Query: Language assessment practices

title: Linking Learners' Perspectives on Language Assessment Practices to Teachers' Assessment Literacy Enhancement (TALE) Insights from Four European Countries
abstract: This article presents results from a needs analysis survey conducted in the first year of a European funded project entitled 'Teachers' Assessment Literacy Enhancement (TALE) The survey questionnaire used asked 1788 learners of English in Cyprus, Germany, Greece and Hungary about their experiences of assessment; which of these they considered conducive to learning and the role feedback played as an instrument of formative assessment. Further questionnaire data from their 658 teachers were included in the data analysis. The results showed that practices differed across contexts. Overall, both learners and teachers reported a wide range of skills and areas to be assessed in the EFL classroom with writing, followed by speaking, being assessed the most. Based on the perceptions reported by the learners, the assessment types used revealed rather traditional approaches with frequent use of e.g. discrete point tests with closed answers, extended writing and translation. The learners appeared to regard these types of assessment to be supportive of their learning. Feedback given was mostly restricted to marks and brief comments. The perceptions on feedback practices varied among teachers and their learners. Results of the needs analysis were taken as the basis of the online course design for enhancing teachers' language assessment literacy.

title: Language Assessment Practices and Beliefs: Implications for Language Assessment Literacy
abstract: This study reports the contextual Language Assessment Literacy (LAL) of five Colombian English language teachers. Two semi structured interviews and reflective journals were used for data collection. The findings show that the teachers used varied traditional and alternative assessment instruments, assessed language and non language constructs, used assessment information to improve teaching and learning, evaluated assessment results, and engaged students in quantitative peer assessment. As for beliefs, data show that students' success and failure in assessment were connected to past experiences, and that assessment was appropriate given a number of features. Participants' answers about LAL show a complex and multifaceted construct. Taken together, the findings serve as baseline data to further professional development in language assessment.

title: Conversation Analysis, Interactional Competence, and Language Assessment: Practices, Challenges, and Implications

title: The role of school assessment teams in quality assurance of English First Additional Language assessment practices in primary schools

title: Language Assessment: Principles and Classroom Practices
abstract: Preface 1 Testing, Assessing, and Teaching What Is a Test? Assessment and Teaching Informal and Formal Assessment Formative and Summative Assessment Norm Referenced and Criterion Referenced Test Approaches to Language Testing: A Brief History Discrete point and Integrative Testing Communicative Language Testing Performance Based Assessment Current Issues in Classroom Testing New Views on Intelligence Traditional and "Alternative" Assessment Computer Based Testing Exercises For Your Further Reading 2 Principles of Language Assessment Practicality Reliability Student Related Reliability Rater Reliability Test Administration Reliability Test Reliability Validity Content Related Evidence Criterion Related Evidence Construct Related Evidence Consequential Validity Face Validity Authenticity Washback Applying Principles to the Evaluation of Classroom Tests 1. Are the test procedures practical? 2. Is the test reliable? 3. Does the procedure demonstrate content validity? 4. Is the procedure face valid and "biased for best" 5. Are the test tasks as authentic as possible? 6. Does the test offer beneficial washback to the learner? Exercises For Your Further Reading 3 Designing Classroom Language Tests Test Types Language Aptitude Tests Proficiency Tests Placement Test Diagnostic Tests Achievement Tests Some Practical Steps to Test Construction Assessing Clear, Unambiguous Objectives Drawing Up Test Specifications Devising Test Tasks Designing Multiple Choice Test Items 1. Design each item to measure a specific objective 2. State Both stem and options as simply and directly as possible 3. Make certain that the intended answer is clearly the only correct one 4. Use item indices to accept, discard, or revise items Scoring, Grading, and Giving Feedback Scoring Grading Giving Feedback Exercises For Your Further Reading 4 Standardized Testing What Is Standardization? Advantages and Disadvantages of Standardized Tests Developing a Standardized Test 1. Determine the purpose and objectives of the test 2. Design test specifications 3. Design, select, and arrange test tasks/items 4. Make appropriate evaluations of different kinds of items 5. Specify scoring procedures and reporting formats 6. Perform ongoing construct validation studies Standardized Language Proficiency Testing Four Standardized Language Proficiency Tests Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL(R) Michigan English Language Assessment Battery (MELAB) International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC(R) Exercises For Your Further Reading Appendix to Chapter 4: Commercial Proficiency Tests: Sample Items and Tasks Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL(R) Michigan English Language Assessment Battery (MELAB) International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC(R) 5 Standards Based Assessment ELD Standards ELD Assessment CASAS and SCANS Teacher Standards The Consequences of Standards Based and Standardized Testing Test Bias Test Driven Learning and Teaching Ethical Issues: Critical Language Testing Exercises For Your Further Reading 6 Assessing Listening Observing the Performance of the Four Skills The Importance of Listening Basic Types of Listening Micro and Macroskills of Listening Designing Assessment Tasks: Intensive Listening Recognizing Phonological and Morphological Elements Paraphrase Recognition Designing Assessment Tasks: Responsive Listening Designing Assessment Tasks: Selective Listening Listening Cloze Information Transfer Sentence Repetition Designing Assessment Tasks: Extensive Listening Dictation Communicative Stimulus Response Tasks Authentic Listening Tasks Exercises For Your Further Reading 7 Assessing Speaking Basic Types of Speaking Micro and Macroskills of Speaking Designing Assessment Tasks: Imitative Speaking PhonePass Test Designing Assessment Tasks: Intensive Speaking Directed Response Tasks Read Aloud Tasks Sentence/Dialogue Completion Tasks and Oral Questionnaires Picture Cued Tasks Translation (of Limited Stretches of Discourse) Designing Assessment Tasks: Responsive Speaking Question and Answer Giving Instructions and Directions Paraphrasing Test of Spoken English (TSE) Designing Assessment Tasks: Interactive Speaking Interview Role Play Discussions and Conversations Games Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI)  Extensive Speaking Oral Presentations Picture Cued Story Telling Retelling a Story, News Event Translation (of Extended Prose) Exercises For Your Further Reading 8 Assessing Reading Types (Genres) of Reading Microskills, Macroskills, and Strategies for Reading Types of Reading Designing Assessment Tasks: Perceptive Reading Reading Aloud Written Response Multiple Choice Picture Cued Items Designing Assessment Tasks: Selective Reading Multiple Choice (for Form Focused Criteria) Matching Tasks Editing Tasks Picture Cued Tasks Gap Filling Tasks Designing Assessment Tasks: Interactive Reading Cloze Tasks Impromptu Reading Plus Comprehension Questions Short Answer Tasks Editing (Longer Texts) Scanning Ordering Tasks Information Transfer: Reading Charts, Maps, Graphs, Diagrams Designing Assessment Tasks: Extensive Reading Skimming Tasks Summarizing and Responding Note Taking and Outlining Exercises For Your Further Reading 9 Assessing Writing Genres of Written Language Types of Writing performance Micro and Macroskills of Writing Designing Assessment Tasks: Imitative Writing Tasks in [Hand] Writing Letters, Words, and Punctuation Spelling Tasks and Detecting Phoneme Grapheme Correspondences Designing Assessment Tasks: Intensive (Controlled) Writing Dictation and Dicto Comp Grammatical Transformation Tasks Picture Cued Tasks Vocabulary Assessment Tasks Ordering Tasks Short Answer and Sentence Completion Tasks Issues in Assessing Responsive and Extensive Writing Designing Assessment Tasks: Responsive and Extensive Writing Paraphrasing Guided Question and Answer Paragraph Construction Tasks Strategic Options Test of Written English (TWE(R) Scoring Methods for Responsive and Extensive Writing Holistic Scoring Primary Trait Scoring Analytic Scoring Beyond Scoring Responding to Extensive Writing Assessing Initial Stages of the Process of Composing Assessing Later Stages of the Process of Composing Exercises For Your Further Reading 10 Beyond Tests: Alternatives in Assessment The Dilemma of Maximizing Both Practicality and Washback Performance Based Assessment Portfolios Journals Conferences and Interviews Observations Self and Peer Assessments Types of Self and Peer Assessment Guidelines for Self and Peer Assessment A Taxonomy of Self and Peer Assessment Tasks Exercises For Your Further Reading 11 Grading and Student Evaluation Philosophy of Grading: What Should Grades Reflect? Guidelines for Selecting Grading Criteria Calculating Grades: Absolute and Relative Grading Teachers' Perceptions of Appropriate Grade Distributions Institutional Expectations and Constraints Cross Cultural Factors and the Question of Difficulty What Do Letter Grades "Mean" Alternatives to Letter Grading Some Principles and Guidelines for Grading and Evaluation Exercises For Your Further Reading Bibliography Name Index Subject Index

title: A Diagnostic study on teachers' beliefs and practices in foreign language assessment
abstract: This paper reports the findings of the qualitative diagnostic stage within an action research study whose purpose is to improve the language assessment literacy (LAL) of English teachers at a Colombian language institute. A questionnaire, interviews, and document analyses were used to inquire into beliefs and practices in the design of an achievement test. Findings suggest that these teachers believe tests should have core qualities that are partially mirrored in their practices. The research also highlights that beliefs and practices in test design exhibit a dynamic relationship. Conclusions are based on findings and provide information useful for professional development experiences in LAL.

title: Turkish EFL instructors' in class language assessment literacy: perceptions and practices
abstract: The current study was conducted with the aim of understanding Turkish EFL instructors' perceptions towards in class language assessment and its reflection in their classroom practice. The purposes of this research are: (1) to find out Turkish EFL instructors' perceptions of the term 'in class language assessment' (2) to reveal their reflections of their in class assessment knowledge to their own practice and (3) to find a relationship between experience and perception of in class assessment. In this study, data was collected from twelve instructors, 8 (female) and 4 (male) prep school teachers, varying in experience between 1 15 years, working in English Preparatory Program of a Turkish university. For the study, semi structured interview was applied in order to collect data. The interviews were recorded and transcribed through reoccurring content and themes. The findings of the study show that, although most of the teachers were familiar with basic classroom assessment, when it comes to classroom practice, there is an imbalance between assessment literacy and classroom reflection. It also revealed that there is not much relationship between the experience and assessment perception. The findings have some implications for the teachers, continuous professional units, school principals and teacher educators in the area of testing and have some recommendations for the future studies.  Assessment Literacy, In class Language Assessment, In class Assessment Practice

title: Assessment Practices: An Examination of Teachers' Perceptions of Classroom Based Language Assessment

title: Classroom assessment practices of English language instructors
abstract: Assessment of students is an essential part of instruction in both teaching and learning. With the recognition of alternative assessment methods, classroom assessment has gained attention focusing on learning of students. However, high stakes testing turns classroom assessment into teachers' high stakes decisions, ignoring the development of learners. In the context of language teaching at tertiary level, school of foreign languages serves as a gatekeeper by deciding on whether new students are proficient enough to start their professional education. Therefore, these schools impose a proficiency exam whose impact is relatively high stakes. Thus, this study aims to have a descriptive investigation of the classroom assessment practices of instructors by considering the purpose, methods, and procedures of assessment and compares the context between state and private universities. Based on the quantitative and qualitative data, the results depicted that uniformity regarding classroom assessment practices of the instructors was observed; however, to what extent this uniformity embraces formative assessment practices needs to be further explored. The study also implies instructors' need for such training that involves theoretical and practical aspects of classroom assessment at both pre service and in service level.

title: Structural Equation Modeling Reporting Practices for Language Assessment
abstract: Studies that use structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques are increasingly encountered in the language assessment literature. This popularity has created the need for a set of guidelines that can indicate what should be included in a research report and make it possible for research consumers to judge the appropriateness of the interpretations made from a reported study. This article attempts to fill this void by providing a set of reporting guidelines appropriate for language assessment researchers.