EAL Student Assessments

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EAL Student Assessments by Mind Map: EAL Student Assessments

1. Portfolio

1.1. What? A student portfolio is a systematic collection of student work and related material that depicts a student's activities, accomplishments, and achievements in one or more school subjects. The collection should include evidence of student reflection and self-evaluation, guidelines for selecting the portfolio contents, and criteria for judging the quality of the work (Valenzuela, 2002) .

1.2. Why? To help students assemble portfolios that illustrate their talents, represent their writing capabilities, and tell their stories of school achievement... (Venn, 2000, pp. 530-531)

1.2.1. Example: http://www.idra.org/IDRA_Newsletter/November_-_December_1993_Accountability_in_Education/Portfolios_in_Secondary_ESL_Classroom_Assessment%3A_Bringing_it_All_Together/

1.3. Advantages: 1) Promotes student self-evaluation, reflection, and critical thinking. 2) Measures performance based on genuine samples of student work. 3)Provides flexibility in measuring how students accomplish their learning goals. 4)Enables teachers and students to share the responsibility for setting learning goals and for evaluating progress toward meeting those goals.

1.3.1. Reference: J. V. (n.d.). Defining Portfolio Assessment. Retrieved September 22, 2016, from http://www.unm.edu/~devalenz/handouts/portfolio.html

1.3.2. Disadvantages: 1) Requires extra time to plan an assessment system and conduct the assessment. 2) Gathering all of the necessary data and work samples can make portfolios bulky and difficult to manage. 3) Developing a systematic and deliberate management system is difficult, but this step is necessary in order to make portfolios more than a random collection of student work.

1.4. Type of assessment: Assessment of learning.

2. Authentic

2.1. What? Authentic assessment refers to assessment tasks that resemble reading and writing in the real world and in school (Hiebert, Valencia & Afflerbach, 1994; Wiggins, 1993). The goal is to assess many different kinds of literacy abilities in contexts that closely resemble actual situations in which those abilities are used.

2.2. Why? To check if students have developed the required set of skills that are applicable in the real world.

2.2.1. Example: Free writing, collaborative classroom  poster design.

2.3. Advantages: 1) Authentic assessments are direct measures. 2) They provide multiple paths to demonstration. 3) They capture constructive nature of learning. Disadvantage: Most of the time, they aren't cost effective in regards to time and other resources.

2.3.1. Reference: Jon Mueller. "Why Use Authentic Assessment? (Authentic Assessment Toolbox)." Why Use Authentic Assessment? (Authentic Assessment Toolbox). N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2016.               "What Is Authentic Assessment?" What Is Authentic Assessment? Houghton Mifflin Company, n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2016.

2.4. Type of Assessment: It's an assessment for and of learning because it can be used to evaluate students skill development, even though students are learning through out the entire process.

3. Self-assessment

3.1. What? Self-assessment is a systematic process of data-driven self-reflection. It promotes coherent and clearly articulated goals to inform decision-making.

3.2. Why? To promote students' self reflection.

3.2.1. Example: Programmed quizzes.

3.3. Advantages and Disadvantages.

3.4. Type of Assessment: for and of learning.

4. Peer-assessment

4.1. What? Peer assessment involves students taking responsibility for assessing the work of their peers against set assessment criteria

4.2. Why? To give students the platform to access their peers and ultimately better understand assessment criteria.

4.2.1. Example: Peer feedback on speaking and writing activities.

4.3. Advantages and Disadvantages.

4.4. Type of assessment: Assessment for and of learning because students will learn about the assessment criteria, and also have an idea of where they are in regards to mastery of the concepts being taught.

4.4.1. Reference: Accessibility navigation. (n.d.). Retrieved September 25, 2016, from https://www.reading.ac.uk/engageinassessment/peer-and-self-assessment/peer-assessment/eia-peer-assessment.aspx

5. High stakes

5.1. What?  High-stakes assessments are used to make important decisions about students, educators and schools. Most commonly for the purpose of accountability. i.e the attempt by federal, state, or local government agencies and school administrators to ensure that students are enrolled in effective schools and being taught by effective teachers.

5.2. Why? To generate statistics and rankings.

5.3. Main advantages: Test results are almost always publicly available, so they can help teachers create a specific learning plan for each student.                                                                                              Main disadvantages: They can cause students to repeat grade levels or be denied a diploma, thus creating a high level of anxiety among students. In conclusion, they may contribute to higher, or even much higher, rates of cheating among educators and students, including coordinated, large-scale cheating schemes perpetrated school administrators and teachers who are looking to avoid the sanctions and punishments that result from poor test performance.

5.4. Type of assessment: Because this assessments are used to make decisions related to diploma awards and grade level placement, I believe it's an assessment of learning.

5.4.1. Examples: Nationwide school debate and other standardized tests; such as Preliminary English Test, SAT..........

5.4.2. References

5.4.3. "High-Stakes Test Definition." The Glossary of Education Reform. N.p., 2014. Web. 21 Sept. 2016.                                                               Apecsecadmin. "Apecsec.org." Apecsecorg. N.p., 2015. Web. 21 Sept. 2016.

6. Diagnostic

6.1. What? Diagnostic assessment is a type of assessment that examines what a student knows, and can do prior to a learning program being implemented. This assessment is given to students before entry to a learning program.

6.2. Why? To effectively and efficiently measure students' progress throughout the duration of the program.

6.3. Advantage: Helps teachers to discover students' abilities, thus promoting effective differentiation and learning design.            Disadvantage: Research has revealed that diagnostic assessments can cause anxiety for students. Therefore, there's a big chance of inaccuracy in regards to students' performance and ability.

6.3.1. Examples: Here in Vietnam, the majority of state schools use the Preliminary English Test administered by Oxford University Press. The test consists of writing, reading and listening sections. Most times, this test is followed by an oral face to face or Skype interview.  Other examples are learning style self assessments.

6.3.2. References:  Diagnostic Assessment Tools in English. (2013). Retrieved September 20, 2016, from http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/support/Pages/date.aspx  Pierola, S. D. (2014). What is Diagnostic Assessment? Retrieved September 20, 2016, from https://prezi.com/ektdwrvwczn7/what-is-diagnostic-assessment/

6.4. Type of assessment: I believe the diagnostic assessment is an assessment for learning, because it helps to discover student's abilities and areas that need to be worked on. The aforementioned plays a very vital role in effective learning design.

7. Formative

7.1. What? Formative assessment is a type of assessment that does not count towards students' final grade at the end of the unit. This assessment is considered as a part of the learning process, so it's administered throughout the duration of a learning program.

7.2. Why? To check for understanding along the way and guide teacher's decision making about future instruction; they also provide feedback to students so that necessary improvements can be made in regards to their performance.

7.3. Advantages: Because this assessment doesn't count towards students' final grade, there's a minimal chance of anxiety; thus promoting accuracy in regards to students' performance and ability. This assessment also plays a very important role in effective lesson planning, by revealing areas that students have mastered, and areas that need to be worked on. In conclusion, even though this assessment doesn't count towards students' final grade, it helps to get them prepared for the final exam and project at the end of the learning unit.                                                   Disadvantage: Because this assessment doesn't count towards students' final grade, students tend not to take it seriously, which may lead to inaccurate feedback.

7.3.1. Examples are: Quizzes, debates, journal writing, word cards, exit tickets, entry tickets...................

7.3.2. References.  J. D. (2016). What Are Formative Assessments and Why Should We Use Them? | Scholastic.com. Retrieved September 20, 2016, from http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/what-are-formativeassessments-and-why-should-we-use-them                         N. S., Dr. (2016). What Are the Advantages & Disadvantages of Formative Assessment? Retrieved September 20, 2016, from http://oureverydaylife.com/advantages-disadvantages-formative-assessment-28407.html

7.4. Type of assessment: I believe formative assessment is both an assessment for and of learning. It's an assessment for learning, because it helps to discover students' mastery level of the concepts taught, and areas that could be worked on; thus helping the teacher to implement effective differentiation strategies. In some cases, the lesson might have to be re-taught. It is an assessment of learning because it reveals what students have learnt, even though it doesn't count towards the final unit grade.

8. Summative

8.1. What? Summative assessment is a type of assessment that's used to evaluate students' learning, skill acquisition and academic achievement at the end of a unit, or learning program. This assessment is graded and kept in students' records.

8.2. Why? To determine what students have learnt, and the extent of mastery.

8.3. Advantages: Summative assessments determine students' achievement, because they're utilized to measure the improvement towards objectives and goals; thus affecting course placement decisions. They are also very useful in identifying weak areas.     Disadvantages: No accurate reflection of learning, as summative assessments are performance focused. Also,  there's a big chance of students feeling nervous during summative assessments.

8.3.1. Examples: Debates, projects, end of unit/semester tests, standardized test; such as SAT, ACT, IELTS..........

8.3.2. References  S. A. (2013). Summative Assessment Definition. Retrieved September 21, 2016, from http://edglossary.org/summative-assessment/                             K. R. (2016). Advantages and Disadvantages of Summative Evaluation - WiseStep. Retrieved September 21, 2016, from http://content.wisestep.com/advantages-disadvantages-summative-evaluation/

8.4. Type of assessment: I believe summative assessment is an assessment of learning, as it's performance focused. Even though they are often used in course placement decisions, they still remain assessment of learning, due to the fact that they don't offer accurate reflection of learning.

8.4.1. Introduction - why are you writing about this?

8.4.2. Subhead 1

8.4.3. Subhead 2

8.4.4. Subhead 3

8.4.5. Conclusion - what summarizes what is most interesting about your topic?

9. Performance-based

9.1. What? Performance based assessments are used to measure the application of content knowledge and acquired skills, through the performance of tasks that are meaningful and engaging to students.

9.2. Why? To offer students the platform to apply the acquired set of skills in a professional scenario.

9.3. Advantages: Performance-based assessments foster self research, critical thinking and creativity. Also, teachers do not have to “give up” units of study or favorite activities in a performance-based classroom.                                                                  Disadvantages: They are usually expensive to implement and can be very time consuming.

9.4. Type of assessment: I believe performance-based assessment is an assessment for learning, because it helps to discover students' level of mastery of content knowledge and areas that could be worked on.

9.4.1. Example: Dialogue role play

9.4.2. References.   Ascd. "Chapter 1. What Is Performance-Based Learning and Assessment, and Why Is It Important?" What Is Performance-Based Learning and Assessment, and Why Is It Important? N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2016.