Classroom-based Evaluation in Second Language Education
Second language evaluation involves taking many kinds of decisions.
Decisions about many different aspects of teaching and learning such
as the placement of students in a particular level, the units of
instruction, the instructional objectives and plans, the homework,
the materials used in class, etc.
In many of the cases teachers are in charge of making the decisions;
sometimes they collect the information for others to make the
decisions; or sometimes they help others make the decision by
offering interpretations of students' performance. However, teachers
are not the only participants in evaluation; parents, other teachers,
non-instructional educational professionals (counselors and remedial
specialists), and students also play an important role in the
evaluation process.
Second language evaluation relies on many different kinds of
information about students achievement, their behavior in class,
their attitude towards school or themselves, their goals and needs,
and their work habits, learning styles and strategies, etc. These
types of information can be gathered through tests, observation of
the students behavior, students comments during individual
conferences, or through entries in students' journals.
Before making any decision it is necessary to
identify the purpose or purposes for collecting evaluative
information. Depending on the nature of the purpose there is specific
information needed and a particular method of data collection. Once
the information has been collected, it has to be interpreted in order
for it to be meaningful so that it can be analyzed to make the final
decisions. To sum up it can be said that classroom-based evaluation
has three essential components: information, interpretation, and
decision making.
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