Àêêîæèíà À. Ì.
Ñòóäåíòêà ÅÍÓ èì. Ë.Í.Ãóìèëåâà
Ôèëîëîãè÷åñêîãî ôàêóëüòåòà
Êàôåäðû òåîðèè è ïðàêòèêè èíîñòðàííîãî ÿçûêà
Êàçàõñòàí, Àñòàíà
Æóìàòàåâà Á.Ê.
Ñòàðøèé
ïðåïîäàâàòåëü êàôåäðû òåîðèè è ïðàêòèêè èíîñòðàííîãî ÿçûêà
Effective assessment
is a guarantee of successful education.
Assessment is an ongoing process aimed at understanding and improving
student learning. It can be defined as a sample taken from a larger domain of
content and process skills that allows one to infer student understanding of a
part of the larger domain being explored. The sample may include behaviors,
products, knowledge, and performances. Assessment involves examining and
observing children's behaviors, listening to their ideas, and developing
questions to promote conceptual understanding. It is
an integral part of instruction, as it determines whether or not the goals of
education are being met. Assessment affects decisions about grades, placement,
advancement, instructional needs, curriculum, and, in some cases, funding.
Assessment inspire teachers to ask these hard questions: "Are we teaching
what we think we are teaching?" "Are students learning what they are
supposed to be learning?" "Is there a way to teach the subject
better, thereby promoting better learning?"
Everyone knows what a difference it makes to pupils`learning when they
and their teachers have a really good understanding of where pupils are in
their learning , where they need to go next and how best to get there- which is
what assessment for learning is all about.
Assessment for learning is a powerful way of raising pupils`
achievement. It is based on the
principle that will improve most if they understand the aim of their learning,
where they are in the relation to this aim and how they can achieve the aim or
close the gap in their knowledge. It is not an add-on or a project; it is
central to effective teaching and learning.
Good assessment for learning makes an accurate assessment, that helps to
know what the standards are, judge pupil`s work correctly; a reliable
assessment, ensuring that judgements are consistent and based on a range of
evidence; a useful assessment that identifies barriers to pupil progress and
using that information to plan and discuss the next steps in learning; for
continuity assessment, enabling better transfer between years and schools, etc.
Students can become better language learners
when they engage in deliberate thought about what they are learning and how
they are learning it. In this kind of reflection, students step back from the
learning process to think about their language learning strategies and their
progress as language learners. Such
self assessment encourages students to become independent learners and
can increase their motivation.
The successful use of student self-assessment
depends on three key elements: goal setting, guided practice with assessment
tools and portfolios.
Goal setting is essential because students can
evaluate their progress more clearly when they have targets against which to
measure their performance. In addition, students' motivation to learn increases
when they have self-defined, and therefore relevant, learning goals.
Students do not learn to monitor or assess their
learning on their own; they need to be taught strategies for self-monitoring
and self-assessment. Techniques for teaching students these strategies are
parallel to those used for teaching learning strategies.The instructor models
the technique (use of a checklist or rubric, for example); students then try
the technique themselves; finally, students discuss whether and how well the
technique worked and what to do differently next time.
Portfolios are purposeful, organized, systematic
collections of student work that tell the story of a student's efforts,
progress, and achievement in specific areas. The student participates in the
selection of portfolio content, the development of guidelines for selection,
and the definition of criteria for judging merit. Portfolio assessment is a
joint process for instructor and student.Portfolio assessment emphasizes
evaluation of students' progress, processes, and performance over time.
There are two basic types of portfolios.A
process portfolio serves the purpose of classroom-level assessment on the part
of both the instructor and the student. It most often reflects formative
assessment, although it may be assigned a grade at the end of the semester or
academic year. It may also include summative types of assignments that were
awarded grades.A product portfolio is more summative in nature. It is intended
for a major evaluation of some sort and is often accompanied by an oral
presentation of its contents. For example, it may be used as a evaluation tool
for graduation from a program or for the purpose of seeking employment.
In both types of portfolios, emphasis is placed
on including a variety of tasks that elicit spontaneous as well as planned
language performance for a variety of purposes and audiences, using rubrics to
assess performance, and demonstrating reflection about learning, including goal
setting and self and peer assessment.
One of the ways in which students internalize the
characteristics of quality work is by evaluating the work of their peers. Peer assessment, where students assess
each other, can encourage students to take greater responsibility for their
learning, for example, by encouraging engagement with assessment criteria and
reflection of their peers` performance. Through this, students can learn
from their previous mistakes, identify their strengths and weaknesses and learn
to target their learning accordingly. Getting students to become more active in
their learning in this way can help to alter the perception of learning as
being a passive process whereby students listen to you and absorb the
information in order to regurgitate during a subsequent assignment. If students
are participants rather than 'spectators', they are more likely to engage with
their learning.
The theoretical knowledge about assessment means
nothing unless we know how to use assessment in our everyday classes. Most
teachers face a number of problems concerning practical assessment such as
implementation of new assessment techniques, making assessment easy for
students` perception and adoption, making it acting, effective and interesting,
motivation of students via assessment activities, coordination of
self-assessment activities, etc.
There were given above definitions and descriptions
of assessment and its kinds。 Now we are going to provide some information about assessment and self-assessment that we could implement in our everyday
classes during the practice.
All activities are investigated and tested on the
basis of “Miras” international school of Astana city，Kazakhstan，which choose criterion-based approach as a
preferable in their assessment system。The school made a great achievement，becoming accredited by the New England Association
of the Schools and Colleges（NEASC），the Council of International Schools(CIS) and authorized by the
International Baccalaureate for three IB Programmes （PYP，MYP，DP）.
The IB programmes implemented in the school promote
education by instilling attributes of a “life-long learner” embodied in the IB
Learner Profile. The school philosophy is based on the IB mission and
emphasizes intellectual, personal and social growth of a student.
The approach to assessment used by the IB is
criterion-related, not norm-referenced. This approach to assessment judges
students` work by their performance in relation to identified levels of
attainment and not in relation to the work of other students.
The essential part in criterion-based approach is
that criterions play the role of terms in partnership between teacher and
student. Both sides need to learn the terms and follow them. Students, from
their side, know they are required and expected for. Teacher can evaluate,
monitor and moderate according to the given terms.
To deduce it is necessary to say that assessment is important because of
all the decisions that will be made about children when teaching and caring for
them. Every teacher will be called upon every day to make decisions before,
during, and after teaching. Whereas some of these decisions will seem small and
inconsequential, others will be “high stakes,” influencing the life course of
children. All the assessment decisions taken as a whole will direct and
alterchildren’s learning outcomes. That is why teachers should use assessment
procedures appropriately, in order to help all children learn well.
Bibliography
1.
Badders J. “
Methods of assessment”, Cleveland, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000
2.
J.Knight
“The assessment for learning strategy”
3.
“Miras”
International School Guide, Almaty
4.
Thomas S.C. Farrell and George M. Jacobs “Essential for successful english language teaching”