Unit 18

Assessment types and tasks

First of all, you have to know what assessment is and I can say that it is the way how we can evaluate learners using different kinds of tests to do.

We can assess learners informally when we observed learners to see how well they are doing something and then give them comments on their performance. On the other hand, we can assess learners formally through tests or exams and give their work a mark or a grade. There are different methods of assessment provide the means of ensuring that students are able to demonstrate the range of their abilities in different contexts. Each category has advantages in assessing different learning outcomes. For example, a selected response assessment task, such as a series of multiple-choice questions, is able to assess all areas of mastery of knowledge but only some kinds of reasoning.

There are different types of tests like diagnostic, placement test, formative assessment, progress test, achievement or summative test, proficiency test, self-assessment or peer assessment. It is very important for tests to have a good influence on teaching and learning because some assessment tasks are easy to write and to mark. Also, feedback to learners is important in order to know what they got right or wrong, their strengths and weaknesses, and what they can do to improve.

In conclusion, through feedback, assessment helps learning and informal assessment is often much more suitable for assessing young learners than formal assessment. This is because their ways of thinking and learning are based on experiencing and communicating.