Alternative Assesment

• There is no single definition of ‘alternative assessment’ in the relevant literature. For some educators, alternative assessment is a term adopted to contrast with standardised assessment

• More general definitions:• Smith (1999) refers to procedures and

techniques which can be used within the context of instruction and can be easily incorporated into the daily activities of the school or classroom

Other terminology

• Authentic assessment• Performance assessment• Continuous assessment• On-going assessment• Other: as well as ‘informal assessment’, ‘descriptive

assessment’, ‘direct assessment’, ‘dynamic assessment’, ‘instructional assessment’, ‘responsive evaluation’, ‘complementary assessment’, ‘formative assessment’, ‘portfolio assessment’, ‘situated/contextualised assessment’ and ‘assessment by exhibition’.

Problems with traditional tests• Raising our awareness of the shortcomings of tests• Curricular level – they limit the curriculum• Educational level:

– Limit the methodology – employ exam preparation practices

– Limit the range scope and types of instructional materials

– Limit students’ learning and studying practices

• Psychological level: – Students’ psychology – passive recepients – tests

also affect other aspects like intrinsic motivation– Teachers’ psychology

• teachers’ knowledge

Problems with traditional tests cnt’d

• Dissatisfaction with teacher-made tests

• Criterion / normative assessment – the problem of competition

• Little reflection on what is done

• Equity in Education – cultural biases / students with special needs

Important characteristics of alternative assessment

• Formative / summative assessment• Length – one-shot assessment vs. continuous

(assessment over a long time)• Low stakes / high stakes• Beneficial vs. negative backwash effect• Place – inside vs. outside the classroom• Relevance to students’ lives• Presentation: Assessment tasks can be

presented in different ways• Meaningful tasks

Benefits of alternative assessment

1. Evaluate the process and product of learning as well as other important learning behaviours (reflect developmental processes / learning about other factors that affect students’ achievement)

Learning about other behaviours

• Learning strategies

• Affective and personality style

• Students’ working habits

• Students’ social behaviour

• Students attitudes to the course

2. Evaluate and monitor instruction

Benefits cont’d

3. Produce meaningful results to a variety of stakeholders like teachers, students, parents and administrators

• Students: see their own accomplishments in terms that they can understand and, consequently, it allows them to assume responsibility for their learning

Benefits cont’d

• Teachers: obtain data on their students and their classroom for educational decision-making

• administrators, who are typically least convinced of the advantages of alternative assessment, can benefit from the clear information about student and teacher attainment over time (Hamayanm 1995:215)

• 4. Relate to cognitive psychology and related fields – “learning is not linear, but proceeds in many directions at once and at an uneven pace” – the possibility of generating rather than choosing a response

• 5. Represent a collaborative approach to assessment – teacher and student

• 6. Support students’ psychologically - enhance learners’ self-esteem and feelings of efficacy as a growing person and fosters intrinsic motivation

• 7. Promote autonomous and self-directed learning – they can judge their strengths and weaknesses and set realistic goals, they becomce self-directed and autonomous

• 8. Provide new roles for teachers – Genesee (2001:150 ) points out that “[t]hese new evaluation approaches recognise classroom teachers as reflective, self-motivated professionals” (ibid:150) – enhances teachers’ role

Types or methods of alternative assessment

• Conferences

• Debates

• Demonstrations

• Diaries/Journals

• Dramatizations

• Exhibitions

• Games•Observations• Peer-assessment• Portfolios• Projects• Self-assessment• Story retelling• Think-alouds

Tools to record alternative asseement

• Anecdotal records

• Checklists

• Learner profiles

• Progress cards

• Questionnaires

• Rating Scales

Concerns raised about certain qualities of alternative

assessment

• it is argued that alternative assessment documentation provides rich data about learning but it is much more cost effective and time-consuming for the teacher to administer and analyse thoughtfully in order to give accurate feedback to the learner - especially in classes with large numbers of learners

• Another concern is related to the special skills needed by teachers in order to successfully implement alternative methods of assessment

• Some learners might not accept it

• They also need to be valid, reliable and practical- they should as well have beneficial backwash

1. transfer and generalizability

2. cognitive complexity

3. content quality

4. content coverage

5. meaningfulness

6. cost and effect

Portfolio Assessment• Portfolio assessment is not new but was introduced into language

learning in the mid 1980s• What is a Portfolio?

• A portfolio is a purposeful collection of selective significant samples of student work accompanied by clear criteria for performance which evidence student effort, progress or achievement. A portfolio is different from a folder in that it includes:

• o Explicit guidelines for selection • o Comprehensible criteria • o Clear objectives • o Selective and significant pieces • o Students’ self-reflection pieces • o Evidence of student participation in selection of content