English Language Education Section Curriculum Development Institute EDB
Jan 2019
EFFECTIVE ASSESSMENT PRACTICES
IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM
Warm up - How far do you agree?
• It’s the students’ responsibility to keep track of their own progress.
• Students only care about the results, not why they get the marks and how to improve.
• Process-writing is time-consuming and unrealistic.
• Practice makes perfect. The more comprehension and compositions students do, the better their
reading and writing skills.
* To explore effective strategies for implementing assessment FOR and AS learning to enhance
self-directed learning
To raise awareness of strategies for implementing formative assessment
To provide hands-on activities on
designing assessment activities to promote AaL To discuss the role of assessment in the LTA cycle
Objectives
Part 1: Key concepts
Part 2: Strategies for designing quality items/tasks and implementing AfL & AaL in
reading assessment
Part 3: Strategies for implementing AfL & AaL in writing assessment
Part 4: Consolidation
Rundown
Part 1: Key Concepts
Extending from AfL to AaL –-
Empowering students to monitor & evaluate own progress
Summative AoL • describes the level students have attained
• shows what they know/can do over a period of time
• gives an overview of previous learning for reporting purposes
Formative AfL • integrates assessment into learning & teaching
• assists students to understand what they are learning, what they have attained, what is expected of them
• helps teachers collect learning evidence to provide timely feedback & refine teaching strategies
AaL • engages students in reflecting on & monitoring their progress of learning
• involves students in regulating the learning process, evaluating their own performance against the learning goals & planning for the next step in learning
English Language Education Key Learning Area Guide (Primary 1 – Secondary 6) (2017) p.84
Learning, Teaching and Assessment Cycle
What students are expected to learn
Goals
What students can do as a result
Attainment
Process
Five Keys Quality to Assessment
Identify Purposethe
Clarify Targetsthe
Design quality
items/tasks Involve
Students Provide
Effective Feedback
Unpacking Formative Assessment
Where the learner is going
Where the learner is How to get there/
How to close the gap
Teacher
Peer
Learner
Providing feedback that moves learners
forward Clarifying,
sharing &
understanding learning intentions
Engineering effective tasks that elicit evidence
of learning
Empowering students to be learning resources for one another
Empowering students to be
owners of their own learning
Part 2: Strategies for designing quality items/tasks and implementing AfL & AaL in
reading assessment
Activity:
Draw up a list of what good readers can do.
Good readers can:
Teaching and Assessing Reading
words
phrases
sentences and their interconnections
strategic reading
paragraph and discourse structure
connections to self , society and
the world
References for Setting Reading Objectives and Describing Reading Performance
Appendix 5 of the English Language
Education Key Learning Area Curriculum Guide (P1 – S6) (2017)
The Learning Progression
Framework for English Language
Assessing Reading
Watch a video on assessing reading , discuss
with your group members and complete the
activity sheet.
Types of Reading Tasks
• MC questions
• True/False/Not Given
• Matching
• Labelling
• Sequencing
• Gap-filling
• Short answers
• Summary cloze
• Information-transfer
• Proofreading
• Summary writing
Activity
• Study Texts 2-4 from Paper B1 of 2017 HKDSE English Language Paper and answer Questions 24, 30, 31, 32 & 39.
• Identify the question type for each
question and match the question
intents with the questions.
Activity
24. “Snug in the nest” (slide 2) means Millennials are…
31. Match the following headings to each slide of Text 2. Write the slide number next to each heading.
32. In what period were Millennials born?
30. Based on the information given on slide 6, fill in the blanks. Write One word in each blank.
locate specific information by recognising simple text
structures
work out the meaning of figurative language (e.g.
metaphors) by using semantic and syntactic clues
identify main ideas and some supporting details explicitly stated in the text
follow ideas by recognising simple text structures and understanding the use of cohesive devices
Study the questions. Identify the question type and match each question with a pointer/question intent in the right-hand column.
39. What does ‘that’ (line 39) refer to?
deduce information and ideas by using semantic and
syntactic cluesclues
Use of the LPF –
Designing Reading Activities
Setting appropriate
questions, ensuring a
balanced coverage of question types
and question intents
LPF
Consolidating and
developing students’
reading skills
and strategies
Activity
Situation:
You find that your students have difficulty answering Question 30. Discuss with your group members
and suggest what you can do to help your students in
answering the question.
Activity
• Focus students’ attention on the learning objectives.
share the learning intentions with the students
• Provide steps to guide students towards the answers.
ask guiding questions (1) scan Slide 6 for the gist; (2) study the text in Q.30 and circle the key words ; (3) study Slide 6 again and underline the key words; (4) fill in the blanks with words in appropriate word form; (5) read the text in Q.30 again to check whether each answer makes sense
• Demonstrate how to answer the questions.
(1) underlining the topic sentence “For Millennials, wellness is a daily, active pursuit.”
(2) circle the words that help decide the parts of speech of answers , e.g. “than”,
“more”, “don’t”, “as much”
(3) underlining the possible answers,
“exercising”, “smoking”
(4) changing the word form of the words
Ways to promote assessment for learning in reading lessons:
Paraphrasing Techniques
1. Change from a clause to a phrase (or vice versa)
2. Change from direct speech to indirect speech (or vice versa)
3. Change from active voice to passive voice (or vice versa)
4. Change words using synonyms, superordinates or subordinates
5. Change the word forms
6. Change the sentence structures or use different connectives
7. Change numbers and percentages to different forms
Questions Requiring Paraphrasing Techniques
Other examples:
23. What do companies hope to achieve by understanding Millennials’ attitudes and lifestyle?
- to make a big difference to their business - to sell more to Millennials
36. Fill in the blanks based on information in paragraph 4.
The young have a (i)__________ chance of being
employed compared to their elders. More than a
quarter of those from (ii)___________ countries are
NEETs.
Paraphrase this part using a connective indicating a causal
relationship.
Paraphrase this paragraph using the indirect speech.
• Task demand should increase with text complexity.
• To cater for learner diversity, simple tasks can be included for
complex texts to cultivate learners’ confidence, and difficult tasks for simple texts to stretch their abilities.
• To promote learner independence, the amount of support provided could be gradually reduced. To this end, various effective teaching strategies for reading could be integrated into the reading
programme.
Interplay between Tasks and Texts
Task Demand
Text Complexity
Extending from AfL to AaL –-
Empowering students to monitor & evaluate own progress
Summative AoL • describes the level students have attained
• shows what they know/can do over a period of time
• gives an overview of previous learning for reporting purposes
Formative AfL • integrates assessment into learning & teaching
• assists students to understand what they are learning, what they have attained, what is expected of them
• helps teachers collect learning evidence to provide timely feedback & refine teaching strategies
AaL
• engages students
in reflecting on & monitoring their progress of learning• involves students
in regulating the process, evaluating their own performance against the learning goals &planning for the next step in learning
English Language Education Key Learning Area Guide (Primary 1 – Secondary 6) (2017) p.84
Developing Self-assessing & Self-improving Abilities
(2) Design self-tracking and reflection activities:
• Application of reading & fix-up strategies — reflecting on the reading process
• Use of reading portfolios and journals — reflecting on the progress & product
• Design of self-directed reading tasks — metacognitive reflection (1) Provide comprehension monitoring instructions to help
students:
• Identify what they understand
• Identify what they do not understand
• Understand their difficulties in reading
Understanding Your Reading Difficulties:
Which of the solutions do you think are most useful. Add yours.
“I lose concentration while reading.”
“Mark the text every time you notice you’ve lost concentration.”
“Set yourself reading goals, like continue reading until the end of the paragraph then take a brief pause.”
“I don’t understand the sentence even though I know most/all of the words in the sentence.”
“Go back and re-read the sentence before the difficult sentence.”
“Group the words in the difficult sentence into expressions/chunks and try to look at the meaning of the chunk/expression, not the individual words.”
“I read too slowly.” “Don’t worry so much about unknown words.
Circle them and keep reading.”
Source:
https://thisreadingmama.com/
Reflecting on learning process: application of fix-up strategies
28
Reflecting on the reading process:
fostering independent application of reading strategies
• Model self-monitoring reading behaviour with Traffic Light Reading strategy
• Provide opportunities to practise repairing comprehension
independently
Red = I need help with this
Orange = I’m not sure but I can try
Green = I’m confident with this
1 thing I did well:
2 strategies I’ve learned well:
3 words/expressions I’ve learned from the
article:
4 things I want to find out now about the topic:
Reflecting on the reading progress:
reading portfolio
Self-directed Reading:
Metacognitively reflecting on the content of reading
Evaluating own performance as independent readers:
•Observing,
•Questioning
•Critiquing
•Evaluating
•Comparing / contrasting
Double Entry Diary
Quotations from the text My Questions/Reactions/
Predictions
Promoting AaL and Self-directed Learning through Literature Circles
• Literature Circles are small reading groups of 4 or 5 students each
• Each group reads the assigned reading materials or a book of their own choice at its own pace.
• Once a week, groups get together to talk about what they are reading.
• Every week, each group gives itself a reading assignment.
• In preparation for each week’s Literature Circles meeting,
students read their assigned pages/chapters and complete one of the Literature Circles jobs.
• At the end of each meeting, complete a group evaluation sheet.
Literature Circles Jobs
• Discussion Director
Writes questions to be used for group discussions
• Word Finder
Locates and defines unknown and/or interesting vocabulary words in the book
• Connector
Takes events from the book and connects them to real- life experiences
• Correspondent
Writes letters to characters in the book
• Illustrator
Illustrates scenes from the book
Part 3: Strategies for implementing AfL & AaL in
writing assessment
1. Do you correct all errors in students’ compositions?
2. Do you think grammar and accuracy come first when it comes to marking compositions?
3. How do you ask students to do composition corrections?
How to Answer the Three Guiding Questions
Seven Strategies of Formative Assessment
Where am I going?
1. Provide a clear and understandable version of the learning targets.2. Use examples of strong and weak work.
Where am I now?
3. Offer regular descriptive feedback.4. Teach students to self-assess and set goals.
How can I close
the gap?
5. Use evidence of student learning to determine next steps in teaching 6. Design focused instruction, followedby practice with feedback.
7. Engage students in self-reflection and provide opportunities for them
to track and share learning progress. 36
Strategy 1: Provide a clear & understandable version of the learning targets (enabling
strategy)
(1) Map out and present to students the writing skills and text- types to master over a period of time
(2) Analyse the topic to understand task requirements Pre-writing: Identifying key elements in the writing topic:
• Who am I?
• Who am I writing to?
• Why am I writing?
• What is the text-type?
• What am I writing about?
Where the learner is going
Who? (Your role + audience)
(Text-type + topic / content) (Purpose)
What?
Why
?The 3Ws Approach
Highlight keywords in the writing topic
2018 HKDSE English Language Paper 2 Question 1
You are Chris Wong, the class teacher of 6A. You will be taking your class on a school trip next month to sky100, show in the poster below.
Write a letter to parents giving them the necessary information about the trip. You may use the mind map to help you write the letter.
Use the 3Ws approach and highlight the keywords:
38
Strategy 1: Provide a clear & understandable version of the learning targets (enabling strategy)
(3) Feed forward – present learning outcomes (or success criteria) with reference to the topic
Example
Some experts in education have observed that Hong Kong
teenagers are too pampered and spoilt by their parents, resulting
in their lack of self-management and problem-solving skills. One
proposed solution to this problem is requiring students to
undertake 50 hours of community service, in addition to the
community services organised by the schools for the Other
Learning Experiences (OLE), before they are allowed to graduate
from secondary school. Write an article to the school newspaper
to express whether you agree with this proposal and give at least
three reasons for your view.
Establishing Success Criteria with Reference to Task Requirements
Design task-specific assessment form
Strategy 1: Provide a clear & understandable version of the learning targets (enabling strategy)
(2) Analyse the topic to understand task requirements
Identifying key elements in the writing topic:
• Who am I?
• Who am I writing to?
• Why am I writing?
• What is the text-type?
• What am I writing about?
• What tone should I use?
Where the learner is going
Who? (Your role + audience)
(Text-type + topic / content) (Purpose)
What?
Why
?The 3Ws Approach
Highlight keywords in the writing topic Question 3 -- 2018 HKDSE English Language Paper 2
(3) Feed forward – present learning outcomes (or success criteria) with reference to the topic
• To complete the task successfully, what are students expected to demonstrate in the following aspects?
• Think of 2 most important criteria for each.
Content Organisation Language
Question 3 -- 2018 HKDSE English Language Paper 2
Strategy 2: Use examples and models of strong and weak work (enabling strategy)
(1) Show sample model texts from textbooks or teachers (2) Show peers’ work (discuss strengths & ways to improve)
Where the learner is going
Strategy 3: Offer descriptive feedback during the learning process (enabling strategy)
Where the learner is
Strategy 3: Offer descriptive feedback during the learning process (enabling strategy)
What is effective and quality feedback?
• Informative – helping students know where they are and what to do next to make improvement step by step
• Concrete and focused -- pointing out specifically what has been done well or not so well with examples
• Student-centred – taking into consideration students’
existing ability and preferences
• Motivating and confidence-building
• Engaging learners in self-reflection and metacognitive
skills development
Strategy 3: Offer descriptive feedback during the
learning process (enabling strategy)
Strategy 4: Teach students to self-assess and set goals for the next steps (destination)
(1) Formulating directions for redrafting or rewriting
Strategy 4: Teach students to self-assess and set goals for the next steps (destination)
(2) Setting goals for tracking progress in writing skills
development in a set period of time (e.g. a term)
Strategy 5: Use evidence of student learning to determine next steps in teaching (floaters)
Strategy 6: Design focused instruction, followed by practice with feedback (floaters)
(1) Explicit strategy instruction
(2) Focused correction/rewriting for focused feedback
How to get there
Examples
Problems identified in the task on “50 hours of compulsory community service”:
• Too much copying of the question in the introduction
• Weak and limited arguments
• Lack of supporting evidence and elaboration
• Boring or abrupt ending
(1) Explicit strategy instruction
(2) Focused correction / rewriting for focused feedback
Rewriting the Introduction Re-writing 1 body paragraph Rewriting the conclusion
(2) Focused correction / rewriting for focused feedback Effective (High-impact / lasting-effect) Writing Correction
Quality over quantity
(selective and focused, first things first, less is more)
Going beyond accuracy
(error / sentence / paragraph level correction)
Fostering learner awareness, independence and ownership
Allowing choice
Involving students in the thinking process
Encouraging inquiry / further exploration
Providing evidence for self-review and monitoring
For example, in the sample student writing on 50 hours of community service
• correcting a few errors/slips (i.e. “insist”, “homeworks”, “theirself”)
• rewriting 2 problematic sentences (i.e. “mindset/intention”, “deprive”)
• rewriting the weakest paragraph (opening/ 3rd argument)
individualised (learner-centred) to deepen learning
economical version of process-writing (less time-consuming with lasting effects)
(1) Explicit strategy instruction
Example: Writing short stories opening Hands-on practice
2018 HKDSE English Language Paper 2 Question 9
Learning English through Short Stories
Imagine you are a pet bird in a cage. One day your owner left your bird cage open.
Write a story from the bird’s point of view.
How to get there
Strategy 7: Engage students in self-reflection and provide
opportunities for students to track and share learning progress
Self perception of Writing Habit and Competence
Tracking Progress on Goal Attainment
Reflection on Progress over Time and the Way Forward
Establish the success criteria with learners and present them in a student friendly
language
Offer advice when learners set goal, and formulate plans to improve writing
Guide students to analyse the writing topic and task requirement
Promoting AfL and AaL in Writing
Teacher’s role
Provide focused feedback to help learners understand their strengths and weaknesses
Plan the writing curriculum carefully to provide opportunities for learners to practise, recycle and consolidate writing skills learned over time
Teach writing skills / strategies explicitly and adopt effective correction practices
Part 4: Consolidation
Shifting the Weight and Balance
Traditional Assessment Model:
AoL > AfL > AsL
Reconfigured Assessment Model:
AsL> AfL > AoL
Shifts in Assessment
From assessing to learn what students do not know
From using results to calculate grades
From end-of-term assessments by teachers
From judgmental feedback that may harm student
motivation
To assessing to learn what students understand
To using results to inform instruction To students
engaged in ongoing assessment of their work
To descriptive feedback that empowers and motivates students
References
Alderson, J.C. (2000). Assessing reading. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Black & Wiliam (1998). Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy and Practice, Vol 5, Issue 1
Booth, D., & Swartz, L. (2004). Literacy techniques: Building successful readers and writers (2nd ed.).
Ontario, Canada: Pembroke Publishers Limited.
Han, Z. H. (2001) Fine-tuning corrective feedback. Foreign Language Annals, 34, pp.582-95.
Chappuis, J. (2009). Seven Strategies of Assessment for Learning. Assessment Training Institute, Inc Series, Allyn & Bacon.
Chappuis, J. (2017). Seven Strategies of Assessment for Learning: An Overview
http://www.sdcoe.net/lls/assessment/Documents/Continuous%20Learning/Seven%20Strategies%20Ch appuis%202017.pdf
Daily Teaching Tools: https://www.dailyteachingtools.com/free-graphic-organizers.html Fix-up Strategies- Repairing Comprehension: https://thisreadingmama.com/
Hattie, J. (2009). Visible Learning A Synthesis of over 800 Meta-analyses Relating to Achievement.
Taylor & Francis Group
Harlen, W., & James. (1997). Assessment and learning: Differences and relationships between
formative and summative assessment. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practices, Vol 4, Issue 3
Increasing Reading Engagement: How to Use self-Directed Reading in Your Lesson Plans
http://lessonplanspage.com/increase-reading-engagement-how-to-use-self-directed-reading-in- your-lesson-plans/
Lorna, M.L. (2003). Assessment As Learning: Using Classroom Assessment to Maximize Student Learning. Crown Press, Inc.
Stiggins, R. (2007). Assessment for learning: an essential foundation of productive instruction. In Douglas Reeves (ed.), Ahead of the curve. Bloominton, IN: Solution Tree
The Learning Progression Framework for English Language Source: http://www.edb.gov.hk/LPFenglish
Zhang, L. (2001). Awareness in reading: EFL students’ metacognitive knowledge of reading strategies in an acquisition-poor environment. Language Awareness, 10 (4), 268-288
