Understanding Assessment Tutorial
- FLAD
- Foreign Language Assessment Directory
- Understanding Assessment Tutorial
- Introduction
- Validity
- What do I want to know?
- What skills do I want to measure?
- What is the intended purpose of the test?
- How will I use the test results?
- What information will the test provide?
- Show what you know!
- Puzzle Piece
- Reliability
- What is the relationship between reliability and validity?
- How do I determine if a test is reliable for my situation?
- What could affect reliability?
- Show what you know!
- Puzzle Piece
- Practicality
- Do I have the resources to use this test in my classroom?
- What are the practical considerations for test administration?
- What are the practical considerations in scoring a test?
- Show what you know!
- Puzzle Piece
- Impact
- What are the possible effects of a test?
- What does positive washback look like?
- What does negative washback looks like?
- Who will be affected?
- How will different stakeholders be affected?
- Show what you know!
- Puzzle Piece
- Putting It All Together
- Needs Assessment
- Resources
- Heritage Language Assessment Module
- Introduction
- Linguistic Characteristics and Considerations
- Cultural Characteristics and Considerations
- Factors in Language Development
- Program Types
- Implications for Assessment
- Show What You Know!
- Assessing HLLs: The Why
- Assessing HLLs: The What
- Placement Tests
- Formative Assessment
- Summative Assessment
- Examples of Effective Assessment Tasks
- Summary of Best Practices
- Show What You Know!
- Assessing HLLs: The How
- Needs Assessment
- Selecting Assessments
- Modifying Assessments
- Developing Assessments
- Show What You Know!
- Putting It All Together
- Resources
- Introduction
- Post-Secondary World Language Assessment Module
- Introduction
- Proficiency
- Acquiring Proficiency
- Proficiency Levels
- Proficiency-Based Approach to Assessment: The What
- Proficiency-Based Approach to Assessment: The Why
- Proficiency-Based Approach to Assessment: The How
- Types of Assessments
- Summary of Best Practices
- Show What You Know!
- Placement Testing
- Placement Testing: The Why
- Placement Testing: The How
- Types of Assessment Tools and Approaches for Placement
- Selecting Placement Tests
- Additional Considerations
- Using Placement Test Results
- Summary of Best Practices
- Show What You Know!
- Assessment Plans
- Assessment Plans: The Why
- Assessment Plans: The How
- Aligning Assessment with Instruction
- Performance-based Assessment Tasks
- Designing Performance-based Assessment Tasks
- Scoring Performance-based Assessment Tasks
- Using Integrated Performance Assessments
- Designing Integrated Performance Assessments
- Intercultural Communicative Competence
- Assessing Intercultural Communication
- Assessing Cultures
- Assessment and Program Articulation
- Summary of Best Practices
- Show What You Know!
- Putting It All Together
- Resources
Welcome!
Understanding Assessment: A Guide for World Language Educators is a tutorial on language testing for world language educators. It is designed to help new users of the Foreign Language Assessment Directory,
This tutorial introduces key assessment concepts while guiding educators though the test selection process, and it covers a variety of topics, including how to use test results appropriately and efficiently. also known as the FLAD, and it is also an excellent resource for anyone who wants to learn more about language testing.
What is the FLAD and what can it do for you?
The FLAD is the Foreign Language Assessment Directory. The FLAD is a free, searchable directory that serves as a starting point for teachers and educators to search for world language assessments. Available information about assessments includes grade and proficiency levels, languages for which each test is available, skills targeted by a test, information about the testโs development, and the publisherโs or developerโs contact information for further inquiries.
What can I learn from this tutorial?
This tutorial will prepare you to select a test from the FLAD that best meets your needs and the needs of your students. By the end of this tutorial, you will be able to answer the following questions to guide you through the test selection process:
- What do I want to know about my students?
- What types of tests will help me gain this information?
- How do I know that a test is reliable?
- What are the practical factors involved in test selection?
- What are the possible effects of tests on various stakeholders?
How should I use this resource?
As you move through the tutorial, you will walk through the test selection process while thinking about your own context and assessment needs. The tutorial has four modules covering the four principles of assessment: validity, reliability, practicality, and impact. Within each module, you will find example learning scenarios for five areas of focus: elementary education, secondary education, post-secondary education, heritage language education, and professional purposes. In addition, you will complete a needs assessment and learn about different resources to support you as you prepare to select an appropriate assessment for your students.
Click here to start the tutorial!