As we enter the third decade of the 21st century, the field of education plays a more crucial role in understanding the contemporary world than ever before. Analyzing the role of education in leading and driving change through policy, practice, and constant innovation for a more inclusive education, whether it being educating students or teachers, is crucial in the development of new and improved education systems worldwide. To this end, Frontiers in Education is organizing a series of Research Topics to highlight the latest advancements in the field. This editorial initiative, led by Dr Gavin Brown, Specialty Chief Editor of the Assessment, Testing and Applied Measurement section, is focused on new insights, novel developments, current challenges, recent advances, and future perspectives in the field of assessment in education.
The rise of ChatGPT has stirred intense conversations in education, raising concerns about the loss of traditional assessment methods. The increasing emphasis on examination-based evaluations has gained attention, leading educators to wrestle with the possible standardization of academic assessments. This one-size-fits-all approach not only jeopardizes the authenticity of the learning experience but also neglects the diverse talents and strengths of students. The pressing challenge is to align the changing technological environment with the need for assessment strategies that are both inclusive and effective. Cases on Authentic Assessment in Higher Education is a publication that acknowledges the challenge posed by technological disruptions and actively seeks to provide a solution. It stands as a resource for educators and administrators navigating the complexities of contemporary assessment. By advocating for a shift towards authentic assessments, the book not only addresses the concerns raised by ChatGPT but also provides a wealth of practical examples across diverse subject areas. These examples serve as a guide for educators, offering inspiration and adaptability to enhance their teaching methods and foster a more inclusive and engaging learning environment.
This book focuses on the assessment of English language writing in China mainland, the territories of Hong Kong and Macau, and Taiwan. The first part of the book describes how writing in English has been assessed in Chinese contexts in the past 25 years, and how it continues to be assessed at present. The second part of the book presents reports of work such as formative classroom-based assessment, feedback-based or feedback-led approaches, learning-oriented assessment, portfolios, as well as the important issue of teacher professional development in writing assessment. This two-part division relates to and reflects what has been happening in writing assessment internationally, in the UK from the 1940s, and in the US in the past 25 years. The use of English for international business communication, for international political negotiations and its rapidly increasing use as a medium of instruction in some subject areas has led to a rapid increase in the numbers of Chinese L1 speakers who are learning and being assessed in English. This is often done with an emphasis on reading and writing. The vast majority of assessments of English language writing are done through large-scale direct testing that uses simple prompts/tasks and short writing samples. This book explores best practices in assessing the writing in English of native speakers of Chinese. Assessing the English Language Writing of Chinese Learners of English edited by long-time experts Liz Hamp-Lyons and Yan Jin clearly demonstrates the authors’ collective years of writing and teaching about writing assessment. The book’s 13 chapters, written by recognized experts in assessment of Chinese speakers learning English, represent a wide array of important topics written in reader friendly language and offering evidence for pedagogical practices as well as high-stakes testing of writing. Teachers, researchers, administrators of writing programs in China, and test developers who seek counsel about this population need look no further than to add Assessing the English Language Writing of Chinese Learners of English to their reading list. Deborah Crusan, Wright State University, USA
The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and Listening offers a state-of-the-art, systematic discussion of the role of listening in second language acquisition (SLA) and use. This handbook positions listening not just as a receptive comprehension skill, but also as an integral part of interaction, a vital component in the process of language acquisition, and a skill which needs attention in its own right. World-leading international scholars synthesize and contextualize the salient theoretical approaches, methodological issues, empirical findings, practical applications, and emerging themes in L2 listening development and processing. They illustrate the role that L2 listening ability plays in understanding SLA and interactional competence, and set the future research agenda to move the field forward. This volume is an indispensable resource to students, scholars, and practitioners from the fields of SLA, cognitive psychology, language teaching, and assessment, as well as those interested in pronunciation, speaking, and oral communication.
This book addresses a problem that affects the work of all educators: how traditional methods of assessment undermine the capacity of schools to serve students with diverse cultural and social backgrounds and identities. Anchored in a common-sense notion of validity, this book explains how current K–12 assessment practices are grounded in the language, experiences, and values of the dominant White culture. It presents a timely review of research on bias in classroom and large-scale assessments, as well as research on how students’ level of engagement influences their performances. The author recommends practices that can improve the validity of students’ assessment performances by minimizing sources of bias, using culturally responsive assessment tools, and adopting strategies likely to increase students’ engagement with assessment tasks. This practical resource provides subject-specific approaches for improving the cultural and social relevance of assessment tools and offers guidance for evaluating existing assessment instruments for bias, language complexity, and accessibility issues. Book Features: Research-based recommendations for improving assessment fairness, validity, and cultural/social relevance.Practices that have been shown to improve the effectiveness of classroom assessments in supporting student learning.Concrete examples of how to create culturally relevant assessment tasks that target valued learning goals in language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science classrooms.Appendixes that provide tools educators can use to improve grading practices.
The Concise Companion to Language Assessment provides a state-of-the-art overview of the crucial areas of language assessment, teaching, and learning. Edited by one of the foremost scholars in the field, The Concise Companion combines newly commissioned articles on innovations in assessment with a selection of chapters from The Companion to Language Assessment, the landmark four-volume reference work first published in 2013. Presented in eight themes, The Concise Companion addresses a broad range of language assessment methods, issues, and contexts. Forty-five chapters cover assessment conceptualization, development, research, and policy, as well as recent changes in language assessment technology, learning-oriented assessment, teacher-based assessment, teacher assessment literacy, plurilingual assessment, assessment for immigration, and more. Exploring the past, present, and future possibilities of the dynamic field, The Concise Companion to Language Assessment: Contains dedicated chapters on listening, speaking, reading writing, vocabulary, pronunciation, intercultural competence, and other language skills Describes fundamental assessment design and scoring guidelines, as well as advanced concepts in scenario-based assessment and automated performance scoring Provides insights on different assessment environments, such as classrooms, universities, employment, immigration, and healthcare Covers various qualitative and quantitative research methods, including introspective methods, classical reliability, and structural equation modeling Discusses the impacts of colonialism and discrimination on the history of language assessment Explores the use of AI in writing evaluation, plagiarism and cheating detection, and other assessment contexts Sure to become a standard text for the next generation of applied linguistics students, The Concise Companion to Language Assessment is an invaluable textbook for undergraduate and graduate courses in applied linguistics, language assessment, TESOL, second language acquisition, and language policy.
jMetrik is a computer program for implementing classical and modern psychometric methods. It is designed to facilitate work in a production environment and to make advanced psychometric procedures accessible to every measurement practitioner. Applied Measurement with jMetrik reviews psychometric theory and describes how to use jMetrik to conduct a comprehensive psychometric analysis. Each chapter focuses on a topic in measurement, describes the steps for using jMetrik, and provides one or more examples of conducting an analysis on the topic. Recommendations and guidance for practice is provided throughout the book.
