Chet tillarini o'qitishning integrallashgan kursi (III & IV) Qarshi- 2018 Module: Language Testing and Assessment Lesson Basic principles of language assessment

Lesson 16. Assessment and Reporting
Assessment: the process of acquiring information and making judgements about students' learning over a period of time. The purpose of assessment is to monitor developments in student learning, make judgements about student achievement in relation to agreed standards, evaluate the effectiveness of teaching programs and system- level initiatives and to inform decisions about future learning and support.
Reporting: communication to stakeholders about the information obtained from assessment. The purpose of reporting is to improve learning. It is one of the means by which parents can participate in decisions about their child's education.
School improvement: the process by which schools strive to become increasingly more effective with the aim of becoming high performing schools, especially in the areas of literary & numeracy, student participation, general satisfaction and equity of outcomes.
There are several types of tests, including:
1. Achievement test (Attainment & Summative test)- are devised to measure how much of a language some has learned with reference to a particular course of study or programme of instruction, e.g. end-of-year tests designed to show mastery of a language. It has a two- fold objective: a) to help teachers judge the succes of their teaching; b) to identify the weaknesses of their learners.
2. Diagnostic test- primarily designed to diagnose some particular linguistic aspects. Three objectives:
- provide learners with a way to start learning with their own personal learning programme or what would be called in the literature of testing;
- provide with a way to test their knowledge of a language;
- provide with better information about their strengths and weaknesses.
Advantage: it offers useful pedagogical solutions for mixed- ability classes.
3. Discrete- point test/ Discrete- item test- measures knowledge of individual language items, such as
a) a grammar test which has different sections on tenses, adverbs & prepositions. They are based on the theory that language consists of skills.
b) integrated test is one which require a learner to use several skills at once.
4. Language- aptitude test- as a hybrid concept part linguistic and part psychological refers to the genuine ability one is endowed with to learn a language. It is thought to be a combination of several abilities: phonological, syntactic and psychological (rote- learning abilities and the ability to make inferences and inductive learning). It usually consists of several different test items:
a) sound- coding ability: the one to identify and remember new sounds in a new language;
b) grammar- coding ability: to identify the grammatical functions of different parts of sentences;
c) inductive- learning ability: to work out meanings without explanation in the new language;
d) memorization: to remember and to recall words, patternal rules in the new language.
5. Placement test- originally designed to place learners at an appropriate level in a programme or course. The English Placement Test (EPT) is designed to assess the level of reading and writing skills of entering undergraduate students so that they can be placed in appropriate courses.
6. Proficiency test- devised to measure how much of a language someone has learned. It is not linked to any particular course of instruction, but measures learners' general level of language mastery. A standardized test is an exam which has been developed from tryouts and experimentation to ensure that it is reliable and valid.
7. Progress test- is an achievement-like test. It is closely linked to a particular set of teaching materials or a particular course of instruction. They are usually administered at the end of a unit, of a course, etc.
8. TOEFL- The Test of English as a Foreign Language. It is widely used to measure the English language proficiency of foreign students wishing to enter American colleges & universities.
Test- purpose & Test- method are the two main criteria that specifies assessment.
According to test- purpose: criterion-referenced & norm-referenced
According to test- method: paper-pencil test & performance test