Philosophy of Assessment

Assessment is one of the three main components in the pedagogical process other than
planning and instruction. An interrelatedness exists between the three phases that can create
strength or weakness in the pedagogical process as a whole.
The role of assessment is to provide a constant framework of references as well as to
support the overall goal of language learning. Both formative and summative assessment
techniques are effective and meaningful as separate entities as well as joint measurements.
Multiple types of assessment should be employed to give a comprehensive demonstration of
language learning. Assessments should reflect the content and how thoroughly it is taught by the
instructor. It is ineffective and poor practice to assess student work without a specific goal in
mind.
Instructors should carefully craft valid, reliable assessments and grade them as fair as
possible to be able to reflect students abilities and how well they achieved the goals. Students
are complex individuals and the ability, skills, knowledge that they master varies in a wide range.
Rubrics and standardized assessments work well together as a form of summative assessment in
that they guide learners towards success and minimize stress by outlining teachers expectations.
The ability to verbalize and outline expectations is an effective teaching strategy because it
guides the leaners to the desired outcomes. Clarification of expectations breeds better
understanding and higher achievement. By clarifying expectations, instructors make learners
more aware of the outcomes and challenges learners to achieve greater success.
I see my role in developing and using assessments in the classroom as an on-going
process, rather than a redundant activity that must be carried out for the sake of attaining grades

but for learners own edification. For example, I have used entrance quizzes before I gave any
instruction to assess students previous knowledge, then provided my facilitation aiming at
learners retention of new knowledge while providing schematic context connecting their
previous knowledge. Formative assessment such as exit quizzes alongside with timely feedback
were frequently used in my teaching experience to motivate students to focus on the knowledge
and help with long-term memory. For example, I found that clarification like asking students
whether they have any questions at the end of a class usually does not work well due to factors
such as they are already packing up and want to leave the classroom. Instead, I question students
and if they cannot answer it, they may not leave the classroom or will be questioned again in
next class period until they mastered the correct skills.
Although most language learners are accustomed to and feel most comfortable with
taking traditional paper based summative assessment such midterms, final exams that contains
reading comprehension, cloze, etc., I always try to use alternative assessment methods to obtain a
more thorough evaluation of students language proficiency while reducing stress and lowering
the stake whenever I have the chance. I assigned a story presentation rather than a final exam in
one of the adult ESP classes and it was greatly enjoyed by my students. During the last two
weeks of instruction, I paired up the students and asked each pair to choose one story from the
material to write a summary of the story and find pictures from magazines, newspapers to make
a poster to demonstrate their stories with captions. To reduce stress, I announced that the best
presentation winners would be awarded with prizes and the pair with the lowest score had to
clean up classroom at the end of the day. This assessment method integrated all four language
skills and provided a chance for students to communicate using the target language as well as to
solve problems collaboratively in a real-world context.