A Review of studies on Alternative Assessment in EFL Language Learning

Introduction				evaluating writing. He suggested a design for authentic
These days, there has been an increasing interest in				writing assessment that can be crucial to teaching and
the use of assessment procedures that are				testing writing skill. He believed that an authentic writing
completely different from conventional methods of				assessment should reveal various types of writing as
assessment. More reliable forms of assessment, such				well as levels of difficulty related to the task. For
as portfolios, interviews, journals, project works, and				example, a writing assessment assignment can be:
self- or peer- assessment have become more and
more common in the second and foreign language				* totally open-ended, where the student is asked to
classrooms.				construct an essay either requiring or not requiring
These alternative forms of testing or assessment are				certain background knowledge
more student-centered as they involve students in their				* limited to specific components of the writing process,
learning, so that they can control their own language				such as planning, outlining, or even revising
learning. Furthermore, these kinds of				* used for short answers which may be either a part
assessment--called alternative assessment--can help				of planning or an abbreviated check for a basic
teachers to get enough information for developing their				understanding of key points
instructional plans and practices. Table below can				Yap (1993) reported the results of a research project
indicate the obvious differences which exist between				involving thirty-five adult basic (ABE) and English as a
the traditional and alternative forms of assessment				second language (ESL) programs. Writing assessment,
(Richards & Renandya, 2002).				portfolio assessment, and classroom assessment
				were shown to be suitable approaches to the type of
Old forms				authentic assessment called for within the profession.
New forms				Pierce, Swain, and Hart (1993) reported on a study of
1. Focus on language				500 eighth-grade students, signifying that
1. Focus on communication				self-assessment was an applicable and reliable
2. Teacher-centered				measure of language proficiency. Pavis (1988)
2. Learner-centered				indicated similar results for college students learning
3. Isolated skills				French based on a journal writing project in which
3. Integrated skills				students checked their own learning and recognized
4. Emphasis on product				problems encountered as well as achievements over
4. Emphasis on process				the course of the term. Allwright (1988) has argued
5. One answer, one-way correctness				that the quality of learning can improve by controlling
5. Open-ended, multiple solutions				what happens in the mind of the learner. Based on
6. Tests that test				studies such as these, alternative assessment that
6. Tests that teach				involves the learner in self-assessment is
				recommended, regardless of possible claims of
The aim of the present paper is to review some				subjectivity as a negative factor in their use.
studies which have conducted on examining these				Hancock (1994) believed that one of the advantages
new forms of assessment, and express their findings				of alternative assessment is that it gives enough
and their researchers' beliefs about the usefulness of				opportunities for the learners to discover that they can
these kinds of testing in EFL/ESL classrooms.				complete the tasks successfully. He said those
Review of the related literature				language programs that focus on alternative
Before 1990's our testing and assessment were				assessment are apt to help the learners to evaluate
based on behaviorist views of cognition and				what they learn both in and outside of the language
improvement, but after 1990's it was suggested that				class in a real life situation.
some alternative ways of testing are needed to				One of the alternative ways of assessment which is
evaluate a person's performance (Hancock, 1994).				used as alternative to norm-referenced tests as Elliott
Studies have revealed that innovative individuals do not				(1995) said is performance assessment. Teachers can
have unique mental sections, but they use what they				use performance assessment to get a much richer
have in more well-organized and flexible ways. Such				and more comprehensive picture of what students
individuals are enormously thoughtful about their				know and can do.
activities, their use of time, and the quality of their				As defined by the U.S. Congress, Office of
products (Gardner, 1993). Thus, a need for a new				Technology Assessment (OTA) (1992, as cited by
assessment process was needed to test the learners.				Elliot, 1995), performance assessments are those
Alternative assessment includes a variety of				"testing methods that require students to create an
instruments that can be modified in varying situations.				answer or product that demonstrates their knowledge
According to the literature (e.g. Anthony, Johnson,				and skills" which can have different forms, such as
Mikelson, & Peerce, 1991; Goodman, 1991; Holt;				conducting experiments, writing extended essay, and
1994), these instruments include, for example, the use				doing mathematical computations.
of checklists of student behavior, products, journals,				Performance assessment is a continuum of
reading logs, videos of role plays, audio tapes of				assessment formats ranging from the simplest
discussion, self-evaluation questionnaires, work				student-constructed answers to comprehensive
samples, and teacher observations or anecdotal				expressions or collections of work over time. By
records.				choosing good assessment tasks, sharing the scoring
In her article on alternative assessment, Huerta-Macias				criteria with students, motivating students to do the
(1995) claimed that although traditional forms of				tasks, and understand their performances, teachers
assessment can provide somehow suitable measures				can direct instruction to its appropriate destination with
of students' performance, they often fail to give				performance assessment.
information about what the students can do in their				Although performance assessment is very useful for
second language. Because of this, a new method of				both teachers and students it has some
assessment has been suggested in recent years				disadvantages in terms of the concept of fairness.
which is called alternative assessment, authentic				Although consistency to assure fairness in
assessment, or informal assessment. The focus of this				performance assessment increases the ease of
new method is on assessing learners' ability to use				administration it decreases the task's meaningfulness
language holistically in real-life situations and is usually				and creates some biases.
carried out constantly over a period of time.
As Miriam and Fran (1995) said in their article about				Conclusion
ESL learners' assessment, assessment is difficult for				Although alternative assessment procedures are less
adult ESL educators. Finding a means that can				formal than traditional testing and have valuable
measure learner achievements and program success				washback effects according to the literature, they
to institutions, display improvement in English proficiency				have some drawbacks which make them difficult to
and literacy skills to learners, and clarify for the				be used. Using these kinds of procedures is very time
educators themselves what has been learned and				consuming for both learners and teachers. The cultural
what has not is not an easy task. Dissatisfaction with				factors and educational backgrounds of the learners
accessible tools has been widespread, and many				may result in some problems in use of this
teachers can not find some methods to evaluate				assessment. Moreover, it is hard to measure the
learner gains in a way that helps teaching and learning.				outcomes without using some standardized test.
Today, it seems that using a combination of available				Owing to these issues, ESL programs often use a
and program- developed alternative assessment				combination of commercially available and
instruments can be helpful for assessment.				program-developed assessment instruments to
Alternative assessment is a flexible way to gather				evaluate literacy and language proficiency.
enough information about learners and evaluate what
has been taught in class. "Learner portfolios,"--				References
collections of individual work-- are common examples				Alderson, J. C. and Banerjee, J. (2001). Language
of alternative assessment. Portfolios can include such				testing and assessment (Part 1).
items as reports on books read, notes from learner				Language Teaching, 34 (4), 213-236.
teacher interviews, learners' reflections on their				Allright, R. (1988). Autonomy and individuation in whole
progress, writing samples, data from				class instruction. In Brooks, A. & Gundy, P. (Eds),
performance-based assessments, and scores on				Individuation and autonomy in language learning (pp.
commercially available tests (Fingeret, 1993; Wrigley,				35-44), British council.
1992).				Anthony, R., Johnson, T., Mickelson, N., & Peerce,
Grosvenor (1993: 14-15) defined portfolio as a list of				A. (1991). Evaluating literacy: A perspective for change.
three basics models as follows:				Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
1- Showcase model, consisting of work samples				Chapman, C. (1990). Authentic writing assessment.
chosen by the student.				ERIC Digest (ERIC Document Reproduction Service
2-Descriptive model, consisting of representative work				ED328606).
of the student, with no attempt atevaluation.				DeFina, A. A. (1992). Portfolio assessment:Getting
3- Evaluative model, consisting of representative				started. New York: Scholastic Professional Books.
products that have been evaluated by criteria.				Elliot, S. N. (1995). Creating Meaningful Performance
DeFina (1992: 13-16) listed the following assumptions				Assessments. ERIC Digest E531(ERIC Document
about portfolio assessment:				Reproduction Service No. ED381985).
- "Portfolios are systematic, purposeful, and meaningful				Fingeret, H.A. (1993). It belongs to me: A guide to
collections of students' works in one or more subject				portfolio assessment in adult education programs.
areas.				Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. (Eric
- Students of any age or grade level can learn not				Document Reproduction Service No. ED 359 352)
only to select pieces to be placed into their portfolios				Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple intelligence: The theory in
but can also learn to establish criteria for their				practice. New York: Basic Books.
selections.				Goodman, Y. M. (1991). Informal methods of evaluation.
- Portfolio collections may include input by teachers,				In J. Flood, J. M. Jensen, Lapp, D. & J. Squire (Eds),
parents, peers, and school administrators.				Handbook of research on teaching the English
- In all cases, portfolios should reflect the actual				language arts (pp. 502-509). New York: Macmillan
day-to-day learning activities of students.				Grosvenor, L. (1993). Taking assessment matters into
- Portfolios should be ongoing so that they show the				our own hands. In M. Dalheim (Ed.), Student portfolios
students' efforts, progress, and achievements over a				(NEA Professional Library Teacher-to-Teacher Series).
period of time.				Washington DC: Bookshelf (Editorial Projects in
- Portfolios may contain several compartments, or				Education).
subfolders.				Hancock, C. R. (1994). Alternative Assessment and
- Selected works in portfolios may be in a variety of				Second Language Study: What and Why? (Office of
media and may be multidimensional."				Educational Research and Improvement Rep. No.
Polaksowski (1993) has talked about the benefits of				RR93002010). U.S. Dept. of Education.
the portfolio, and has said that portfolios are a striking				Holt D. (1994). Assessing success in family literacy
alternative to more traditional assessment approaches				projects: Alternative approaches to assessment and
for teaching children. He enumerated the benefits of				evaluation. Washington, DC: Center for Applied
portfolio as follows:				Linguistics.
1- It complements such developmentally appropriate				Huerta-Marcias, A. (1995). Alternative assessment :
curriculum and instruction as wholelanguage, hands-on				Responses to commonly asked questions. TESOL
approaches, and process mathematics.				Journal, 5(1), 8-11.
2- It also allows them to assess children's individual				Miriam, B. & Fran, K. (1995). Adult ESL learner
learning styles.				assessment: Purposes and tools. ERIC Digest (ERIC
3- It enhances their ability to communicate with parents				Document Reproduction Service No. ED386962).
about children's learning.				Pat, N. (1993). Alternative Assessment: Implications for
4- It helps to fulfill professional requirements of school				Social Studies. ERIC Digest (ERIC Document
and community accountability.				Reproduction Service No ED360219).
In his article about alternative assessment and social				Pavis, J. (1988). Le Carnet De Bord (the ship's Log). Le
studies, Pat (1993) stated that assessment should be				Francais dans le Monde, 218, 54-57.
separated from instruction. Student evaluation is most				Piece, B. N., Swain, M., & Hart, D. (1993).
authentic and reasonable when it is based upon the				Self-assessmen in two French immersion programs.
ideas, processes, and products. The criteria of				Applied Linguistics, 14, 25-42.
judgment and the expected results should be				Polakowski, C. (1993). Literacy portfolios in the early
determined for the students clearly at first. Both the				childhood classroom. In M. Dalheim (Ed.), Student
teacher and student are responsible for each student's				portfolios (National Education Association Professional
success. Thus, the social studies classroom becomes				Library Teacher-to-Teacher Series). Washington DC:
a model of the real world in which social and public				Bookshelf (Editorial Projects in Education).
responsibility and participation is an ongoing process,				Richards, J. C., & Renandya, W. A. (Eds. ) (2002).
uninterrupted by time-outs for the strangeness of				Methodology in language teaching: An anthology of
formal testing.				current practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University
In an article on authentic assessment and writing				Press.
assessment, Chapman (1990) suggested that due to				Wrigley, H.S. (1992). Learner assessment in adult ESL
the role of writing in people's academic, social, and				literacy. ERIC Digest. Washington, DC: National
personal lives, the improvement of students' ability to				Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education. (Eric
write is a main concern in every society. Since				Document Reproduction Service No. ED 353 863)
educators can use writing to assess students'				Yap, K.O. (1993). Integrating assessment with instruction
higher-order thinking skills--such as the ability to make				in ABE/ESL programs. Paper presented at the annual
reasonable connections, to compare and contrast				meeting of the American Educational Research
solutions to problems, and to sufficiently support				Association. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service
arguments and conclusions--authentic assessment				No.
seems to provide excellent criteria for teaching and

SchoolStuff

A Review of studies on Alternative Assessment in EFL Language Learning