Types and Purpose of Test

Language tests can be written and used for many different purposes for that reason it is important for us as teachersto have a clear idea not only the various types of tests  but also how  and in which cases they can be design  and used.

The following chart is a brief explanation about the different purposes of the different types of test:

USING PORTFOLIOS

Portfolios are one of  the forms of alternative  assessment in which the students' progress is measured over a period of time in various language learning contexts. It can include samples of writing, book reports, tape recordings of speaking samples, favourite short stories, list of books that have been read and so on.
It should be time limited and planned on specific purposes. It has some educational benefits for example it  links assessment to instruction that means that teachers are sure that they are measuring what they have taught. It also can help teachers to understand and find any weaknesses in instructional practices they are using. 

Taking into account the importance of portfolios there are some advantages and disadvantages we need to consider if we as teachers want to implement it with our students.

 

The following chart can ilustrate some types of portfolios

Assessing Speaking

The Principles of Language Assessment

I FOUND THIS INTERESTING MIND MAP THAT CAN ILLUSTRATE IN A GENERAL VIEW THE WAY THAT THE PRINCIPLES OF LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT WORK.

Picture take from: http://www.xmind.net/m/uwBW/ Browns, Ch 2 Practicality Reliability Validity Authenticity Washback.

THE ROLE OF ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION

As teachers we have to face many things in our classrooms for that reason it is necessary to know and understand two special concepts that play an important role in our profession: Assessment and Evaluation.

 

Assessment is an interactive process between students which provides information for improving student’s achievement and  to measure how the students are learning and understanding. Assessment need some evidences of  the learning process that could take the form of role plays, journals, booklets, portfolios, tests and  many other learning tasks. This information collected is used to make changes in the learning environment, and to assist them not only to improve their learning but also their study habits.

On the other hand evaluation is the process in which we use methods and measures to judge the student’s learning and understanding. It takes place when we use a mark after the completion of a task, test and quiz or learning activity. 

In other words we can say that assessment is the feedback from the student to the instructor about the student’s learning. And evaluation is the feedback from the instructor to the student about the student’s learning.

The following chart shows the clear differences between the two concepts

Chart taken from: http://duke.edu/arc/documents/The%20difference%20between%20assessment%20and%20evaluation.pdf