Unit 22 - Choosing assessment activities

How do we choose assessment activities?

Assessment means collecting information about learners’ performance, progress or attitudes in order to make judgements about their learning.

	Formal assessment	Informal assessment
Assessment tasks	Tests Examinations	Normal classroom teaching and learning activities Homework tasks
Purpose	To assess overall language ability (proficiency test) To assess learning at the end of a course (achievement test) To asses learning at the end of part of a course (progress test) To decide if a learner can continue to the next level Other, e.g. placement, diagnostic	Feedback for the teacher (i.e. to find out how successful our teaching has been) To help the teacher improve procedures or choose different materials or activities for future lessons Feedback for learners about what they can do and what they still need to work on
Marking	Leaners receive grades (%, A-F, pass/fail, etc.)	Teacher keeps records or progress but does not give grades Learners keep records of progress

Reference:

Spratt, M., Pulverness, A., & Williams, M. (2012). The TKT Teaching Knowledge Test Course Modules 1,2 and 3 (Vol. Second edition). United Kingdom: Cambridge English.