Alternative Assessment

<b> Forum for the discussion of assessment and testing of ESL/EFL students </b>

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Alona
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Mar 08, 2006 2:08 pm

Alternative Assessment

Post by Alona » Wed Mar 08, 2006 2:25 pm

Hello

I'm a student in a teacher-training program for EFL teachers. The issue of student assessment is often raised. The standard assessment in our schools is grading according to exams and quizes. The "portfolio" is not as common. From your experience,which assessment tool is more effective and nore efficient? which do you personally prefer to use?

I would really appreciate you input on the subject

Thanks

:)

harmony
Posts: 34
Joined: Tue Sep 12, 2006 2:49 pm
Location: Oman

Post by harmony » Mon Sep 18, 2006 11:53 am

Hi Alona:

You ask a very good question. It is also a very difficult question in many ways due to the existing testing situation in most institutions and the philosophy behind it.

When you ask which is more efficient and effective, for instance, you need to also ask -according to who? The students? The teachers? or the Administrators?

Without a doubt, the most efficient and effective way for administrators is standardized testing because they are easy to administer, allow for advanced statistical analysis, and allow the creation of what appear to be standards.

Many teachers, however, question the authenticity and effectiveness of these tests in terms of actually measuring the language ability they are designed to test. There is a good book by Grant P. Wiggins called Assessing Student Performance: Exploring the Purpose and Limits of Testing that explores this topic quite well.

For my own part, as a teacher who is also involved in administration and creation of tests, I find that a continuous on-going type of assessment that can be documented through a portfolio and that includes student awareness and input towards how they feel and what they think of their own progress that can be expressed in a learning journal is an ideal means of assessment. In this system students, teachers, and administrators share in the decision making progress openly and honestly. Unfortunately, it remains only a dream as I have yet to encounter the institution that is open to trying it out.

Although they try, standardized tests can never come close to providing the quality of assessment information that the above system can provide for many reasons. One of them is that learning is constant, ongoing, changeable, dynamic, organic, and process oriented. This means that what is present and observable with each student changes from moment to moment and the absense of one thing at one time does not equal the absense of that thing all the time. Similarly, the presense of one thing at one time does not equal the presense of that thing all the time. Measuring a student's progress with tests is like trying to capture the beauty of a bird in flight with still photographs. Even with a high speed camera the essence is lost because the beauty is found in the continuous motion of the wings as they flutter, not in the location of the wings at any one time arbitrarily decided upon due to time considerations that fit into a predetermined schedule.

The biggest problem with this, however, is that it requires an entire revamping and reformulation of existing administrative procedures as well as a complete turn around in thinking about testing philosophically. As things stand now, teachers and administrators are not only put into the awkward position of attempting to figure out what is going on the heads of students, but also as gate keepers. As such, they are placed into an advesarial position and are seen as obstacles to be overcome. This results in the desire for cheating and finding a way around assessment on the part of students which, in turn, results in great secrecy and mistrust on the part of teachers and administrators. Most people assume that students are going to cheat by nature and so dismiss the idea of mutual collaboration with students in determining grades and level placements out of hand.

I believe, however, that cheating is a natural result, not of human nature, but of an unfair power imbalance, lack of communication and the withholding of trust. In the system I describe above, honesty and openess from all parties -including students- is required in order for it work. I also believe that should such a system be adopted, all parties concerned would learn a great deal more about human learning and how to see it accurately much faster than they are now because the doors and windows of human interaction will be opened. As things stand now, though, fear and mistrust are keeping those doors closed.

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