Technics of Language Assessment

This lesson distinguished two assessment approaches based on how the data is collected and processed, i.e formal and informal approaches. Formal approach is the appraisal by using tests as data collection tools, such as; multiple choice, matching, true-false, cloze-procedure, completion, or cause and effect. The data obtained are usually in the form of numbers. In scoring, if the test items answered by the students correctly, they are given a score of 1 and zero if false. The figures will be analyzed quantitatively and reported in the form of numbers.

Informal approach contains of the evidence gathered by the teacher in the classroom on an ongoing basis to measure students’ progress in mastering the skills taught and materials to be used as feedback to teachers, students, and parents. Each student is only compared with their previous learning achievements and not compared with other students. This type of assessment obtained from qualitative data such as; texts, pictures, clippings, or other students' work. The category of this informal assessment is portfolio assessment, performance assessment or self assessment. The results of this type is generally in the form of qualitative descriptions of students' learning progress, ranging from process to outcome. But that does not mean that portfolio assessment, performance or self-assessment can not be converted into numbers. If a good student writing assessed 95 and a clear writing 50, then these numbers may appear in the students’ book reports, so this approach remains as a formal approach.

Those two types of assessment approaches presented in these folders:

- FORMAL ASSESMENT
INTRODUCTION
A. Multiple Choice
B. Short-answer
C. Completion
D. Matching
E. True-false
F. Cloze Procedure

- INFORMAL ASSESMENT
INTRODUCTION
A. Portfolio
B. Performance based assessment