Top
Language Assessment: Principles and Classroom Practices is designed to offer a comprehensive survey of essential principles and tools for second language assessment. Its first and second editions have been successfully used in teacher-training courses, teacher certification curricula, and TESOL master of arts programs. As the third in a trilogy of teacher education textbooks, it is designed to follow H. Douglas Brown’s other two books, Principles of Language Learning and Teaching (sixth edition, Pearson Education, 2014) and Teaching by Principles(fourth edition, Pearson Education, 2015). References to those two books are made throughout the current book.
Language Assessment features uncomplicated prose and a systematic, spiraling organization. Concepts are introduced with practical examples, understandable explanations, and succinct references to supportive research. The research literature on language assessment can be quite complex and assume that readers have technical knowledge and experience in testing. By the end of Language Assessment, however, readers will have gained access to this not-so-frightening field. They will have a working knowledge of a number of useful, fundamental principles of assessment and will have applied those principles to practical classroom contexts. They will also have acquired a storehouse of useful tools for evaluating and designing practical, effective assessment techniques for their classrooms.
Preface Text Credits Chapter 1 Assessment Concepts and Issues Assessment and Testing
Measurement and Evaluation
Assessment and Learning
Informal and Formal Assessment
Formative and Summative Assessment
Norm-Referenced and Criterion-Referenced Tests
Types and Purposes of Assessment
Achievement Tests
Diagnostic Tests
Placement Tests
Proficiency Tests
Aptitude Tests
Issues in Language Assessment: Then and Now
Behavioral Influences on Language Testing
Integrative Approaches
Communicative Language Testing
Traditional and Alternative Assessment
Performance-Based Assessment
Current “Hot Topics” in Language Assessment
Dynamic Assessment
Assessing Pragmatics
Use of Technology in Testing
Exercises
For Your Further Reading
Chapter 2 Principles of Language Assessment
Practicality
Reliability
Student-Related Reliability
Rater Reliability
Test Administration Reliability
Test Reliability
Validity
Content-Related Evidence
Criterion-Related Evidence
Construct-Related Evidence
Consequential Validity (Impact)
Face Validity
Authenticity
Washback
Applying Principles to Classroom Testing
Are the Test Procedures Practical?
Is the Test Itself Reliable?
Can You Ensure Rater Reliability?
Does the Procedure Demonstrate Content Validity?
Has the Impact of the Test Been Carefully Accounted for?
Are the Test Tasks as Authentic as Possible?
Does the Test Offer Beneficial Washback to the Learner?
Maximizing Both Practicality and Washback
Exercises
For Your Further Reading
Chapter 3 Designing Classroom Language Tests
Four Assessment Scenarios
Scenario 1: Reading Quiz
Scenario 2: Grammar Unit Test
Scenario 3: Midterm Essay
Scenario 4: Listening/Speaking Final Exam
Determining the Purpose of a Test
Test Usefulness
Reading Quiz
Defining Abilities to be Assessed
Grammar Unit Test
Drawing up Test Specifications
Grammar Unit Test
Midterm Essay
Devising Test Items
Midterm Essay
Listening/Speaking Final Exam
Designing Multiple-Choice Items
Design Each Item to Measure a Single Objective
State Both Stem and Options as Simply and Directly as Possible
Make Certain That the Intended Answer Is Clearly Only the Correct One
Use Item Indices to Accept, Discard, or Revise Items (Optional)
Listening/Speaking Final Exam
Administering the Test
Scoring, Grading, and Giving Feedback
Scoring
Grading Giving Feedback
Exercises For Your Further Reading
Chapter 4 Standards-Based Assessment
The Role of Standards in Standardized Tests Standards-Based Education
Designing English Language Standards
Standards-Based Assessment
CASAS and SCANS
Teacher Standards
Consequences of Standards-Based Assessment and Standardized Testing
Test Bias
Test-Driven Learning and Teaching
Ethical Issues: Critical Language Testing
Exercises
For Your Further Reading
Chapter 5 Standardized Testing
Advantages and Disadvantages of Standardized Tests
Developing a Standardized Test
Step 1: Determine the Purpose and Objectives of the Test
Step 2: Design Test Specifications
Step 3: Design, Select, and Arrange Test Tasks/Items
Step 4: Make Appropriate Evaluations of Different Kinds of Items
Step 5: Specify Scoring Procedures and Reporting Formats
Step 6: Perform Ongoing Construct Validation Studies
Standardized Language Proficiency Testing
Exercises
For Your Further Reading
Chapter 6 Assessing Listening
Cautionary Observations on Assessing Language Skills Separately
Integration of Skills in Language Assessment
Assessing Grammar and Vocabulary
Observing the Performance of the Four Skills
Basic Types of Listening
Micro- and Macroskills of Listening
Designing Assessment Tasks: Intensive Listening
Recognizing Phonological and Morphological Elements
Paraphrase Recognition
Designing Assessment Tasks: Responsive Listening
Designing Assessment Tasks: Selective Listening
Listening Cloze
Information Transfer
Sentence Repetition
Designing Assessment Tasks: Extensive Listening
Dictation
Communicative Stimulus-Response Tasks
Authentic Listening Tasks
Exercises
For Your Further Reading
Chapter 7 Assessing Speaking
Basic Types of Speaking
Imitative
Intensive
Responsive
Interactive
Extensive (Monologue)
Microskills and Macroskills of Speaking
Designing Assessment Tasks: Imitative Speaking
Versant®
Designing Assessment Tasks: Intensive Speaking
Directed Response Tasks
Read-Aloud Tasks
Sentence/Dialogue Completion Tasks and Oral Questionnaires
Picture-Cued Tasks
Translation (of Limited Stretches of Discourse)
Designing Assessment Tasks: Responsive Speaking
Question and Answer
Giving Instructions and Directions
Paraphrasing
Designing Assessment Tasks: Interactive Speaking
Interview
Role Play
Discussions and Conversations
Games
ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview
Designing Assessments: Extensive Speaking
Oral Presentations
Picture-Cued Storytelling
Retelling a Story, News Event
Translation (of Extended Prose)
Exercises
For Your Further Reading
Chapter 8 Assessing Reading
Genres of Reading
Microskills, Macroskills, and Strategies for Reading
Types of Reading
Perceptive
Selective
Interactive
Extensive
Designing Assessment Tasks: Perceptive Reading
Reading Aloud
Written Response Multiple-Choice Picture-Cued Items
Designing Assessment Tasks: Selective Reading
Multiple-Choice (for Form-Focused Criteria) Matching Tasks
Editing Tasks
Picture-Cued Tasks
Gap-Filling Tasks
Designing Assessment Tasks: Interactive Reading
Cloze Tasks
Impromptu Reading Plus Comprehension Questions
Short-Answer Tasks
Editing (Longer Texts)
Scanning
Sequencing
Information Transfer: Reading Charts, Maps, Graphs, Diagrams
Designing Assessment Tasks: Extensive Reading
Skimming Tasks
Summarizing and Responding
Notetaking and Outlining
Exercises
For Your Further Reading
Chapter 9 Assessing Writing
Genres of Written Language
Types of Writing Performance
Micro- and Macroskills of Writing
Designing Assessment Tasks: Imitative Writing
Tasks in (Hand-)Writing Letters, Words, and Punctuation
Spelling Tasks and Detecting Phoneme—Grapheme Correspondences
Designing Assessment Tasks: Intensive (Controlled) Writing
Dictation and Dicto-Comp
Grammatical Transformation Tasks
Picture-Cued Tasks
Vocabulary Assessment Tasks
Ordering Tasks
Short-Answer and Sentence-Completion Tasks
Issues in Assessing Responsive and Extensive Writing
Designing Assessment Tasks: Responsive and Extensive Writing
Paraphrasing
Guided Question and Answer
Paragraph Construction Tasks
Strategic Options
Standardized Tests of Responsive Writing
Scoring Methods for Responsive and Extensive Writing
Holistic Scoring
Analytic Scoring Primary Trait Scoring
Beyond Scoring: Responding to Extensive Writing
Assessing Initial Stages of the Process of Composing
Assessing Later Stages of the Process of Composing
Exercises
For Your Further Reading
Chapter 10 Assessing Grammar and Vocabulary
Understanding Form-Focused Assessment
Assessing Grammar
Defining Grammatical Knowledge
Designing Assessment Tasks: Selected Response
Designing Assessment Tasks: Limited Production
Designing Assessment Tasks: Extended Production
Assessing Vocabulary
The Nature of Vocabulary
Defining Lexical Knowledge
Some Considerations in Designing Assessment Tasks
Designing Assessment Tasks: Receptive Vocabulary
Designing Assessment Tasks: Productive Vocabulary
Exercises
For Your Further Reading
Chapter 11 Grading and Student Evaluation
The Philosophy of Grading: What Should Grades Reflect?
Guidelines for Selecting Grading Criteria
Calculating Grades: Absolute and Relative Grading
Teachers’ Perceptions of Appropriate Grade Distributions
Institutional Expectations and Constraints
Cultural Norms and the Question of Difficulty
What Do Letter Grades “Mean”?
Scoring and Grading Tests and Assignments
Scoring Methods
Scoring Open-Ended Responses
Developing a Rubric
Guidelines for Grading and Evaluation
Exercises
For Your Further Reading
Chapter 12 Beyond Letter Grading
Self- and Peer Assessment
Advantages of Self- and Peer Assessment
Types of Self- and Peer Assessment
Guidelines for Self- and Peer Assessment
A Taxonomy of Self- and Peer Assessment Tasks
Portfolios 130
Clear Purpose
Specific Guidelines
Transparent Assessment Criteria
Designated Time Allocated
Scheduled Review and Conferencing
Designated Location
Positive Final Assessments
Narrative Evaluations
Checklist Evaluations
Exercises
For Your Further Reading
Appendix: Commercially Produced Tests of English as a Second/Foreign Language
Glossary
Bibliography
Name Index
Subject Index
The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.
The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.
Need Help? Copyright © 1999-2026
