Unit 18 · Assessment types and tasks

Assessment means judging learners’ performance by collecting information about it, and assessment tasks are the tasks we use for assessing learners. We can assess learners informally, by observing them and commenting on how well they are doing something, or formally, through tests or exams which are given a mark or a grade.

◆What are assessment types and tasks?

AssessmentTo discover, judge, or form an opinion on learners’ ability, achievement, proficiency or progress either formally or informally. click to keep open · see glossary means judging learners’ performance by collecting information about it. We assessTo discover, judge, or form an opinion on learners’ ability, achievement, proficiency or progress either formally or informally. click to keep open · see glossary learners for different reasons, using different methods to do so. Assessment tasksAssessment tasks are the tasks we use for assessing learners. click to keep open · see glossary are the tasks we use for assessing learners. We can assess learners informally or formally. Informal assessmentWhen a teacher decides whether a learner is doing well or not, or whether a course is successful or not, by evaluating learners by thinking about their strengths and weaknesses and thinking about their progress rather than setting a test or writing an official… click to keep open · see glossary is when we observe learners to see how well they are doing something and then often give them comments on their performance. Formal assessmentWhen a teacher assesses learners and then gives them a formal report or grade, to say how successful or unsuccessful they have been See informal assessment. click to keep open · see glossary is when we assess learners through tests or exams and give their work a mark or a grade.

◆Key concepts — reasons for assessing learners formally

List all the reasons you can think of for assessing learners formally.

There are several reasons why we might want to assess learners formally:

1. At the beginning of a course we might give them a test to find out (diagnoseSee assessment, test. click to keep open · see glossary) what they know and don’t know. This is called a diagnostic testSee assessment, test. click to keep open · see glossary. The information from this type of test helps us decide what to teach and which learners need help in which areas of language.
2. When learners go to a language school or evening classes, the school may want to know what level the learners are at, so they give them a test. This is called a placement testSee test. click to keep open · see glossary. We use the information from a placement test to decide what level of class the learners should go into.
3. After we have finished teaching a part of a course, we may want to find out how well learners have learnt it. A test for this purpose is called a progress testSee test. click to keep open · see glossary. A progress test looks back over a recent block of the syllabusThis describes the language and skills to be covered on a course, and the order in which they will be taught. The content of a syllabus will be based on the writer’s beliefs about language learning. See curriculum. click to keep open · see glossary, e.g. a unit from the coursebookSee book. click to keep open · see glossary, to see how well the learners have learnt what it covered. We use the information from the test to decide if we need to do more work on this area of the syllabus or not, and perhaps to give learners feedback1. To tell someone how well they are doing. After a test, or at a certain point in the course, teachers might give learners feedback on how well they are doing. 2. Teachers also give feedback after an exercise that learners have just completed; e.g. after lear… click to keep open · see glossary on their strengths and difficulties in this area. Using information from assessment to feed into our teaching and maybe give learners feedback is called formative assessmentWhen a teacher uses formal and informal assessment and information on learners’ progress during a course to give learners feedback on their learning or to change their teaching. See summative assessment. click to keep open · see glossary.
4. Some teachers prefer not to assess their learners’ progress in a term through tests but through pieces of work given throughout the term. They might set a composition in week 2, for instance, a presentation in week 4, an essay in week 6, etc., then base the learner’s final mark on the average mark for the pieces of work. Some teachers think that this method of assessment (continuous assessmentA type of assessment which does not involve a final examination. Some or all of the work that learners do during a course is marked by the teacher on a regular basis and these marks go into the calculation of the final grade given to learners. Continuous asses… click to keep open · see glossary) gives a truer picture of how well the learner has learnt and is less threatening and more formative than an end-of-course exam. In young learner classes this form of assessment is sometimes called classroom-based assessment.

   Another way of assessing learners’ work throughout the term is through a portfolioA collection of work that a learner uses to show what he/she has done during a particular course. A purposeful document, regularly added to, that may be part of continuous assessment. See portfolio assessment. click to keep open · see glossary. This is a collection of learners’ work done during the course, which the learner puts together during or at the end a course and then presents to the teacher. Often it also contains comments on the work written by the learner or classmates.

   Like continuous assessment, portfolios let learners produce work on an area just after it has been taught. Putting the portfolio together can also be an opportunity for the learner to revise and improve their work. The portfolio might contain, for example, different kinds of writing, the results of a project or recordings, e.g. a video of an interview or a presentation.

5. At the end of a term or course, we may give learners a test to see how well they have learnt the contents of the whole course. This kind of assessment is called an achievement testSee test. click to keep open · see glossary or a summative testSee test. click to keep open · see glossary. Learners usually receive a score or mark from this kind of testing.
6. Sometimes learners take tests to see how good they are at language. This kind of test is called a proficiency testSee test. click to keep open · see glossary. The contents of the test are not based on a course or syllabus that the learner has followed. The test measures the learner’s general skillThe four language skills are listening, speaking, reading and writing. See develop skills, subskills, receptive skills, productive skills. click to keep open · see glossary or ability in the language as a whole (e.g. the IELTS test) or a use of it (e.g. English for nurses).

Diagnostic, placement, progress, summative and proficiency tests are all examples of formal testing. They are taken under exam-like conditions with learners at their own desks, working silently and within a time limit, consist of set tasks for which a score is given and are administered by the teacher or an official.

There are many different tasks a teacher can use to assess her learners, e.g. multiple-choice questionsA task-type in which learners are given a question and three or four possible answers or options. They choose the correct answer from the options they are given, e.g. Listen to the weather report. What will the weather be like tomorrow? A very sunny B a bit su… click to keep open · see glossary, interviews, gap-fillTests knowledge of grammar and/or lexis. The teacher has control over which items are tested. Marking can be difficult, as gaps may allow more than one answer click to keep open · see glossary (filling in gaps in sentences or texts), table completion for listening, or reading for specific information. The tasks a teacher chooses to use for formal assessment depend on what aspect of language or skills the teacher wants to assess.

◆Objective and subjective assessment tasks

Assessment tasks are often described as objectiveSomething that you plan to achieve. Lesson objectives are specific learning targets that help achieve a lesson’s aims, e.g. Learners will be able to understand the gist of the text. click to keep open · see glossary and subjectiveDescribing an assessment task that has no single correct answer, so marking depends on the marker's judgment. click to keep open · see glossary. The difference between objective and subjective tasks is how much the marker needs to use their own judgement to mark the right answer. In an objective taskAn assessment task in which there is only one correct answer, so the marker does not have to judge how right an answer is. click to keep open · see glossary the marker does not have to judge whether an answer is right or wrong, or how right or how wrong the answer is, because there is only one answer. Multiple-choice, true/false, gap-fills and matching tasks are all examples of objective tasks.

The advantage of objective tests is that there is no judgement involved in their marking. This means they are quick to mark, and the results are accurate: important featuresFeatures such as speed of delivery and accent are part of connected speech click to keep open · see glossary for both teachers and learners. The disadvantages of objective tests are that they are difficult to write and that they do not test real use of the language, but rather the skills or knowledge that language use is based on. We may know which letter to tick, (A, B or C), in a multiple-choice test of our knowledge of the present tense, but not know how to use the same tense while talking.

In a subjective taskAn assessment task in which the marker must use their judgment to decide how right an answer is, e.g. an essay. click to keep open · see glossary the marker needs to use their judgment to decide if an answer is right or how right it is. Examples of subjective tasks are role-plays, essays, interviews, group discussions, compositions. There are many things to mark in tasks like this. For example, in an essay you could mark grammar and range of vocabulary use, but you could also mark quality of ideas, task achievementSomething you succeed in doing usually by making an effort; something done successfully, e.g. Sarah worked hard and passed her exam. This was an achievement. Something which is achievable for learners is something they can succeed in. click to keep open · see glossary, use of registerThe formality or informality of language used in a particular situation. Formal register or formal language is language which is used in serious or important situations, e.g. in a job application. Informal register or informal language is language used in rela… click to keep open · see glossary, organisation. The marker needs to decide what aspects of the essay to mark and then how to distinguishTo identify the difference between two or more things; e.g. sound discrimination is hearing the differences between sounds, particularly minimal pairs, e.g. not/lot; ship/sheep. click to keep open · see glossary, for example, between excellent, good, average and poor use of grammar.

Here are some task types often used in formal assessment:

You can check your understanding of the terms in bold in this table in the TKT Glossary.

◆Informal assessment and assessment criteria

Unlike formal assessment, informal assessment does not use assessment tasks and is rarely used to give the learner a grade, as that is not the purpose of informal assessment. It is also generally less reliable or accurate than formal assessment. Informal assessment can be carried out by the teacher or the learners. When carried out by the teacher it usually involves the teacher observing the learners or particular learners to find out more about their level, attitudes or learner characteristicsThe typical things about a learner or learners that influence their learning, e.g. age, L1, past learning experience, learning style. click to keep open · see glossary.

A teacher might observe a class doing group work, for example, to judge their general level of fluency, or watch them doing project work to see how motivatedWanting to learn and being willing to make an effort; motivated learners work hard and stay interested. click to keep open · see glossary they are or how well they work together (collaboration). The teacher might also just focus on how a particular learner is getting on, observing them as they do e.g. written work or pairwork in class. The teacher could use a checklist or take notes to help them remember what they have observed. Informal assessment of this kind helps the teacher learn about the needsThe language, language skills or learning strategies a learner still has to learn in order to reach their goals, which are the things they want personally and professionally which are connected to their learning. For example, a learner might need to have good … click to keep open · see glossary of individual learners and about general levels of ability or attitudes in a class. He or she can use this information to shape future lessons.

Informal assessment is often used with young learners, as they may not respond well to formal assessment. We can see that informal assessment is formative. It provides the teacher with feedback that can feed into future teaching or could be used to give advice to learners on how to improve in future.

Learners can also carry out informal assessment. They can assess themselves (self-assessmentSee assessment. click to keep open · see glossary) or one another (peer assessmentWhen learners give their opinions on each other’s language or work. See self-assessment. click to keep open · see glossary). They can do this with checklists to guideHelp and advice about how to do something. Teachers give learners guidance with learning, or with doing a task. click to keep open · see glossary them. The reason for using both peer and self-assessment is to help learners to understand their language use and performance better, and so become more autonomousSee learner autonomy. click to keep open · see glossary. Informal assessment is often followed up by feedback from the teacher to the learners on the strengths and weaknesses of their performance, and suggestions for how to improve.

When a teacher is assessing informally or using formal subjective tests they often use assessment criteriaThe qualities against which a learner’s performance is judged for assessment. For example, assessment criteria for judging learners’ writing may be: accuracy of grammar, use of vocabulary, spelling and punctuation, organisation of ideas. click to keep open · see glossary to help with the assessment. These are the general features of a skill which can be used as a basis for judging students’ performance. For example, speaking involves the subskillsEach of the four language skills can be divided into smaller subskills that are all part of the main skill; e.g. identifying text organisation is a subskill of reading; identifying word stress is a listening subskill. See detail, gist, global understanding, sc… click to keep open · see glossary of:

• fluency
• using language accurately
• using language appropriatelyLanguage which is suitable in a particular situation; e.g. it might be appropriate to say Hi in one situation but Good morning in another. See inappropriate, formal language, informal language, register. click to keep open · see glossary
• interactive strategiesInteraction is two-way communication between listener and speaker, or reader and text. Interactive strategies are the ways used, especially in speaking, to keep people involved and interested in what is said or to keep communication going, e.g. eye contact, us… click to keep open · see glossary
• pronunciation
• vocabulary range
• discourseSpoken language or written language in texts, e.g. groups of sentences which are spoken or written. click to keep open · see glossary organisation.

The teacher can use these subskills or some of them (depending on the level of the class) as criteria against which to judge their learners’ speaking. At beginner or low levels the teacher might want to just use e.g. pronunciation and vocabulary range as assessment criteria. In school tests, the assessment criteria should reflect the focus of what has been taught. It is not fair in a progress or an achievement test to test students on e.g. their organisation of writing, if they have never been taught this. Assessment criteria help to make subjective tests less subjective, because the teacher will mark all the students’ work using the same criteria.

◆Assessment criteria and bands

Below is an example of some assessment criteria for speaking arranged as a set of bandsThe bands could be used in a formal assessment of speaking or to help a teacher carry out informal assessment. click to keep open · see glossary. The criteria have been arranged to describe different levels of ability.

These particular bands cover a wide range of ability. When working with a particular class it may be more useful for the teacher to work with a narrower range. The bands could be used in a formal assessment of speaking or to help a teacher carry out informal assessment. Informal assessment is sometimes used to assess students’ behaviour, attitudes or learner characteristics rather than their language abilities. In this case the assessment criteria might be e.g. motivationMotivation is the thoughts and feelings which make us want to and continue to want to do something and which turn our wishes into action. click to keep open · see glossary, degree of participationTo take part in something; e.g. when learners participate in a lesson or classroom activity they are involved and active. click to keep open · see glossary in group work, type of learning styleThe way a learner prefers to learn, e.g. by listening (auditory), seeing (visual) or moving (kinesthetic). click to keep open · see glossary, etc.

◆Key concepts and the language teaching classroom

Read these tips and tick the ones which are most important for you.

• Assessment can affect what we teach, how we teach and our learners’ motivation for learning. It is very important for tests to have a good influence on teaching and learning.
• Some assessment tasks are easy to write, e.g. essay titles, or mark, e.g. categorising tasks. But we need to check if they reflect what we have taught. It is not a good idea to use a particular testing task just because it is easy to use or easy to mark. For example, for administrative reasons, it is often difficult to assess learners’ speaking, so speaking is often not assessed, and as a result learners may start thinking that speaking isn’t important. Speaking skills can sometimes be more easily assessed informally than formally.
• To really reflect the level of learners’ learning, the content and tasks included in progress and summative tests should reflect the content and tasks in our teaching. This may mean that our tests include a mixture of objective and subjective tasks.
• Assessment needs to be fair. This means that progress and summative tests should only test what has been taught and that they should be reliable and accurate in their marking. Using bands to help us mark subjective tasks helps achieve this.
• Feedback to learners on what they got right or wrong, their strengths and weaknesses, and what they can do to improve, is very important. Through feedback, assessment helps learning.
• Informal assessment is often much more suitable for assessing young learners than formal assessment. This is because young learners’ ways of thinking and learning are based on experiencing and communicating, and also because teachers of young learners are often interested in finding out more about their learners’ attitudes, motivation and behaviours.
• If in your school, several classes follow the same syllabus or coursebook and do the same subjective / partly subjective test, it is useful for the teachers to use the same assessment criteria or bands. It may be useful to agree what mark you would give to some samples of students’ writing before marking starts. Even then, there may be disagreements amongst teachers. At this point, it’s useful to discuss exactly what the bands mean. This process helps marking become fairer and more reliable.
• Working with assessment criteria and bands helps the teacher grade all students against the same levels of achievement. This can help the teacher and the students know more about their real level of ability than if the teacher just ranks the students according to their grades.

✎Follow-up activity

💡Reflect

🔍Discovery activities

✎TKT practice tasks

These multiple-choice tasks are exactly as in the book, but interactive: pick your answers, check your score, and retry anytime. The scoring uses the official answer key from the back of the book.

📖Glossary terms in this unit

Key terms highlighted in this unit — study them on the flashcards page.