Return-Path: <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.9.0.Beta5/8.9.0.Beta5/980425bjb) with SMTP id LAA05843; Fri, 4 Dec 1998 11:33:42 -0500 (EST) Date: Fri, 4 Dec 1998 11:33:42 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <6e5c6813.36680dd4@aol.com> Errors-To: lmann@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: Jjc1945@aol.com To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-ESL:2708] Re: Testing X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: AOL 4.0 for Windows 95 sub 214 Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII I am not an ESL specialist, but I am a trained reading clinician and I have taught reading and writing and some ESL classes. I have also run testing programs in a university, done individualized testing for reading and writing diagnosis, and have written many class exams for the courses I taught. I want to comment on the discussion about why some programs are using particular tests. If you are using a test in your program, it would be good to find the technical manual for it and read about the norming population and the purpose for which the company indicates the test is written. If the information no longer applies to your program's population (even if it did when the test was adopted for use) you may wish to consider another assessment tool. To get your program to change, however, you will have to provide a good analysis of the situation and some suggestions for a better way of doing things. Many people in education question the use of assessment tools, but as long as we receive public money to perform a public service, we have to live with the rules, and testing is one of the ways to measure what we do. Funders understand test scores; people outside the profession rarely have the time or interest to listen to a long explanation about portfolio assessment, or the value of qualitative assessment. Most teachers with whom I have worked find some sense of satisfaction in testing if they know the test being used is a valid measure of the teaching and learning that goes on in the classroom or tutoring situation. The choice of the test can make all the difference in the world to both teachers and students who want to feel that the test they take is a real measure of what they can do. And, using a test which has been normed on a general population is not all bad. After all, we live in a big country and a big world. I, personally, would want to know that when I pass this test, it means I am ready to compete on the larger scale - not just in your program. The best way to do this is to find an appropriate evaluation tool that makes sense in terms of time available for testing, and the cost for purchasing the device. Most important is that the test must be relevant in terms of the population and the instructional goals you are trying to measure. This is not teaching to the test; it is being careful about the tool you use to measure what you do. If you are going to test, you need to be able to explain why: not just why you are testing, but why the testing you do is able to help you improve the curriculum you offer so your students make good progress. There may never be a perfect test, but if the tests currently on the market no longer meet the needs of education programs, or no longer provide a true indication of the students' abilities, then the hue and cry should not be to throw out testing, but to develop a measurement which is better for today. In every area of education where standardized testing is done, there are new tests coming on the market all the time. I have samples of tests from 30 years ago which are no longer used but which provide a good example of what we expected from education programs then compared to what we expect today. There are many reasons for testing. There are also many reasons for making certain that the tests we use accurately reflect what we are teaching and what our students are supposed to be learning. The sense of accomplishment at the end of a teaching period, when the students can accurately show what they have learned, and the teacher/tutor can beam proudly about the success of the teaching, make the choice of the appropriate testing instrument one of the most important areas of running an education program. Okay, there's my two cents. Swing away! June Crawford
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