Report on the Assessment(s) Employed in an ESL Classroom

1.0 Introduction Assessment is an integral part of learning. As Palomba & Banta (1999) aptly pointed out, assessment is the systematic collection, review, and use of information about educational programs undertaken for the purpose of improving learning and development. Quality in language assessment depends on how well the assessment engages the learners based on the four basic principles: validity, reliability, practicality and authenticity.

2.0 Observation On 31st July 2013 (Wednesday), I was given opportunity observing an hour ESL teaching and learning session which was carried out by Madam _____ in SK Sri Gaya. The topic of the lesson was Recycle. The class taught was 2SK where the pupils were all with average level of proficiency in English. During the lesson, two written assessments were employed by the teacher to assess writing skill. In the first assessment, pupils were required to identify the things which can be reused and recycled whereas in the second assessment, pupils were asked to sequence the process of recycling into a correct order.

2.1 Strengths of the tests After evaluating both of the assessments, I found that both assessments had established one of the principles of language assessment which is validity. According to Brown, H. D. (2003), content validity of the classroom test is demonstrated when the assessment requires students to perform tasks that were included in the previous classroom lessons. During the lesson observed, both assessments conducted assessed on what the pupils had learnt in the previous presentation stage which was about the recycling materials and recycling process. Therefore, both assessments were content valid. Besides that, the assessments had also achieved face validity where the pupils encountered the tasks constructed in a familiar structure. (Brown, H.

D., 2003) Pupils were familiar with the task structure such as choosing answers and sequencing as those structures were frequently used in their activity books. Besides relevant to what was being taught, the content in the assessments was also authentic. First, according to Brown (2003), authenticity can be presented in a way where the topics are meaningful for the learner. Both assessments observed were found related to the pupils daily lives since the topic chosen was recycling. Therefore, it was meaningful to the pupils. Second, natural language was also used in the assessments where the pupils were able to understand it easily such as the choices of answer given which include newspaper, magazines, papers and so on. On the other hand, both assessments had also achieved part of the test reliability which depends on the physical context which was supported by Brown (2003). He stated that test reliability can be achieved by making sure that all students receive the same quality of input. During the lesson observed, every pupil was given same opportunity to work on a cleanly photocopied worksheet in an optimal classroom environment. Therefore, both assessments were reliable. In the aspect of practicality, both assessments were considered practical as the pupils could complete the tests reasonably within the set time which was 25 minutes. As Brown (2003) aptly viewed that a practical test means it stays within appropriate time constraints. Furthermore, Brown (2003) also stated that a test that is not excessively expensive is practical. Since both of the assessments carried out by the teacher were all using paper and pencil method, the costs of assessments were all within the budgeted limit. Therefore, both assessments were practical. However, by looking it in detail, the second assessment was somehow not practical when reading the sentences given. Those sentences were hard to be linked and sequenced for the level of the pupils. However, it was valid since the pupils had been taught on how to sequence the sentences. Therefore, the assessment was still viewed as reliable.

2.2 Weaknesses of the tests Besides realising on the strengths of both assessments, I have also found that reliability could be an issue in some aspects of the first assessment. The scoring criteria in the first assessment might contribute to the unreliability of the test. It is

because the number of accurate answers given and the number of expected answers was not matched. It supposed to have ten expected answers, but only nine answers could be found from the choices given. The assessment could be reliable if the teacher corrected the answers up to nine but not ten which means full mark was given to pupils who scored nine answers correct. However, if the teacher marked the answers up to ten, then the assessment could be viewed as unreliable as the scoring criteria did not suit to the content of the assessment. Besides the scoring criteria, I found that the lack of validity in the first assessment could also affect the reliability of a measurement. Based on Ward & Murray-Ward (1999), the difficulty of the assessment should appropriate for the students who take them. In my opinion, the first assessment was considered to be too easy for the pupils with average level of proficiency. It was because the choices given in the assessment were too simple and not well constructed. For example, animals such as elephant and ants as well as place such as toilet were included in choices when the pupils were required to choose and write things that can be reused and recycled. Therefore, the reliability of the test could be affected. However, it could be reliable if the assessment was used for weak pupils.

2.3 Suggestions for improvement I realised that there are some improvements that can be done by Madam ______ in order to make her assessments even better and more effective. Firstly, it will be better if she enhanced the validity of the first assessment. As Gronlund (1998) viewed that an assessment is considered as face valid if the students view the assessment as fair, relevant and useful for improving learning. In order to make the pupils learning more effectively, the difficulty of the assessment should be enhanced to suit the level of the pupils. Therefore, it will be better if Madam can change some of the choices of answer into non-living things such as nails, diapers and wires rather than using living things such as elephant, ants, flowers and even place such as toilet. Besides that, the assessment can also be made more challenging by asking the pupils to classify the things according to the colour of recycle bins. Through the enhancement in validity, indirectly the reliability of the assessment can also be enhanced.

Apart from that, to avoid the reliability problem, it will be better if Madam checked on the answers in the first worksheet before using it to assess the pupils. While designing the worksheet, she should ensure that it is constructed well with the accurate number of correct answers.

3.0 Conclusion In sum, the written assessments established by Madam have basically achieved the four principles of language assessment. Those assessments applied have successfully prompted her to determine the pupils progress in learning and also the effectiveness of her instruction during the teaching and learning.