Tierra Fowler

6 March 2017

Task One: Analyze the following traditional test given to a French I

class. Why is it
considered traditional? Explain, using the following questions as a
guide:

1. Is there a context? If there is none, what context could be

applied?

This test is considered a traditional test, I believe, because there is no

specific context and students are not being asked to really apply their
knowledge in a meaningful way. Students are simply being asked to
conjugate verbs in a random sentence and having to translate a given word
that is not even placed in a sentence. Additionally, to support my opinion, in
chapter 11 it is explained that a traditional assessment does not capture
the range of students language ability, does not include the teachers
knowledge of the student as a learner, and measures students ability at
one time (p. 425).

Instead of this traditional test, students could be asked to write a short

paragraph that would require them to use the present or near-future tense.
For example, a question could be what are you going to do for the rest of
the week or what are you going to do this weekend?. For those questions
students would have to use the near-future tense. Additionally, students
could be asked to write a short paragraph about what they do in a normal
day, which would require them to translate present tense verbs along with
using the day/time of day words they have been asked to translate. This
could also help with spiraling the learning, as students might also be asked
to pull information/vocab from previous units and/or lessons and incorporate
it into their answers. For example, a teacher could ask about an upcoming
family vacation and what you will do there. This would incorporate the
current knowledge along with family vocabulary.

2. What knowledge and/or skills are being evaluated?

In this test, students are being asked to conjugate verbs, write numbers in
word form and translate days of the week/times of the day. Students are only
being asked to read and half of that reading is being done in English for the
directions, so following directions is not a skill that is being used here, but
should be.

3. How is the learner asked to use the target language?

Students are being asked to write, but that writing never consist of more
than a few, unoriginal words. In order to perform well on the test, students
have to be able to know numbers, days, times of the day and two different
verb forms. All of this knowledge and these skills, however, seem separate
and is not woven together throughout the test (i.e. instead of separate
section there could be a question that combines both future tense and days
of the week).

Furthermore, students are being asked to use the target language in isolation
from anything meaningful. Additionally, the learner is not being asked to use
different components of the target language. There is no speaking, listening
or reading comprehension component.

4. Does the test address standards-based competencies? Explain.

I think the test presented does address standards-based competencies.
Students are being asked to do things such as conjugate verbs and know
numbers which are essential things to know when learning a language.
However, just because this test addresses standards-based competencies,
does not mean that it is a good or the best test. A better test, as previously
mentioned, would be placed in context. In chapter 11 it is mentioned that
learners have multiple opportunities to demonstrate growth in language
development and progress in attaining the standards (p. 398). I think that
this should not only be applied throughout the year, but also in a single
exam. In this test students are only being asked to write, not speak or listen.
Additionally, they are essentially only being asked to translate. Students
should be given multiple opportunities through a given test to demonstrate
their language development. A test can include a speaking, listening and
writing component, as well as other components while addressing standards-
based competencies.

5. Why is this test not considered performance-based, authentic,

integrative, or interactive?
This test is not considered performance-based, authentic, integrative, or
interactive for a few different reasons. A performance-based assessment
requires students to create something, whether it be a response or a product
and students have to pull from knowledge that they have been acquiring
over a period of time. It is not authentic because there is no application to
the real world. Furthermore, the test is not integrative because in an
integrative assessment students have to use different components of
language at the same time, for example read and then have a discussion (p.
402). Finally, it is not an interactive assessment because students are not
interacting with some form of media (text, video, interview, etc.). For
example, they are not required to read a text and pull out information or
make inferences based on a video.

6. What might this test reflect concerning the classroom practices

of the test designer?
Since tests are, or should be, designed based on activities or learning
experiences, this test says a lot about how students might be learning. For
example, if students had been doing a multitude of speaking and listening
activities in class, the teacher would have likely incorporated that into a test
because that is what they had been preparing for and learning to do. This
means that students have probably been preparing to take a test that
consists of fill in the blank with the correct conjugation and that is what
they have been doing from day to day. Students likely were not engaged in
performance or authentic tasks.