The American University in Cairo

International Language Assessment Conference in Egypt

(ILACE 2017)

Five Principles of Effective Classroom

Assessment in Practice: Reflection

Dr. Rasha Osman HTI

Nashwa Rashed MUST
 Test, Assessment, Evaluation

Test
is used to examine someone's knowledge of something
is a type of assessment.

Assessment
is the process of documenting knowledge. The goal of
assessment is to make improvements,
Evaluation
is the process of making judgments based on criteria and
evidence.
 What is ..?

Formative Assessment
is designed to give learners feedback about
their progress while still studying a unit. A
weekly quiz is a good example.

Summative Assessment
is designed to give learners feedback on their
achievement of unit or course objectives. A final
or unit project is a good example.
 Some Reasons why we assess
To make decisions
To place students in a To monitor students
course performance and
To admit students to a achievement, their
program strengths and areas to
To decide what to teach improve
To decide what needs to
be reviewed To monitor our own
effectiveness as teachers
To report students Did the students learn
Grades what I expected?
Progress How can I improve my
teaching?
The relation between Teaching/ learning,
Assessment, and Testing?
Assessment is directly related to teaching and
learning, and should go hand in hand with
them.

Assessment is an important part of teaching

and learning, and assessment is more than just
testing. There are many ways to assess
students without using tests
Teaching, Assessment, and Testing
Assessment Models
 A Sample Assessment Cycle

Assessment continues throughout the teaching and learning

process, offering many opportunities for feedback.
The teacher assesses student progress and results at
different times and in different ways.
 How can assessment motivate
xdemotivate learners?

Assessment can motivate learners by giving

them feedback on their progress. It can
demotivate them by only focusing on what
they dont know or by being punitive.
The Five Principles of Assessment
 The Five Principles of Assessment

Practicality

reliability

validity

authenticity

washback
A Practical Test
 Practicality

Is the assessment...
too expensive to implement?
too time-consuming to design?
too time-consuming to implement?
too time-consuming to score?
or does it require too many people to
implement?
A RELIABLE TEST . . .
 Reliability

An assessment that is reliable will give the

same score to the same type of student
regardless of when the assessment is given
or who scores it.
 Reliability
Does it have clear administration instructions.
Does it have clear scoring instructions.
Are rubrics used (for productive skills)?
the test items are written in such a way that they
are confusing or several answers are possible.
the testing conditions in the classroom give a
disadvantage to students (i.e., too much outside
noise).
students can do well even without knowing the
information being assessed.
 Reliability Solutions

Write administration instructions clearly and ensure

that the assessment is administered the same way
regardless of the teacher who administers it.
Write scoring procedures clearly and train all
teachers who will score the assessment. This is
especially important for subjective/open-ended
assessments.
Pilot the assessment to see if students answer as
intended or if there are items that are confusing or
too easy to guess.
A VALID TEST . . .
 Validity
Does it measure what is says it will
measure?
Does it not include irrelevant items?
(Valid classroom assessments measure only what has been taught in class.)
Does it have students perform rather than
describe language?
Is it objective?
Does it give meaningful information about
students abilities?
Trick questions and tricky assessments are
not valid.
 Validity

Direct testing is more valid than indirect

testing.
Valid classroom assessments utilize items
or activities that are similar to what
students have already practiced in class.
AN AUTHENTIC TEST . . .
 Authenticity
Is the language used in the assessment
natural?
Are the test items contextualized and not
isolated?
Are the topics meaningful and interesting
to students?
Is there an organizing theme?
Are the tasks similar to those that students
will have to complete in the real world?
 A TEST THAT PROVIDES
BENEFICIAL WASHBACK . . .
 Washback
Washback refers to the outcomes of the
assessment for the learner, the teacher, and the
teaching context.
Positive washback from an assessment can
motivate the student to learn more, positively
influence the teacher in what and how to teach,
and can improve the classroom environment for
more learning.
Feedback after assessments improve washback.
Tests or assessments that are designed to punish
or fail many students do not result in positive
washback .
 Apply the five principles?

It is not possible to have an assessment

that perfectly addresses all 5 principles!
For example, it is often necessary to
balance a need for practicality with
perhaps less reliability or validity.
(we make decisions about which principles are more important to meet for a particular
assessment.)

However, the assessment should score

very high in validity and reliability if high-
stakes decisions are being made based on
the results.
 Remember
Providing good quality assessments is
important for our students, our schools, and
our profession.

Even good assessments can often be

improved.
 Test Critique

Read the following sample classroom test

and assess it according to the principles of
assessment:
 Language Assessment:
Principles and Classroom Practices
 N.rashed85@gmail.com
rashaosman77@yahoo.com