A Universal English Language
Assessment Guide for
University Students
By
Charlei Butterfield
Dustin Heffner
Tae-Sik Kim
Randall Feineis
Bryan Mims
Jieun Choi
Vision Statement
Our vision of this presentation
is to effectively and efficiently
introduce and explain a variety
of assessment techniques that
can be incorporated into
freshman university English
classes. Also, the goal is to
provide an invaluable resource
to all freshman instructors; in
the hopes of creating a dynamic,
enjoyable and practical course.
Presentation Structure
• Pre-Course
▫ Level Test
• Introductory Lesson
▫ Questionnaire
• In Class
▫ Teacher Assessment Strategies
▫ Peer Assessment
• Exam Day
▫ Rubrics
• Speaking Assessment Practice
▫ Video
• Post Course
▫ Questionnaire
Presentation Structure
• Pre-Course
▫ Level Test
• Introductory Lesson
▫ Questionnaire
• In Class
▫ Teacher Assessment Strategies
▫ Peer Assessment
• Exam Day
▫ Rubrics
• Speaking Assessment Practice
▫ Video
• Post Course
▫ Questionnaire
Level Test
• Parameters:
▫ Duration of 1-2 hours.
▫ Include sections on:
 Reading comprehension
 Grammar
 Listening
 Speaking
Level Test
• Parameters:
▫ The test should be clear and contain
no discourse that might be:
 Culturally bias
 Age inappropriate
 Otherwise unsuitable.
Level Test
• Goal:
▫ Establish 3 Class levels:
 Advanced Classes (top 20%)
 Intermediate Classes (next 50%)
 Novice Classes (bottom 30%).
Level Test
• Part 1: Reading
Comprehension
▫ The reading component should
consist of 3-5 reading passages
varying in length and difficulty.
▫ The texts should be culturally
relevant.
▫ Questions should test the student’s
ability to comprehend the reading
and vocabulary.
Link
(Appendix A)
Level Test
• Part 2: Grammar
▫ Core focus will be on verb forms:
 Present simple
 Present continuous
 Simple past
 Future.
▫ Minor focus will be on the use of:
 Adverbs of frequency
 Adjectives
 Basic prepositions.
continue
Level Test
• Part 2: Grammar
▫ Questions should test the
student’s understanding of
common English discourse
and lexicon.
▫ Questions should not
be static and should vary in
difficulty and structure.
Link
(Appendix B)
Level Test
• Part 3: Listening Comprehension
▫ Short audio conversations between two
individuals or monologues should be
played of varying length and difficulty.
▫ Questions should be designed to test the
student’s ability to comprehend the
dialogue and discern pertinent data.
continue
Level Test
• Part 3: Listening Comprehension
▫ Each audio segment should
be accompanied with
1-3 questions.
▫ Each audio segment will be
played only once.
Link
(Appendix C)
Level Test
• Part 4: Speaking
▫ The speaking portion should be broken
down into the following categories:
 Read a passage out loud.
 Describe the picture.
 Short answer questions.
 Long answer questions.
Link
(Appendix D)
Presentation Structure
• Pre-Course
▫ Level Test
• Introductory Lesson
▫ Questionnaire
• In Class
▫ Teacher Assessment Strategies
▫ Peer Assessment
• Exam Day
▫ Rubrics
• Speaking Assessment Practice
▫ Video
• Post Course
▫ Questionnaire
English Questionnaire
• Topics:
▫ General Information
▫ English Background
▫ English Confidence
▫ Korean Confidence
▫ Attitude Towards English
Link
(Appendix E)
Presentation Structure
• Pre-Course
▫ Level Test
• Introductory Lesson
▫ Questionnaire
• In Class
▫ Teacher Assessment Strategies
▫ Peer Assessment
• Exam Day
▫ Rubrics
• Speaking Assessment Practice
▫ Video
• Post Course
▫ Questionnaire
In Class Assessment
Strategies
• Teacher Assessments
▫ Formal (During Presentations)
 Multi-dimensional
 Authentic
▫ Informal (Activity Observation)
 Skill based
 Comprehensive
• Peer Assessments
▫ Formal (During Presentations)
Link
(Appendix F)
Link
(Appendix G)
Link
(Appendix H)
Student
Self-Assessment (Unit)
• Topics to be Assessed
▫ Vocabulary learned
 Directly
 Indirectly
▫ Grammar learned
▫ Overall language confidence
▫ Supplemental student
resources
Link
(Appendix I)
Presentation Structure
• Pre-Course
▫ Level Test
• Introductory Lesson
▫ Questionnaire
• In Class
▫ Teacher Assessment Strategies
▫ Peer Assessment
• Exam Day
▫ Rubrics
• Speaking Assessment Practice
▫ Video
• Post Course
▫ Questionnaire
Teacher Evaluation Rubrics
Assessment
Skills
Reading
Writing
Listening
Speaking
Reading Rubric
• Key Components
▫ Oral Reading
▫ Summarizing
▫ Skimming & Scanning
▫ Vocabulary
Link
(Appendix J)
Writing Rubric
• Key Components
▫ Grammar and Spelling
▫ Content
▫ Flow / Order
▫ Vocabulary
Link
(Appendix K)
Listening Rubric
• Key Components
▫ Interpretation /
Accuracy
▫ Aural Comprehension
▫ Ability to predict &
Rationalize Choice
▫ Oral Comprehension &
Ability to Respond
Link
(Appendix L)
Speaking Rubric
• Key Components
▫ Pronunciation
▫ Fluency
▫ Grammar
and Vocabulary
▫ Effort
Link
(Appendix M)
Presentation Structure
• Pre-Course
▫ Level Test
• Introductory Lesson
▫ Questionnaire
• In Class
▫ Teacher Assessment Strategies
▫ Peer Assessment
• Exam Day
▫ Rubrics
• Speaking Assessment Practice
▫ Video
• Post Course
▫ Questionnaire
Speaking Assessment Practice (1)
Think
Pair
Share
(Appendix N)
Speaking Assessment
Practice (1)
• Appropriate Score
Ranges
▫ Pronunciation
(2)
▫ Fluency
(1)
▫ Grammar & Vocabulary (2)
▫ Effort
(2)
Speaking Assessment Practice (2)
Think
Pair
Share
(Appendix O)
Speaking Assessment
Practice (2)
• Appropriate Score
Ranges
▫ Pronunciation
(4)
▫ Fluency
(4-3)
▫ Grammar & Vocabulary (4-3)
▫ Effort
(5)
Speaking Assessment Practice (3)
Think
Pair
Share
(Appendix P)
Speaking Assessment
Practice (3)
• Appropriate Score
Ranges
▫ Pronunciation
(5)
▫ Fluency
(5)
▫ Grammar & Vocabulary (5)
▫ Effort
(5)
Presentation Structure
• Pre-Course
▫ Level Test
• Introductory Lesson
▫ Questionnaire
• In Class
▫ Teacher Assessment Strategies
▫ Peer Assessment
• Exam Day
▫ Rubrics
• Speaking Assessment Practice
▫ Video
• Post Course
▫ Questionnaire
Post Course Questionnaire
• Topics
▫ Self progress
assessment
▫ Assessment of class
and teacher
▫ Skill assessment
Link
(Appendix Q)
Questions & Comments
References
• California Department of Education. (2009) English-Language
Development Standards for California Public Schools
Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve (ISBN 0-8011-1578-7)
Sacramento, California: CSEA members
• Helgesen, M., Brown, S., and Wiltshier, J., ((2010). English Firsthand
Success, 1 and 2, Student Books. Hong Kong:
PearsonLongman Asia ELT.
• Omni Pictures (2011).The Worldwide Accent Project. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8VTuM129HA
• Richards, J.C. and O’Sullivan, K.(2009). Join In 2, Student Book.
New York: Oxford Press.
References
• Rossiter, M.J. (2009). Perceptions of L2 Fluency by Native and
Non-native Speakers of English. The
Canadian
Modern Language Review, 65,3, 395-412.
• Stempleski, S., Douglas, N., and Morgan, J.R. (2005). World Link 2,
Student Book. Boston: Thomson Corporation.
• Trew, Grant (June 2, 2008).Tactics for TOEIC Speaking and Writing
Test. Oxford publishing
• Wikipedia