Week 13: Assessment

Tuesday's reading cover section 14 of the Anthology book.  Each of the articles weighed in on different thoughts, ideas, and/or approaches to alternative assessment in the second language classroom.  I would have to agree with using alternative assessment in a ESL setting as well as any other classroom setting. As far as the articles go, I really like what the Huerta-Macias had to say about the usage of alternative testing.  She writes in her article how "alternative assessment..consisting of valid and reliable procedures that avoid many of the problems inherent in traditional testing, including norming, linguistic, and cultural bias...[alternative assessment] as the power to tell a story" (342).  I think this is very important to keep in mind because of how assessment can affect our students.  Alternative assessment is no less valuable than any other means of assessing students, and, in fact, it can engage more students by allowing them to express themselves more fully than a traditional test.  Alternative assessments--like journal writing, for example--can allow students to express themselves while teachers can keep up with students' progress and give them great feedback.  Overall, I really approve of alternative assessment because of what it can do for both students and teachers.