According
to Genesee & Upshur (1996) there are many tools for assessing students
without test, that’s the best news that a student tired of tests could hear.
As an alternative therapy´s student
I got that news; I never took a test!! Instead, for my pleasure I explored other
fun tools for assessing me, which definitely ensured my learning so much that I
could not forget those lessons even years later, many people would say: that´s
because the content was suitable for that.
On the other hand, as an ESL´s student I always
had to deal with tests; so, it was clear
to me that the tool I choose for assessing depends in highly degree on the
content I teach.
Somewhat naïvely I would say that a tool as a
journal, a portfolio, a questionnaire, an interview, etc, could be adjusted to teach
ESL, or even more to learn ESL; but according to my experience in my early
years of learning English I never was faced with other assessing tool but with
tests.
Those alternative tools, at least the
interviews, were used in classes with a lower degree of significance in terms
of grades and when I go back to those days, those lessons are in my memory till
today with a highly learning degree; definitely I cannot say the same about
tests.
It does not mean that apply alternative tools for
assessing students are shaped by my experiences, actually I am totally disposed
to do my best in order to assessing without test 40 students in front of me. It
would be a thermometer to prove me as a teacher in a regular classroom.
Applying those kinds of tools must bring out
the best in me as a teacher; and most of all, what is important is to
understand that the logic proposed by Genesee and Upshur (1996) to approach
alternative assessment applies to any field, courses, lessons, even activities,
etc. in the same general way.
It is a little difficult to assess our students using another tool different from tests. However, we as teacher should understand that our work is not just about summative assessment, we decide to implement new ways to assess our students in order to provide them a better way to learn and make them feel happy for doing something without being judged by their teachers.
ReplyDeleteMaybe, it is hard to start using new ways of assessment such portfolios, interviews etc, but we should persist in changing the way of assessing students, encourage them to study because they want to learn and not because they want a high score in the class.