AMEP Assessment Task BankProfessional Development Kit

WritingDeveloped by Marian Hargreaves for NEAS 2013 © NEAS Ltd 2014 1

Assessment as an integral part of teaching

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Purposes and methods of assessment

• Placement• Diagnosis• Learning• Progress• Achievement

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Cornerstones

• Validity• Reliability• Practicality• Balance• Integration of skills

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Task considerations

1. Contextual 2. Content 3. Linguistic 4. Task 5. Rhetorical6. Evaluation

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Components of a writing task

• Instructions for assessors• Rubric, or instructions for learners• The prompt

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Writing new assessment tasks

• Step 1: Clear understanding of objectives

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Writing new tasks cont.

• Step 2: Choice of topic

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Writing new tasks cont.

• Step 3: Methods of assessment• Alternative forms of evidence– Exam production– Portfolios• Advantages• Disadvantages

• ‘Portability’ of writing

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Student Writing and Plagiarism

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Writing new tasks cont.

• Step 4: Piloting a new task

See Piloting Checklist

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Activities

Activity 1: Assessment prompts – discussionCSWE II K2 Write a recount

Activity 2: Moderation of a written performance

Activity 3: Develop an assessment task – CSWE II L1 Write a formal letter/email

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References• AMEPRC Fact Sheet. Teaching Strategies – 5: Using Learner Assessment for Writing Tasks. September

2006.

• Elizabeth Thomson. Effective Academic Writing, Workshop. UNE 24 Nov 2012. Also available as a workbook: E Thomson and L Droga. Effective Academic Writing, Phoenix Education 2012.

• Education Scotland. Principles of assessment, inhttp://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/learningteachingandassessment (16 Nov 2012)

• Alec Patton & Jeff Robin. Work that Matters. Paul Hamlyn Foundation. February 2012 • Sara Cushing Weigle. Teaching writing teachers about assessment. Journal of Second Language

Writing 16 (2007) 194–209

• B. Kroll & J. Reid. Guidelines for Designing Writing Prompts: Clarifications, Caveats, and Cautions. Journal of Second Language Writing, 3 (3), 231-255 (1994)

• B. Song & B. August. Using portfolios to assess the writing of ESL students: a powerful alternative?

Journal of Second Language Writing 11 (2002) 49-72

• Venn, J. J. Assessing students with special needs (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill (2000). © NEAS Ltd 2014 14