Although a great deal of research has gone into the development of standardized language tests that can be used on a large scale, their relevance to the language classroom is not clear.
Some assessment specialists, such as Pamela Moss (2003, 2005), have even suggested that the principles and assumptions behind standardized testing may be irrelevant (or worse, detrimental) to teachers’ efforts to support student learning.
What is needed, then, is an approach to understanding learners’ language knowledge and abilities that is intimately tied to the day-to-day instructional activities that characterize language classrooms.
By aligning teaching and assessment, classroom instructors can move beyond the one-off sampling approach associated with traditional testing and can instead engage in an ongoing effort to profile and interpret students’ abilities as these emerge during the learning process.
Assessing Language Development is a website intended to familiarize you with various approaches to assessing language development.
The content for this website has been created by:
Matthew E. Poehner, The Pennsylvania State University
Gabriela Appel, The Pennsylvania State UniversityThe section on “Multiple Perspectives” was written by:
Elana Shohamy, Tel Aviv University
Ofra Inbar, Tel Aviv University
Next section: Why Assessment?