TKT_Mod I_Assessment Types

At the beginning of a course we might give them this test to find out what they know and don't know. The information from this type of test helps us decide what to teach and which learners need help in which areas of language.

When learners go to a language school or evening classes, the school may want to know what level the learners are at, so they give them a test. We use the information from this test to decide what level of class the learners should go into.

After we have finished teaching a part of a course, we may want to find out how well learners have learnt it. This test looks back over a recent block of the syllabus to see how well the learners have learnt what it covered.

Some teachers prefer not to assess their learners' progress in a term through tests but through pieces of work given throughout the term. They might set a composition in week 2, for instance, a presentation in week 4, an essay in week 6, etc., then base the learner's final mark on the average mark for the pieces of work.

This is a collection of learners' work done during the course, which the learner puts together during or at the end a course and then presents to the teacher. Often it also contains comments on the work written by the learner or classmates.

At the end of a term or course, we may give learners a test to see how well they have learnt the contents of the whole course. Learners usually receive a score or mark from this kind of testing.

The contents of the test are not based on a course or syllabus that the learner has followed. The test measures the learner's general skill or ability in the language as a whole. e.g. The ECPE Michigan Test, or the Cambridge English: First (FCE) Test.