Practical Perspectives on Measuring Student Success - L. Mercado IGA 2013 FINAL

Practical Perspectives on
Measuring Student Success
Leonardo A. Mercado, M.Ed., M.B.A.

“The Big Picture”
Why is assessment SO important?

Standards
• CEFR:
Can introduce him/herself and others and can ask and answer
questions about personal details such as where he/she lives,
people he/she knows and things he/she has.
• WIDA
Grades 1 – 2, Speaking, Level 1 Entering
Name everyday objects depicted visually in real-life contexts (e.g.
"paper" in a classroom scene)

Standards
Learning Goals, Objectives, Outcomes, & Standards

Formative vs. Summative Assessment
• Formative: A variety of teacher practices that have the
purpose of gathering information in order to enhance
learning outcomes.
• Summative: A formal process by which student
performance is measured in order to determine a level of
attainment for grading and promotional purposes.

Exercise 1: Formative Assessment
Please offer possible reasons as well as a measure to take
for the following situations:
1. The teacher is asking questions in the past tense and
most students are responding in the present.
2. At least 50% of the class is not on task.
3. Students are not volunteering for a given speaking
activity.

“Art & Science” Principle
Teaching is the art and science of getting people
to learn…

“Rehearsal” Principal: Grading

“Rehearsal Principle”
Never grade your students on their ability to carry
out a task unless they have had an opportunity to
practice something similar first.

Example: “Rehearsal Principle”
• Course book speaking activity:
Name a nice electronics store. Where is it? What is it like?
• Speaking activity for evaluation:
Name a good restaurant. Where is it? What is it like?
Must share:
- Time allotment
- Vocabulary
- Grammar
- Theme or topic
- Nature of task or
activity

“Sampling Principle”: Grading
• When you evaluate students, what do you look for?
• How much is enough to measure performance?
• What should I focus on?
• How long should an in-class activity for grading last?

Sampling Principle: Grading
Before grading your students, make certain you know
what you are going to measure, what language is
required to complete the activity task, and what the
criteria for success are.

“Feedback” Principle
• What kind of feedback do you give students in the
classroom?
• Should you give them feedback during a speaking or
writing test?
• How much and how specific should feedback on
performance be?

“Feedback” Principle
Feedback should be sufficient so that students
understand what did they right and what they could
have done better, and how. It should always be
delivered on a timely basis.

“Construct” Principle
Have a clear idea as to what an area of evaluation
means and what it is measuring.

“Construct” Principle
What does it mean when you are evaluating…
• Reading?
• Effort?
• Speaking?
• Pronunciation?

“Authenticity” Principle
Students should be tested on things that are
similar to what they have done in the classroom.

Instruments
Should…
• lead to “reliable” and “valid” assessments.
• be user-friendly and practical for teachers.
• be easy to understand for students.

Two Types of Instruments
Analytic
• Diagnostic
• Focused criteria
• Traceable feedback
• More objective
Holistic
• User-friendly, “easier” to
understand
• Comprehensive
• Higher level proficiency

Assessment Instrument 1: Speaking
AREA
SCORE
0 1
Accuracy
The student was mostly
unable to use the target
form(s) successfully or
only did so after
receiving assistance.
The student was able
to use the target
form(s) successfully
most of the time
without assistance.
Communication
The student's language
was incomprehensible
at least 50% of the
time, not in accordance
with a successful
completion of the task,
or ambiguous because
of misused vocabulary.
was comprehensible
most of the time, in
accordance with the
successful completion
of the task, and
characterized by a
correct use of
vocabulary.

B02 / Page 39 / Unit 6 / Activity 8
Objective: To ask/answer questions about you/your family’s
activities using simple present tense.
EXAMPLES SCORE
0 - 2T: Does your mother work?
A: Yes, I do. 0
B: Yes, she does. She work in a hospital 1
C: Yes, she does. She works in a hospital.
She’s a nurse.
2

• Listen to the student respond to the question.
What would you grade him using Assessment
Instrument 1?

Criteria to evaluate performance in Oral Examinations
Rubric Reference Performance Descriptors Rating
3 Very Good / Good
 Completes activity or task thoroughly through the use of ample general language
resources as well as extensive knowledge of topic and subject matter
 Performs communicative function completely according to activity or task
 Pronunciation is highly intelligible.
 Fluent most or all of the time with the possibility of having occasional hesitations and
pauses.
+
2 Fair / Average
 Completes activity or task by exhibiting variety of general language resources as well
as knowledge of topic and subject matter, although details or elaboration may be
lacking at times
 Performs communicative function completely most of the time according to activity
or task
 Pronunciation is usually intelligible, although some utterances are difficult to
understand.
 Pauses and hesitations are noticeable, leading to slower speech.
+
1 Needs reinforcement
 Is not able to complete one or more of the activities or tasks, exhibiting a lack of
general language resources as well as serious knowledge gaps in relation to the topic
or subject matter. Details and attempts at elaboration are scant.
 Performs communicative functions according to activity or task, but significant
difficulty or unsuccessful attempts are evident at least 50% of the time.
 Pronunciation errors clearly affect intelligibility, with many utterances being difficult
to understand.
 Pauses, hesitations and false starts are frequent and speech is slow overall.
-
0 Unsuccessful
 Cannot perform most or any of the activities or tasks.
 Cannot perform most or any of the communicative functions as required by the
activities or tasks.
 Pronunciation is rarely intelligible.
 Speech is halted, inarticulate and fragmented making communication impossible.
-

Assessment Exercise 2
• Listen to the student present her personal
portfolio. What would you grade her using
Assessment Instrument 2?

Assessment Instrument 3: Writing
AREA
SCORE
0 1
Accuracy
The student was mostly
unable to use the target
form(s) successfully or
only did so after
receiving assistance.
The student was able
to use the target
form(s) successfully
most of the time
without assistance.
Communication
was incomprehensible
at least 50% of the
time, not in accordance
with a successful
completion of the task,
or ambiguous because
of misused vocabulary.
was comprehensible
most of the time, in
accordance with the
successful completion
of the task, and
characterized by a
correct use of
vocabulary.

1. In the summer I visiting my family and I went to
the beach, then I shopping. After I was eating in a
restaurant, the food delicious. My family was
happy I can went.
2. I was having a great time at the beach when
suddenly I received a call from my brother. He
told me that my dog was sick. I returned very
fast because I was very worried. When I arrived
the dog was sleeping the doctor went to see him
and gave him medicine.
3. Something happened when I was visiting my
family I went to the beach and I was having a
good time, when I received a call that my dog is
sick. I was going very fast. I worry very much.
BASIC 12 (Unit 12) pages 79-80 WRITING EXAMPLE
Objective: To use the past continuous and simple past in short paragraph
about something that happened to you. Use adverbs.

Assessment Instrument 4: Writing

Assessment Design
• LGOOS: Link
• Medium: Activity /
Task / Prompt
• Sample Type & Size
• Authenticity
• Timing
• Interpretation:
feedback / grades

Assessment Design
Please choose one of the following alternatives and
design an assessment accordingly:
• To order food in a restaurant using will have /
would like
• To guess the meaning of words from context.

General Recommendations
• Plan ahead
• Time yourself
• Inform, no unpleasant
surprises
• Be a good listener
• Give helpful feedback;
don’t de-motivate
• Link performance to
LGOO’s
• Self-assess your
assessments
• Clean the slate

Conclusion
• Assessment & Evaluation are not easy
• We owe it to our students to be as objective as
possible. A lot is at stake.
• Improve your techniques and instruments over
time.
• More knowledge about the area, the easier the
task.

Practical Perspectives on Measuring Student Success - L. Mercado IGA 2013 FINAL

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Practical Perspectives on Measuring Student Success - L. Mercado IGA 2013 FINAL