Assignment of meeting 14.
“SUMMARY ASSESSING READING 185-217”
ASSESSING READING
TYPES
(GENRES) OF READING
As we consider a number of different types or genres
of written texts, the components of reading ability, and specific tasks that
are commonly used in the assessment of reading, let's not forget the
unobservable nature of reading. Like listening, one cannot see the process of
reading, nor can one observe a specific product of reading. Other than
observing a reader's eye movements and page turning, there is no technology
~hat enables us to "see" sequences of graphic symbols traveling from
the pages of a book into compartments of the brain (in a possible bottom-up
process). Even more outlandish is the notion that one
might be able to watch information from the brain make its way down onto the
page (in typical top-down strategies). Further, once something is
read-information from the written text is stored-no technology allows us to
empirically measure exactly what is lodged in the brain. All assessment of
reading must be carried out by inference.
MICRO SKILS, MACRO SKILS, AND STRATEGIES FOR READING
Aside
from attending to genres of text, the skills and strategies for accomplishing
reading emerge as a crucial consideration in the assessment of reading ability.
The micro- and macro skills below represent the spectrum of possibilities for
objectives in the assessment of reading comprehension.
TYPES OF READING
1.
Perceptive. In keeping with the set
of categories specified for listening comprehension, Similar specification are offered here; except with some differing
terminology to capture the uniqueness of reading.
2.
Selective. This category is largely
an artifact of assessment formats. In order to ascertain one's reading
recognition of lexical, grammatical, or discourse features of language within a
very short stretch of language, certain typical tasks are used: picture-cued
tasks, matching, true/false, multiple-choice, etc.
3.
Interactive. Included among
interactive reading types are stretches of language of several paragraphs to
one page or more in which the reader must, in a psycholinguistic sense, interact
with the text. That is, reading is a process of negotiating meaning;
the reader brings to the text a set of schemata for understanding it,
and intake is the product of that interaction. Typical genres that lend
themselves to interactive reading are anecdotes, short narratives and
descriptions, excerpts from longer texts, questionnaires, memos, announcements,
directions, recipes, and the like.
4.
Extensive. Extensive reading, as
discussed in this book, applies to texts of more than a page, up to an
including professional articles, essays, technical reports, short stories, and
books.
DESIGNING
ASSESSMENT TASKS: PERCEPTIVE READING
Reading Aloud
The
test-taker sees separate letters, words, and/or short sentences and reads them
aloud, one by one, in the presence of an administrator. Since the assessment is
of reading comprehension, any recognizable oral approximation of the
target response is considered correct.
Written Response
the
same stimuli are presented, and the test-taker's task is' to reproduce the
probe in writing. Because of the transfer across different skills here,
evaluation of the test taker's response must be carefully treated. If an error
occurs, make sure you determine its source; what might be assumed to be a
writing error, for example, may actually be a reading error, and vice versa.
Multiple-Choice
Multiple-choice
responses are not only a matter of choosing one of four or five possible answers.
Other formats, some of which are especially useful at the low levels of
reading, include same/different, circle the answer, true/false, choose the
letter, and matching.
Picture-Cued Items
Test-takers
are shown a picture, such as the one on the next page, along with a written
text and are given one of a number of possible tasks to perform.
DESIGNING
ASSESSMENT TASKS:SELECTIVE READING
Multiple-Choice (for Form-Focused
Criteria)
By
far the most popular method of testing a reading knowledge of vocabulary and
grammar is the multiple-choice format, mainly for reasons of practicality: it
is easy to administer and can be scored quickly. The most straightforward
.multiple-choice items may have little context, but might serve as a vocabulary
or grammar check.
The
context of the story in this example may not specifically help the test-taker
to respond to the items more easily, but it allows the learner to attend to one
set of related sentences for eight items
that assess vocabulary and grammar. Other contexts might involve some content
dependencies, such that earlier sentences predict the correct response for a
later item.
Matching Tasks
At
this selective level of reading, the test-taker's task is simply to respond
correctly, which makes matching an appropriate format. The most frequently
appearing criterion in matching procedures is vocabulary.
Alderson
(2000, p.: 218) suggested matching procedures at an even more sophisticated
level, where test taker have to discern pragmatic interpretations of certain
signs or labels such as "Freshly made ·sandwiches" and "Use
before 10/23/02."
Editing Tasks
Editing
for grammatical or rhetorical errors is a widely used test method for assessing
linguistic competence in reading. The TOEFL® and many "other tests employ
this technique with the argument that it not only focuses on grammar but also,
introduces a simulation of the authentic task of editing, or discerning errors
in written passages. Its authenticity may be supported if you consider
proofreading as a real-world skill that is being tested. Here is a typical set
of examples of editing.
Picture-Cued Tasks
In
the previous section we looked at picture-cued tasks for perceptive recognition
of symbols and words. Pictures and photographs may be equally well utilized for
examining ability at the selective level. Several types of picture-cued methods
are commonly used.
1.
Test-takers read a sentence or passage and choose one of four pictures that is
being described. The sentence (or sentences) at this level is more complex.
2.
Test-takers read a series of sentences or definitions, each describing a
labeled part of a picture or diagram. Their task is to identify each labeled
item. In the following diagram, test-takers do not necessarily know each term,
but by reading the definition they are able to make an identification.
Gap-Filling Tasks
Many
of the multiple-choice tasks described above can be converted into gap-filling,
or "fill-in-the-blank, items in which the test-taker's response is to
write a word or phrase. An extension of simple gap-filling tasks is to create
sentence completion items where test-takers read part of a sentence and then
complete it by writing a phrase.
DESIGNING
ASSESSMENT TASKS: INTERACTIVE READING
Cloze Tasks
One
of the most popular types of reading assessment task is the cloze procedure.
The word cloze was coined by educational psychologists to capture the
Gestalt psychological concept of "closure," that is, the ability to
fill in gaps in an incomplete image (visual; auditory, or cognitive) and supply
(from background schemata) " omitted details.
Cloze
tests are usually a minimum of two paragraphs in length in order to account
for' discourse expectancies. They can be constructed relatively easily as long
as the specifications for choosing deletions and for scoring are clearly
defined. Typically every seventh word (plus or minus two) is deleted (known as
fixed-ratio deletion), but many cloze test designers instead use a rational
deletion procedure , of choosing deletions according to the grammatical or
discourse functions of the words. Rational deletion also allows the designer to
avoid deleting words that would be difficult to predict from the context.
Impromptu Reading Plus Comprehension Questions
If cloze testing is the
most-researched procedure for assessing reading, the traditional "Read a
passage and answer son1e questions" technique is undoubtedly the oldest
and the most common. Virtually every proficiency test uses the format, and one
would rarely consider assessing reading without some component of the
assessment minvolving impromptu reading and responding to questions.
Notice that this set of
questions, based on a 250-word passage, covers the comprehension
of these features:
• main idea (topic)
• expressions/idioms/phrases
in context
• inference (implied detail)
• grammatical features
• detail (scanning for a
specifically stated detail)
• excluding facts not written
(unstated details)
• supporting idea(s)
• vocabulary in context
Short-Answer Tasks
Multiple-choice
items are difficult to construct and validate, and classroom teachers rarely
have time in their busy schedules to design such a test. A popular alternative
to multiple-choice questions following reading passages is the age. old
short-answer format. A reading passage is presented, and the test-taker reads
questions that must be answered in a sentence or two. Questions might cover the
same specifications indicated above for the TOEFL reading, but be worded in question
form.
Editing (Longer Texts)
Imao's (2001) test introduced
one error in each numbered sentence. Test-takers followed the same procedure
for marking errors as described in the previous section. Instructions to the
student included a sample of the kind of connected prose that test-takers would
encounter.
Scanning
Scanning is a strategy used
by all readers to find relevant information in a text. Assessment of scanning
is carried out by presenting test-takers with a text (prose or something in a
chart or graph format) and requiring rapid identification of relevant bits of
information. Possible stimuli include ,r'
• a one- to two-page news
article,
• an essay,
• a chapter in a textbook,
• a technical report,
• a table or chart depicting
some research findings,
• a menu, and
• an application form .
Ordering Tasks
Students
always enjoy the activity of receiving little strips of paper, each with a
sentence on it, anti assembling them into a story, sometimes called the
"strip story" technique. Variations on this can serve :as an
assessment of overall global understanding of a story and of the cohesive
devices that signal the order of events or ideas. Alderson et al. (1995, p. 53)
warn, however, against assuming that there is only one 'logical order. They
presented these sentences for forming a little story.
Information Transfer: Reading Charts, Maps, Graphs,
Diagrams
Every
educated person must be able to comprehend charts, maps, graphs, calendars, diagrams,
and the like. Converting such nonverbal input into comprehensible intake requires
not only an understanding of the graphic and verbal conventions of the medium
but also a linguistic ability to interpret that information to someone else. Reading
a map implies understanding the conventions of map graphics, but it is often
accompanied by telling someone where to turn, how far to go, etc. Scanning a
menu requires an ability to understand the structure of most menus as well as
the capacity to give an order when the time comes. Interpreting the numbers on
a stock market report involves the interaction of understanding the numbers and
of conveying that understanding to others.
DESIGNING
ASSESSMENT TASKS: EXTENSIVE READING
skimming Tasks
Skimming
is the process of rapid coverage of reading matter to determine its gist or
main idea. It is a prediction strategy used to give a reader a sense of the
topic and purpose of a text, the organization of the text, the perspective or
point of view of the writer, its ease or difficulty, and/or its usefulness to
the reader. Of course skimming can apply to texts of less than one page, so it
would be wise not to confine this type of task just to extensive texts.
Summarizing and Responding
As
you can readily see, a strict adherence to the1critetjon ;of assessing reading,
and reading only, implies consideration of only the first factor; the other
three pertain to writing performance. The first criterion is nevertheless a
crucial factor; otherwise the reader-writer could pass all three of the other
criteria with virtually no understanding of the text itself. Evaluation of the
reading comprehension criterion will of necessity remain somewhat subjective
because the teacher will need to determine degrees of fulfillment of the
objective (see below for more about scoring this task).'
Of
further interest in assessing extensive reading is the technique of asking a
student to respond to a text. The two tasks should not be confused with each
other: summarizing requires a synopsis or overview of the text, while
responding asks the reader to provide his or her own opinion on the text as a
whole or on some statement or issue within it.
Note-Taking and Outlining
Finally,
a reader's comprehension of extensive texts may be assessed through an
evaluation of a process of note-taking and/or outlining. Because of the
difficulty of controlling the conditions and time frame for both these
techniques, they rest firmly in the category of informal assessment. Their
utility is in the strategic training that learners gain in retaining
information through marginal notes that highlight key information or
organizational outlines that put supporting ideas into a visually manageable
framework. A teacher, perhaps in one-on-one conferences-with students, can use
student notes/outlines as indicators of the presence or absence of effective
reading strategies, and thereby point the learners in positive directions.
“SUMMARY ASSESSING WRITING
218-250”
ASSESSING WRITING
GENRES
OF WRIT'ING LANGUAGE
The same classification scheme is reformulated
here to include the most common genres that a second language writer might
produce, within and beyond the requirements of a curriculum. Even though this
list is slightly shorter, you should be aware of the surprising multiplicity of
options of written genres that second language learners need to acquire.
TYPES
OF WRITING PERFORMANCE
1.
Imitative. To produce written
language, the learner must attain skills in the fundamental, basic tasks of
.writing letters, words, punctuation, and very brief sentences. This category
includes the ability to spell correctly and to perceive phoneme-grapheme
correspondences in the English spelling system. It is a level at which learners
are trying to master the mechanics of writing.
2.
Intensive (controlled). Beyond the
fundamentals of imitative writing are skills in producing appropriate
vocabulary within a context, collocations and idioms, and correct grammatical
features up to the length of a sentence. Meaning and Context are of some
importance in determining correctness and appropriateness, but most assessment
tasks are more 'concerned with a focus on form, and are rather strictly
controlled by the test design.
3.
Responsive. Here, assessment tasks
require learners to perform at a limited discourse level, connecting sentences
into a paragraph and creating a logically connected sequence of two or three
paragraphs. Tasks respond to pedagogical directives, lists of criteria,
outlines, and other guidelines. Genres of writing include brief narratives and
descriptions, short reports, lab reports, summaries, brief responses to
reading, and interpretations of charts or graphs. Under specified conditions,
the writer begins to 'exercise some freedom of choice among alternative forms
of expression of ideas. The writer has mastered the fundamentals of
sentence-level grammar and is more focused on the discourse conventions that
will achieve the objectives of the written text.
4.
Extensive. Extensive writing implies
successful management of all the processes and strategies of writing for all
purposes, up to the length of an essay, a term paper, a major research project
report, or even a thesis. Writers focus on achieving a purpose, organizing and
developing ideas logically, using details to support or illustrate ideas,
demonstrating syntactic and lexical variety, and in many cases, engaging in the
process of multiple drafts to achieve a final product. Focus on grammatical
form is limited to occasional editing or proofreading of a draft.
MICRO- AND MACROSKII.IS OF
WRITING
We
turn once again to a taxonomy of micro- and macro skills that will assist you
in defining the ultimate criterion of an assessment procedure. The earlier
micro skills apply more appropriately to imitative and intensive types of writing
task, while the macro skill are essential for the successful mastery of
responsive and extensive writing.
DESIGNING ASSESSMENT TASKS:
IMITATIVE WRITING
Tasks in [Hand] Writing Letters, Words, and
Punctuation
First,
a comment should be made on the increasing use of personal and laptop computers
and handheld instruments for creating written symbols. Handwriting has the
potential of becoming a lost art as even very young children are more and more
likely to use a keyboard to produce writing. Making the shapes of letters and
other symbols is now more a question of learning typing skills than of training
the muscles of the hands to use a pen or pencil. Nevertheless, for all
practical purposes, handwriting remains a skill of paramount importance within
the larger domain of language assessment.
Spelling Tasks and Detecting Phoneme-Grapheme
Correspondences
1.
Spelling tests. In a traditional,
old-fashioned spelling test, the teacher dictates a simple list of words, one
word at a time, followed by the word in a sentence, repeated again, with a
pause for test-takers to write the word. Scoring emphasizes correct spelling.
2.
Picture-cued tasks. Pictures are
displayed with the objective of focusing on familiar words whose spelling may
be unpredictable. Items are chosen according to the objectives of the
assessment, but this format is an opportunity to present some challenging words
and word pairs: boot/book, read/reed, bit/bite, etc.
3.
Multiple-choice techniques. Presenting
words and phrases in the form of a multiple-choice task risks crossing over
into the domain of assessing reading, but if the items have a follow-up writing
component, they can serve as formative reinforcement of spelling conventions.
4.
Matching phonetic symbols. If
students have become familiar with the phonetic alphabet, they could be shown
phonetic symbols and asked to write· the correctly spelled word alphabetically.
This works best with letters that do not have one-to-one correspondence with
the phonetic symbol (e.g., l æ l and a).
DESIGNING ASSESSMENT TASKS:
INTENSIVE (CONTROLLED) WRITING
Dictation and Dicto-Comp
A
form of controlled writing related to dictation is a dicto-comp. Here, a
paragraph is read at normal speed,
usually two or three times ;then the teacher asks students to rewrite the
paragraph from the best of their recollection. In one of several variations of
the dicto -Comp technique, the teacher, after reading the passage, distributes
a handout with key words from the paragraph, in sequence, as cues for the
students. In either case, the dicto-comp is genuinely classified as an
intensive, if not a responsive, writing task. Test-takers must internalize the
content of the passage, remember a few phrases and lexical items as key words,
then recreate the story in their own words.
Grammatical Transformation Tasks
In
the heyday of structural paradigms of language teaching with slot-filler
,techniques and slot substitution drills, the practice of making grammatical
transformations. Orally or in writing-was very popular. To this day, language
teachers have also used this technique as an assessment task, ostensibly to
measure grammatical competence. Numerous versions of the task are possible:
•
Change the tenses in a paragraph.
•
Change full forms of verbs to reduced forms (contractions).
•
Change statements to yes/no or wh-questions.
•
Change questions into statements.
•
Combine two sentences into one using a relative pronoun.
•
Change direct speech to indirect speech.
•
Change from active to passive voice.
Picture-Cued Tasks
A variety
of picture-cued controlled tasks have been used in English classrooms around
the world. The main advantage in this technique is in detaching the almost
ubiquitous reading and writing connection and offering instead a nonverbal
means to stimulate written responses.
Vocabulary Assessment Tasks
Most
vocabulary study is carried out through reading. A number of assessments of
reading recognition of vocabulary were discussed in the previous chapter:
multiple choice techniques, matching, picture-cued identification, cloze
techniques, guessing the meaning of a word in context, etc. The major
techniques used to assess vocabulary are (a) defining and (b) using a word in a
sentence. The latter is the more authentic, but even that task is constrained
by a contrived situation in which the test-taker, usually in a matter of
seconds, has to come up with an appropriate sentence,
which
mayor may not indicate that the test-taker "knows" the word. Read
(2000) suggested several types of items for assessment of basic knowledge of
the meaning of a word, collocational possibilities, and derived morphological
forms.
Ordering Tasks
One
task at the sentence level may appeal to those who are fond of word games and
puzzles: ordering (or reordering) a scrambled set of words into a correct
sentence. Here is the way the item format appears. While this somewhat
inauthentic task generates writing performance and may be said to tap into
grammatical word-ordering rules, it presents a challenge to test takers whose
learning styles do not dispose them to logical-mathematical problem solving. If
sentences are kept very simple (such as #2) with perhaps no more than four or
five words, if only one possible sentence can emerge, and if students have
practiced the technique in class, then some justification emerges. But once
again, as ,in so many writing techniques, this task involves as much, if not
more, reading performance as writing.
Short-Answer and Sentence Completion Tasks
Some
types of short-answer tasks were discussed in Chapter 8 because of the heavy
participation of reading performance in their completion. Such items range from
very simple and predictable to somewhat more elaborate responses. Look at the
range of possibilities. The reading*writing connection is apparent in the first
three item types but has less of an effect in the last three, where reading is
necessary in order to understand the directions but is not crucial in creating
sentences. Scoring on a 2-1-0 scale (as described above) may be the most
appropriate way to avoid self. arguing about the appropriateness of a response.
ISSUES
IN ASSESSING RESPONSIVE AND EXTENSIVE WRITING
Responsive
writing creates the opportunity :tor test-takers to offer an array of 'possible
creative responses within a pedagogic11 or assessment framework: test-takers
are "responding" to a prompt or assignment. Freed from the strict
control of intensive writing, learners can exercise a number of options in
choosing vocabulary, grammar, and discourse, but with some constraints and
conditions. Criteria now· begin to include the discourse and rhetorical
conventions of paragraph structure and of connecting two or three such
paragraphs in texts of limited length. The learner is responsible for
accomplishing a purpose in writing, for developing a sequence of connected
ideas, and for empathizing with an audience.
The
genres of text that are typically addressed here are
•
short reports (with structured formats and conventions);
•
responses to the reading of an article or story;
•
summaries of articles or stories;
•
brief narratives or descriptions; and
• interpretations
of graphs, tables, and charts.
DESIGNING ASSESSMENT TASKS
RESPONSIVE AND EXTENSIVE WRITING
paraphrasing
One
of the more difficult concepts for second language learners to grasp is
paraphrasing. The initial step in teaching paraphrasing is to ensure that
learners understand the importance of. paraphrasing: to say something in one's
own words, to avoid plagiarizing, to offer some variety in expression. With
those possible motivations and purpose in mind, the test designer needs to
elicit a paraphrase of a sentence or paragraph, usually .not more.
Guided Question and Answer
Another
lower-order task in this type of writing, which has the pedagogical benefit of
guiding a learner without dictating the form of the output, is a guided
question and- answer format in which the test administrator poses a series of
questions that essentially serve as an outline of the emergent written text. In
the writing of a narrative that the teacher has already covered in a class
discussion, the following kinds of questions might be posed to stimulate a
sequence of sentences.
Paragraph Construction Tasks
The
participation of reading performance is inevitable in writing effective
paragraphs. To a great extent, writing is the art of emulating what one reads.
You read an effective paragraph; you analyze the ingredients of its success;
you emulate it. Assessment of paragraph development takes on a number of
different forms:
1.
Topic sentence writing. There is no
cardinal rule that says every paragraph must have a topic sentence, but the
stating of a topic through the lead sentence (or a subsequent one) has remained
as a tried-and· true technique for teaching the concept of a paragraph.
2.
Topic development within a paragraph. Because
paragraphs are intended to provide a reader with "clusters" of
meaningful, connected thoughts or ideas, another stage of assessment is
development of an idea within a paragraph.
3.
Develop1nent of main and supporting ideas across paragraphs. As writers string two or more paragraphs together in a
19nger text (and as we move up the continuum from responsive to extensive
writing), the writer attempts to articulate a thesis or main idea with clearly
stated supporting ideas.
Strategic Options
Developing
main and supporting ideas is the goal for the writer attempting to create an
effective text, whether a short one- to two-paragraph one or an extensive one
of several pages. A number .of strategies are commonly taught to second
language writers to accomplish their purposes. Aside from strategies of free
writing, outlining, drafting, and revising, writers need to be aware of the
task that has been demanded '" and to focus on the genre o~ writing and the expectations of that genre.
TEST
OF WRITTEN ENGLISH (TWE®)
The
TWE is in the category of a timed impromptu test in that test..takers
are under a 30-minute time limit and are not able to prepare ahead of time for
the topic that will appear. Topics are prepared by a panel of experts following
specifications for topics that represent commonly used discourse and thought
patterns at the university level Here are some sample topics published on the
TWE website.
SCORING METHODS FOR
RESPONSIVE AND EXTENSIVE WRITING
Holistic Scoring
The
TWE scoring scale above is a prime example of holistic scoring. In Chapter 7, a
rubric for scoring oral production holistically was presented. Each point on a
holistic scale is given a, systematic set of descriptors, and the
reader-evaluator matches an overall impression with the descriptors to arrive
at a score. Descriptors usually (bl.lt not always) follow a prescribed pattern.
For example, the first descriptor across all score categories may address the
quality of task achievement, the second may deal with organization, the third
with grammatical or rhetorical considerations, and' so on. Scoring, however, is
truly holistic in that those subsets are not quantitatively added up to yield a
score.
Primary Trait Scoring
A
second method of scoring, primary trait, focuses on "how well students can
write within a narrowly defined range of discourse" (Weigle, 2002, p.
110).This type of scoring en1phasizes the task at hand and assigns a score
based on the effectiveness of the text's achieving that one goal. For example,
if the purpose or function of an essay is to persuade the reader to do
something, the score for the writing would rise or fall on the accomplishment
of that function. If a learner is asked to exploit the. ,imaginative function
of language by expressing personal feelings, then the response would be
evaluated on that feature alone.
For
rating the primary trait of the text, Lloyd-Jones (1977) suggested a four point
scale ranging from zero (no response or fragmented response) to 4 (the purpose
is unequivocally accomplished in a convincing fashion). It almost goes without
saying that organization, supporting details, fluency, syntactic variety, and
other features will implicitly be evaluated in the process of offering a
primary trait score.
Analytic Scoring
Classroom
evaluation of learning is best served through analytic scoring, in which as
many as six major elements of writing are scored, thus enabling learners to
home in on weaknesses and to capitalize on strengths.
Analytic
scoring may be more appropriately called analytic assessment in order
to. capture its closer association with classroom language instruction than
with formal testing. Brown and Bailey (1984) designed an analytical scoring scale
that specified five major categories and a description of five different levels
in each category, ranging from "unacceptable" to
"excellent".
BEYOND
SCORING: RESPONDING TO EXTENSIVE WRITING
Formal
testing carries with it the burden of designing a practical and reliable
instrument that assesses its intended criterion accurately. To accomplish that
mission, designers of writing test are charged with the task of providing as
"objective" a scoring procedure as possible, and one that in many cases
can be easily interpreted by agents beyond the learner. Holistic, primary
trait, and analytic scoring all satisfy those ends . Yet beyond mathematically
calculated scores lies a rich domain of assessment in which a developing writer
is coached from stage to stage in a process of building a storehouse of writing
skills. Here in the classroom, in the tutored relationship of teacher and
student, and in the community ,of peer learners, most of the hard work of
assessing writing is carried out. Such assessment is informal, formative, and
replete with washback.
Assessing Initial Stages of the Process of Composing
Following
are some guidelines for assessing the initial stages (the first draft or two) of
a written composition. These guidelines are generic for self, peer,. and
teacher , responding. Each assessor will need to modify the list according to
the level of the learner, the context, and the purpose in responding.
The
teacher-assessor's role is; as a guide, a facilitator, and an ally; therefore,
assessment at this stage of writing heeds to be as positive as possible to
encourage the writer. An early focus on overall structure and meaning will
enable writers to. clarify their purpose and plan and will set a framework for
the writers' later refinement of the lexical and grammatical issues.
Assessing Later Stages of the Process of
Composing
Through
all these stages it is assumed that peers and teacher are both responding to
the writer through conferencing in person, electronic communication, or, at the
very least, an exchange of papers. The impromptu timed tests and the methods of
scoring discussed earlier may appear to be only distantly related. to such an
individualized process of creating a· written text, but are they, in reality? All those developmental stages may be the
preparation that learners need both to function in creative real..world writing
tasks and to successfully demonstrate their competence on a timed impromptu
test. And those holistic scores are after all generalizations of the various
components of effective writing. If
the hard work of successfully progressing
through a semester or two of a challenging course in academic writing
ultimately means that writers are ready to function in their real-world
contexts, and
to get a 5 or 6 on the TWE,
then all the effort was worthwhile.
This
chapter completes the cycle of considering the assessment of all of the four
skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. As you contemplate using
some of the assessment techniques that have been suggested, I think you can now
fully appreciate two significant overarching guidelines for designing an
effective assessment procedure:
1.
It is virtually impossible to isolate anyone of the four
skills without the involvement of at least one other mode of performance.
Don't underestimate the power of the integration of skills in assessments
designed to target a single skill area.
2.
The variety of assessment techniques and item types and tasks is virtually infinite in that there is always some possibility for creating a
unique variation. Explore those alternatives, but with some caution lest your
overzealous urge to be innovative distract you from a central focus on
achieving the intended purpose and rendering an appropriate evaluation of
performance.
REFERENCES:
Brown. 2004 .
LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT “principles and
classroom practice”. New York: Longman.
