Report on Observation of Pupil Assessment by School Teacher

For the task, I took the opportunities to observe two classes which were one was the
first class and another one was the last class. I could see that both teachers used different
approaches when it came to assessing the pupils. However, both of the teachers used same
test type which was achievement test. Both of them assessed the pupils to see their
understanding of what they had learnt and to see whether the objectives of the lesson had
been achieved or not.
For the last class, the teacher just used an oral assessment and it was not formal
assessment. She asked few questions and the pupils answered it together. I think that the
test did follow some principles and vice versa. The first one is reliability. Reliability, according
to Feldt and Brennan (1989), is the stability and consistency of the result of the assessment.
I think the assessment was quite reliable in terms of administration as the teacher knew the
pupils very well. Most of them were unable to read nor write properly. Hence, she used oral
assessment so that it can cater to all pupils in class. So the results that the teacher got might
be consistent and stable. Besides, the teacher-student factor also affected the test when
she showed encouragement and motivation when she gave sweets to those who can
answer the questions. When there was positive encouragement from the teacher, the pupils
tried their best to answer the questions.
Mousavi (2009) stated that a practical test include costs, the amount of time it takes
to construct and to administer, ease of scoring and ease of reporting/interpreting the results,
as cited in Brown (2010). Based on my observation, I think the test was quite practical as the
teacher did not took a longer time to prepare the test and also she conducted it during the
teaching and learning process. She did it like a normal class even though she was actually
assessing the pupils. Furthermore, it did not involve any costs to produce the test which
made it more practical. She just had to think of the questions and let the pupils answered
orally.
However, one of the weakness that the test had low objectivity. The test was
supposed to assess pupils understanding of the lesson yet the teacher assessed them in a
group. The teacher did not assess the pupils individually which made the teacher could not
see the ability of each pupils. If the teacher assess them as a whole group, some of them
might just follow their friends answer and got it correct. Hence, the objective the teacher will
not know how many of the pupils were really understand the lesson or not.
Next, the validity of the test was also low. The test did not have face validity. Face
validity of the test is determined based on the impression towards the test. Since the teacher
used question and answer techniques to assess the pupils, so she did not have any
supporting material like worksheet. Hence, the test did not appear as a test in front of the
pupils. Even though it was good that the pupils did not notice that they were been assesses
by the teacher, yet the teacher might not get the results as she wished. Besides that, the test
also did not have any Table of Test Specification (TTS). Even though the teacher did assess
the pupils according to the topic, yet she did not refer to any TTS as guidelines for her to test
the pupils. According to Henning (1987), Content validity is concerned with the content
whether it is enough for the test to measure what it supposed to measure. Hence, when the
teacher did not use the TTS, I think the content of the test were not enough to determine
whether the pupils achieved the objectives or not.
Lastly, the test also had its Washback Effect. Hughes (2003) stated that washback
effect is the impact of the tests have on teaching and learning. I noticed that some of the
pupils especially boys, after the question and answer session, they did not focus to the
lesson. According to the teacher, she said that the pupils were easily lost their attention
when they did not understand the lesson. So, when the teacher asked the pupils, some of
them could not answer the questions and they lost their interest to the lesson. Besides, the
test was conducted in the beginning of the lesson which I think the biggest turn off for the
day. Thus, I would say that the test has negative washback effect on teaching and learning
on that day.
For the improvements for all the weaknesses, I have few suggestion which might be
effective for the teacher and me to be used in the future. The first one is oral assessment is
effectively to be done individually or in a smaller group. By doing this, teacher can identify
which pupils who still cannot understand the lesson. Besides, teacher also can focus on
individually and see their ability. Next, the teacher should have Table of Test Specification to
guide his or her to construct the material for the assessment. Even though it is the listening
and speaking test, it would be better if the teacher follow the guidelines and construct the
questions for them to answer. Next, the teacher also can use visual aids like picture as
stimulus for the pupils to speak or understand what the teacher ask them. Hence, they will
understand the question better. Lastly, the test should be in middle or in the end of the
lesson so that the teacher can do the drilling first with the pupils. After the drilling, teacher
can assess the pupils to see whether they can understand the lesson or not. Hence, the
results of the assessment can be improved.


References
Brown H.D. & Abeywickrama P. (2010). Language Assessment: Principles and Classroom
Practices. Pearson Education: New York.
Busyteacher.org. (n.d). Top 10 Ways to Assess Your Students. Retrieved on 20
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of July
2014 from http://busyteacher.org/7082-top-10-ways-to-assess-your-
students.html
Chitravelu N , Sithamparam S & Teh S.C. (2005). ELT Methodology: Principles and
Practices. Oxford Fajar Sdn. Bhd : Selangor
Shaaban K. (2001). Assessment of Young Learners. Forum Lebanon,39(40),16.