Job Discussion Forums

[theincredibleegg]

Anyone else who don't have anything to do with the mid-term test - not even supervising the tests?

[brsmith15]

Huh?

[lf_aristotle69]

[theincredibleegg]

[lf_aristotle69]

I tend to work on competency or skills based EAP and Uni-prep courses, so I always have a hand in students' progressive assessments. I like the responsibility and would also be upset if I was somehow cut out of the assessment process. I know the students and I've taught them. I can also see the changes in their abilities through the semester.

In fact I designed the curriculum and all the assessments (2 stages of mid-terms, covering selected skills areas, and comprehensive finals) for my current position. Previously I've worked on programs where all that was done for me and I merely had to grade the results. Both ways are OK, but meaningful assessment creation is not as easy as it might first seem, if you haven't been trained as a teacher or assessor.

Other, usually conversational English, teachers like not being involved in assessment, if they can avoid it. Why make more work for yourself? Sometimes schools/universities give foreign teachers classes off during assessment periods too. Yippee!

[EDIT]
Furthermore, most middle/high school and even university assessment by foreigners is not valued, in the emotional and the practical sense, in any case! Often they will change your results so everyone passes as well... Some boldly tell you everyone passes, just each students' percentage above 60% differentiates them. It just shows that we (or at least those teaching Conversational English) not are not considered real teachers... The students often know this and act accordingly. Quite a problem in middle/high schools in some cases I've heard of.

LFA

[mondrian]