assessment in ELT can be divided into some three
simple steps below:

1. List the specific skills and knowledge you wish students to demonstrate.
Teachers should identify the goals (types of knowledge and skills) students are
expected to reach in each teaching unit. This step is quite simple, since the knowledge
and skills a student needs are the Curriculum’s standards and benchmarks in the
various domains. Once this list is compiled, the teaching goals to be assessed through
performance tasks (as opposed to other assessment tools) should be selected.

2. Design a performance task that requires students to demonstrate these skills and
this knowledge.
Teachers should set tasks that will demonstrate which language knowledge and skills
have been developed. The students’ performance on these tasks should illustrate what
they have learned and the degree to which they have achieved the teaching goals.
Performance tasks should be motivating, challenging and appropriate to students’
language level and cognitive ability. Foundation level tasks will be simple and
structured, and as students become more proficient and independent, the tasks will
become more complex and less structured. The tasks should be related to real-life
experiences. Some list of performance task types can be in the form of song contest,
poetry contest, joke contest, game show, speech, debate, writing article, and many
others.

3. Develop explicit performance criteria and expected performance levels

measuring students’ mastery of skills and knowledge (rubrics).
Determine criteria for successful task mastery. Teacher can use some checklists or
rubrics that specify criteria relevant to each language skill.
References :
Espinosa, L. F . 2015. Effective Use of Performance-based Assessments to Identify English
Knowledge and Skills of EFL Students in Ecuador. Theory and Practice in Language
Studies. 5 (12). pp. 2441-2447.
Abedi, J. (2010). Performance Assessments For English Language Learners. Stanford, CA:
Stanford University, Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education.
http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/whatisit.htm Accessed on October 11, 2018