TSL3123 Language Assessment

1. Overview of Assessment: Context, Issues and Trends

Definition of Terms:

Test

A subset of assessment intended to measure a test-takers language proficiency,

knowledge, performance or skills.

A type of assessment techniques.

A systematically prepared procedure.

A process of quantifying a test-takers performance.

Measurement

The assigning of numbers to certain attributes of objects, events, or people

according to a rule-governed system.

Must be conducted according to explicit rules and procedures as spelled out in

test specifications, criteria, and procedures for scoring.

The process of quantifying the observed performance.

Consist of written descriptions, oral feedback, and non-quantifiable reports.

Evaluation

Involved when the results of a test or other assessment procedure are used for
decision-making.

Involves the interpretation of information.

The focus is often on describing processes, individuals, and groups, and the
relationships among language use, the language use situation, and language
ability.

Can occur without measurement.

Eg: a teacher appraises a students correct oral response.

Assessment

A comprehensive process of planning, collecting, analysing, reporting, and using

information on students over time.

An ongoing process.

2. Role and Purposes of Assessment in Teaching and Learning

Reasons/Purposes of Assessment
To inform and guide instruction.
Allows a teacher to determine which instructional strategies are effective and
which need to be modified.
To improve classroom practice, plan curriculum, and research ones own teaching
practice.
To provide information to children, parents, and administrators.
To measure student achievement, examine the opportunity for children to learn.
Provide the basis for the evaluation of the districts language programmes.
Used to measure proficiency, placing students into one of several levels of course.
Diagnosing students strengths and weaknesses.
Classroom-based teacher-made tests: to diagnose difficulty/measure achievement
in a given unit of a course.

Assessment of Learning
The use of a task or an activity to measure, record, and report on a students level
of achievement in regards to specific learning expectations.
Take place at a point in time for the purpose of summarising the current status of
student achievement.
Known as summative assessment.
Provide the focus to improve student achievement.
Give everyone the information they need to improve student achievement.
To motivate teachers to work harder to teach and learn.

Assessment for Learning

Intended to promote further improvement of student learning during the learning
process.
Known as formative and diagnostic assessments.
The use of a task or an activity for the purpose of determining student progress
during a unit or block of instruction.
Testing frequently.
Most effective when students are involved in their own assessment and goal
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3. Basic Testing Terminology

Norm-Referenced and Criterion Referenced Test

Norm-Referenced Test
A test that measures

Criterion-Referenced Test
An approach that provides

students achievement as

information on students

compared to other students in

mastery based on a criterion

the group.
Determine performance

specified by the teacher.

Determine learning mastery

difference among individual

based on specified criterion

and groups.
From easy to difficult level.

and standard.
Guided by minimum

Able to discriminate

achievement in the related

Frequency

examinees ability.
Continuous assessment in

objectives.
Continuous assessment.

Appropriateness

the classroom
Summative evaluation.

Formative evaluation.

Example

Public exams: UPSR, PMR,

Mastery test: monthly test,

SPM, STPM.

coursework, project,

Definition

Purpose

Test item

exercises in the classroom.

Formative Test
A kind of feedback teachers give students while the course is progressing.
Assessment for learning.
Continual feedback the teacher may assist students to improve their
performance.
Based on the results, teachers can suggest changes to the focus of
curriculum/emphasis on some specific lesson elements.

Summative Test
Measurement that summarise what the student has learnt or give a one-off
measurement.
Assessment of student learning.
Carried out individually.
The results are used to yield a school report and to determine what students know
and do not know.
May provide straightforward and invaluable results for teachers to analyse.
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4. Basic Principles of Assessment

Characteristics of a Test:
1. Reliability:
The degree to which an assessment tool produces stable and consistent results.
A reliable test:
a) Consistent and dependable.
b) Gives clear directions for scoring/evaluation.
c) Has uniform rubrics for scoring/evaluation.
d) Consistent application of those rubrics.
e) Unambiguous item/tasks.
a) Rater Reliability
i.

Inter-rater reliability
o

The degree of similarity between different tester or rater;

can be two or more testers/raters, without influencing one
another, give the same marks to the same set of scripts.

o
ii.

Involves two or more raters.

Intra-rater reliability
o

It is an internal factor.

Main aim is consistency within the rater.

Involves a single rater.

b) Test Administration Reliability

o

Unreliability occurs due to outside interference like noise, variations

in photocopying, temperature, the amount of light, and even the
condition of desks and chairs.

c) Factors influencing Reliability

i.

Test length factors

o

Longer tests produce higher reliabilities.

A valid test is said to be reliable but a reliable test need not

be valid.

ii.

Teacher-student factors
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5. Designing Classroom Language Test

Stages of Test Construction

7 steps include:
i.

Determining

To make oneself perfectly clear about what it is one wants to know

and for what purpose.

ii.

Who the examinees

What kind of test

The precise purpose

Abilities to be tested

Detailed and accuracy of the results

The important of backwash effect

The constraints

The scope of the test

Planning

Based on the set of specification of the test.

Include the content, format and timing, criteria, levels of

performance, and scoring procedures.

iii.

Writing

Characteristics of test items writers:

o

Experienced in test construction

Quite knowledgeable of the content of the test.

Should the capacity in using language clearly and

economically.

Ready to sacrifice time and energy.

Basic aspect in writing test item is sampling.

Sampling test constructors choose widely from the whole area of

the course content.

iv.

Preparing

One has to understand the major principles, techniques and

experience of preparing the test items.

Test writers should try to avoid test items which can be answered
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6. Assessing Language Skills and Content

Types of Test Items to assess language skills:

Listening

2 kinds of listening tests:

Tests that test specific aspects of listening (eg: sound

discrimination).

Task based tests which test skills in accomplishing different types

of listening tasks.

4 types of listening performance from which assessment could be

considered:

Intensive
o

Listening for perception of the components (phonemes,

words, intonation, discourse markers, etc.) of a; larger
stretch of language.

Responsive
o

Listening to a relatively short stretch of language (greeting,

question, command, comprehension check, etc.) to make
short response.

Selective
o

Processing stretches of discourse such as short

monologues for several minutes in order to scan for certain
information.

Not necessarily to look for general meaning but to be able

to comprehend information in a context of longer stretches
of spoken language.

Eg: classroom direction from a teacher, TV or radio news,

stories.

Extensive
o

Listening to develop top-down, global understanding of

spoken language.

Speaking

Listening for gist or main idea and making inferences.

7. Scoring, Grading and Assessment Criteria

Approaches of Scoring:
Objective
Relies on quantified methods of evaluating students writing.
Sample of how objective scoring is conducted:

Establish standardization

Identify the elements to be assessed

Operationalise the assessment

Quantify the assessment

Holistic
The reader reacts to the students compositions as a whole.
A single score is awarded to the writing.
Normally the score is on a scale of 1-4, or 1-6, or 1-10.
Each score on the scale accompanied with general descriptors of ability.
This scale are expected to pay attention to vocabulary, meaning,
organisation, topic development and communication.
Primary trait scoring a particular functional focus is selected which is
based on the purpose of the writing and grading is based on how well the
student is able to express that function.
It emphasises functional and communicative ability.
Analytic
It is a familiar approach to many teachers.
Raters assess students performance on a variety of categories which are
hypothesised to make up the skill of writing.
There are some possible components used in assessing writing ability:

Content

Organisation

Vocabulary

Language used

Mechanics

8. Item Analysis and Interpretation

Basic Statistics:
2 kinds of measures:

Measures of central tendency

Measures of dispersion

Both are useful in score reporting.

Central tendency measures the extent to which a set of scores gathers around.
3 major measures of central tendency:
i.

Mode

ii.

The most frequently occurring raw score in a set of scores.

Eg: 1,2,4,4,5,6,4,8,8 so the mode is 4.

Median

The score that is in the middle of the set of scores when the scores
are arranged in ascending or descending order.

If there is no one score in the middle, we need to take the two in

the middle, add them up and divide two.

iii.

Mean

The arithmetic mean or average and is calculated as SX/N where

S(sigma) the sum of; X the raw or observed scores; N the
number of observed scores.

Standard Deviation

Refers to how much the scores deviate from the mean.

2 methods of calculating:
a) The deviation method

( x x )2
n1
b) The raw score method

( x ) 2 ( x ) 2 / N
N 1

9. Reporting of Assessment Data

Purposes of Reporting
Main purpose of test is to obtain information concerning a particular
behaviour/characteristic.
Different types of decisions can be made from the information obtained:
i.

Instructional decisions
Made based on test results.
To maintain/re-evaluate instructional approach.
Purpose evaluate the effectiveness of the teaching/instructional
approach (implement necessary changes).

ii.

Grading decisions
Teachers have to produce an assessment guidelines to grade
pupils.
Pupils were to be given the grades according to their performance.

iii.

Diagnostic decisions
Uses tests to find out the strengths and weaknesses of pupils.
Provide scaffolding/enrichment/remedial activities.

iv.

Selection decisions
To judge the test-takers whether they have the basic requirement to
enter a course/programme/institution.
Eg: having at least a C in English subject in order to enter English
course in IPG.

v.

Placement decisions
Place candidates/test-takers based on their performance.
Eg: (1) KSSR band system pupils were group according to their
band; (2) Pupils grade represent what class they are going to be
placed.

vi.

Counselling and guidance decisions

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10. Issues and Concerns related to assessment in Malaysian primary schools

1. Exam-oriented System
The educational administration in Malaysia is highly centralised with 4 hierarchical
levels: federal (KPM), state (JPN), district (PPD), and school.
Current education system too examination-oriented.
Focused on public examination results important determinants of students
progression.
The examined Curriculum:
1) In parallel with the KSSR, the LP rolled out the new PBS format to be
more holistic, robust, and aligned to the new standard-referenced
curriculum.
2) There are 4 components of PBS:

School assessment
o

Written test that assess subject learning.

Test questions and marking schemes are developed,

administered, scored, and reported by school teacher
based on LP guidance.

Central assessment
o

Written tests, project work, or oral tests that assess subject

learning.

LP develops the test questions and marking schemes.

Administered and marked by school teachers.

Psychometric assessment
o

Aptitude tests and a personality inventory to assess

students skills, interests, aptitude, attitude and personality.

Aptitude to assess students innate and acquired abilities.

Personality inventory to identify key traits and

characteristics that make up the students personality.

Physical, sports, and co-curricular activities assessment

o

Assess student performance and participation in physical

and health education, sports, uniformed bodies, clubs, and
other non-school sponsored activities.

3) Reduce the overall emphasis on teaching to the test, so that teachers can
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