Why Assess?
 
 

Process

  
     
 

Why do we assess students' learning?

This is not a simple question — there are many reasons why we need to find out what students know and can do.

chart figure 1

The first place to look for an answer may be in how we intend to use the information obtained from assessments. For example, at the informal end of a continuum of reasons for evaluation, we may listen in on pair work to determine whether or not learners need more practice with today's lesson. Observations may be noted on a checklist or stored in memory. The results from this form of assessment are primarily intended for use by the teacher in order to determine if progress is on track and if more, or different, instruction is required. At the formal end of the continuum, we might administer a statewide assessment which students must pass in order to graduate. This type of assessment may be mandated for the purpose of holding schools, teachers, and students accountable for meeting high standards.

Instruction, outcomes, and assessment

The relationships among purpose, information, interpretation, and decision making are easy to imagine. Our reasons for evaluating students' learning will determine the kind of information we seek, how we collect it, how we interpret it, and how we use it. In this "Why assess?" section, we focus on purpose. The remaining components are treated in other sections.

In most classroom assessment, tests and other forms of evaluation are linked to instruction. Instruction and assessment, if they are to be well matched, should both be included in the planning process.

The needs of learners are also important in planning for instruction and assessment. Cohen (1994) writes that language assessment promotes "meaningful involvement of students with material that is central to the teaching objectives of a given course. For this meaningful involvement to take place, the goals of the assessment tasks need to reflect the goals of the course, and these goals need to be made clear to the students (p. 13)."

If all goes well, instruction results in observable outcomes in learners, and assessment provides the means to measure how well goals have been met. The results of various forms of assessment usually comprise the bulk of what is reported to students, parents, and administrators about student achievement.

 
   
 

Some answers to our question, "Why assess?"

To find out:

  • if instruction was effective,
  • if students need more instruction,
  • if students are ready for the next step,
  • If a different approach is required, and
  • how instruction can be improved the next time this lesson is taught.

Teachers need to:

  • provide diagnostic and formative feedback to learners,
  • gather information for reporting purposes (grades),
  • identify the appropriate level for a new student (placement),
  • determine whether or not a student meets program requirements (certification), and
  • motivate learners to study and make steady progress.

Learners need to:

  • know what is expected of them,
  • know what they can do to improve their performance,
  • understand what will comprise their course grade, and
  • perceive evaluation as fair and meaningful.

Examples

  
     
 

Cohen (1994) identified a number of specific reasons for assessing students' learning and organized them by administrative, instructional, and research functions, as shown in the following chart.

To reflect the times we live in, we might add "accountability" to the administrative functions of assessment — you may be able to think of other reasons for assessment that are not covered by these categories. For example, Shohamy (2001) challenges us to identify some of the unspoken agendas behind many of our stated reasons for testing.

Reflection

  
     
 
  1. Imagine that your beginning level class is completing a unit about pastimes: what you like/don’t like to do. Look at the list of evaluations below and consider:
     
    • What information will you gather from each item?
    • Is this information useful?
    • For what purpose(s)?
       
    1. Matching a list of pastimes to the appropriate pictures of the activity.
    2. Labeling pictures of various activities (no list provided).
    3. Filling in the blank with the correct form of the verb to say what various people like/don’t like to do.
    4. Listening to someone name an activity and identifying the picture of the activity that is named.
    5. Choosing the correct response from three or four choices (multiple choice)
    6. Chapter test – written
    7. Rehearsed dialogue or skit
       
  2. If you limit your evaluations to the ones listed above, will you know if your students can discuss with others and write about their pastimes? What else would you have to do to make sure that your students could successfully communicate with others about their favorite/least favorite pastimes?
     
  3. Now think about the difference between recalling information and applying information. If students can recall information (a list of vocabulary words, the endings for regular verbs), it does not mean that they can apply the information to communicate their ideas and understand others’ ideas successfully. To gain a complete picture of what students know and are able to do, how must you design your assessments? How will this affect your instruction?