Читать книгу The Concise Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics - Carol A. Chapelle - Страница 69

A complementary approach focuses on formative uses of assessment (Assessment Reform Group, 2002) or assessment for learning. This approach suggests that assessment can be a means to promote learning, not only to describe, monitor or audit it. It is important to distinguish between the terms “summative” and “formative” assessment, not as types of assessment (e.g., a multiple choice test versus a portfolio), but rather between the purposes of their use (Davison & Leung, 2009), the data that are generated, the stakeholders who are involved, and the decisions that are made.

Research suggests that assessment used for formative purposes, or assessment for learning, can improve student attainment (Black & Wiliam, 1998) if two conditions are met: (a) the learner perceives a distance between the present and the desired state of knowledge, understanding, or skill; and (b) the learner takes action to meet the targeted level. Assessment tasks that address these two conditions support learner achievement. Heritage (2010, pp. 9–13) describes a multistep process of formative assessment in the classroom, centered on a continuous feedback loop, that is in line with these conditions:

1 Identify learning goal(s) for a lesson or series of lessons

2 Determine the criteria for success

3 Elicit evidence as to how student learning is moving toward the goal(s)

4 Interpret the evidence to identify the “gap”

5 Provide students feedback in relation to the goal(s)

6 Adapt or respond to individual student needs

7 Scaffold instruction within the student's zone of proximal development

8 Close the “gap.”

In a study addressing how formative assessment is operationalized in language classrooms, Rea‐Dickins (2006) examines teacher feedback and student responses. She points out that “feedback is only formative if it brings about a change of some kind for the learner” (p. 168). Her analyses of classroom interactions suggest that both formative and summative purposes for assessment can be interwoven within instruction to provide a balance of assessment approaches, but for learners to understand how to participate effectively in each, teachers must make their intentions and expectations explicit.

In learner‐centered classrooms, both teachers and students are expected to assume active roles in designing and implementing assessment practices. Teachers assess and respond to student performance, manage assessment information that has been collected, use the information to respond to students' learning needs, and communicate their findings to stakeholders. These activities are often embedded within a multistage assessment cycle. For example, Davison and Leung (2009) describe teacher‐based assessment in a framework consisting of multiple steps: (a) plan assessment, (b) collect information about students' learning, (c) make professional judgments, and (d) provide appropriate feedback or advice.