Assessing Modalities

In this section, we are listing some points to keep in mind or some issues to ponder when planning assessments of specific language modalities.

Reading:

Reading can be evaluated through a variety of assessment procedures, not only a formal test or quiz. For example, learners might engage in reading self-assessment or peer assessment or they might be asked to maintain a reading portfolio.
If planning to assess reading through a test or quiz, consider both process and product. That is, in addition to whether learners ‘get the right answer’ much can be learned from their use of strategies, their ability to guess words in context and to make predictions, how well they differentiate relevant from irrelevant information, etc.
Select authentic texts and think of what is really important to know, rather than what would make good test questions.
Use texts that represent different genres and topics – stories, notes, letters, ads, etc.
Try leaving the text as is (rather than glossing it) and vary the difficulty of the questions instead.
Provide learners with background information about the text.
Give only a few questions on a text and do not ‘milk’ the text.

In designing tasks, define purpose, audience, and function. This may be done beforehand or worked out in collaboration with learners.
Use rating scales to assess the quality of writing. These may be holistic (a single grade or mark for the entire task) or analytic (a breakdown of the grade into components such as coherence, use of grammar, organization, etc.). Scales should be explained to learners in advance.
The same task can be given time and again as part of the writing process.
Since writing is a process, assessment of the process of writing should be part of the overall assessment.
Select topics that are likely to engage learners’ interest. Involve your learners in suggesting and deciding on topics.

Speaking can be assessed individually or in groups and may involve various kinds of simulations, including oral interviews, phone conversations, reports or presentations, role plays, debates, and lectures.
Semi-direct assessments may be made using audio recordings of learners conversing, telling stories, providing descriptions, or giving reports.
Oral language samples may be assessed using rating scales as with writing (above)
It is recommended that students be familiar with the topic they are expected to talk about.
Oral language can be well assessed via portfolios when students record language on audio/video.

If providing learners a sample of speech that they must listen to, video tapes offer advantages over audio recordings because they more accurately approximate most real life interactions where individuals can interpret facial expressions, body language, and contextual information.
It is generally recommended to give learners the questions they will have to answer prior to listening so that they may familiarize themselves with the task demands and will know what information to focus on.
Use examples of ‘natural speech’ – native and non-native speakers using the language for everyday purposes at their usual rate of speech.
The difficulty of the assessment should be determined by the questions rather than the listening text itself. For example, questions may be very general (the main idea) or may focus on specific information.
Questions should target important information rather than trivia.
Limit the number of questions.

Suggested Readings:

Cohen, J. H., and Wiener, R. B. (2003). Literacy portfolios: Improving assessment, teaching, and learning. Upper saddle, NJ: Pearson Education.
One of the CALPER Professional Development Documents is on “Listening Comprehension in Foreign Language Instruction” by Rumia Ableeva. You can download it from the publications page.
There are several archived webinars from the LARC/CALPER Webinars on Assessment series, which might be of interest to you.
- Glenn Flucher on “Assessing Speaking: Putting the Pieces Together”. Access here.
- Larry Vandergrift on “Assessing L2 Listening.” Access here
- John Read on “Assessing Vocabulary.” Access here
- Cindy Brantmeier on “Diagnosing Strength and Weaknesses of Foreign/Second Language Readers.” Access here