Real World Assessment Tasks
WHAT: Real World Assessment Tasks are the way in which teachers using PBLA can assess their students' ability to use the language in a meaningful way in a context that is as close to real-world as possible. Assessment tasks must be planned in advance to aligned to a specific CLB level with clear and specific criteria. Assessment tasks are the primary evidence that goes into the student's portfolio.
WHY: Assessment tasks provide teachers with a way of evaluating a student's ability in a structured way. Sharing criteria with learners helps the students understand what is expected of them and also helps teachers identify specific areas of improvement. It is important for assessment tasks to reflect real-world contexts in order for students to be able to transfer the skills they learn and practice in the classroom into meaningful and relevant situations in their daily life.
HOW: Assessment tasks must be planned! Starting from the end goal (what action will the students be able to DO with this language?), teachers must learn to work and plan backwards from that end goal. Assessments should be planned before teaching begins on a topic. There are a variety of tools and methods that can be used for assessing different tasks and skills (see below for some ideas and templates). When conducting an assessment, students must demonstrate their ability to perform the task on their own, using their own language and skills. Assessment tasks may involve peers or volunteers, but must be marked by the teacher.
HOW MANY: Different programs have different requirements for how often assessments should be done and how many assessments are required. As a general guideline, try to aim for one example of a student's work (skill-using activity or assessment task) for every 8 hours of teaching. A program that runs 7.5 hours per week may aim for an assessment once every two weeks, while a program with 15 hours per week may try for one assessment every week. Some assessments may take a longer time to prepare and practice for, while others may be simpler and require less build-up. Assessment tasks can sometimes cover more than one skill area and/or competency area.
WHY: Assessment tasks provide teachers with a way of evaluating a student's ability in a structured way. Sharing criteria with learners helps the students understand what is expected of them and also helps teachers identify specific areas of improvement. It is important for assessment tasks to reflect real-world contexts in order for students to be able to transfer the skills they learn and practice in the classroom into meaningful and relevant situations in their daily life.
HOW: Assessment tasks must be planned! Starting from the end goal (what action will the students be able to DO with this language?), teachers must learn to work and plan backwards from that end goal. Assessments should be planned before teaching begins on a topic. There are a variety of tools and methods that can be used for assessing different tasks and skills (see below for some ideas and templates). When conducting an assessment, students must demonstrate their ability to perform the task on their own, using their own language and skills. Assessment tasks may involve peers or volunteers, but must be marked by the teacher.
HOW MANY: Different programs have different requirements for how often assessments should be done and how many assessments are required. As a general guideline, try to aim for one example of a student's work (skill-using activity or assessment task) for every 8 hours of teaching. A program that runs 7.5 hours per week may aim for an assessment once every two weeks, while a program with 15 hours per week may try for one assessment every week. Some assessments may take a longer time to prepare and practice for, while others may be simpler and require less build-up. Assessment tasks can sometimes cover more than one skill area and/or competency area.
Check out the Real World Assessment Task Bank from the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board:
http://realworldtasks.ca/login.php
http://realworldtasks.ca/login.php
Samples
More samples to come!
Samples are provided in Word format as they should be adapted and modified for your own students, level, and task.
To download the documents below, you can either click on the button under each image (downloads to your computer directly) or download from Scribd by clicking on the download arrow icon (requires a login/password - free).
Samples are provided in Word format as they should be adapted and modified for your own students, level, and task.
To download the documents below, you can either click on the button under each image (downloads to your computer directly) or download from Scribd by clicking on the download arrow icon (requires a login/password - free).