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Language is acquired for communication in that sense the accurate use of language is one of the main aims of any English course. That is why its study must carry meaningful ways of application. This, according to students' age, interests, and background. When it comes to assessment I would say that this kind of tool can be categorized as summative assessment due to the fact that it is integrating several skills and language systems to be constructed.

Another thing is that this piece of work is the product derived from a complete writing process in which students were guided by the teacher to be able to produce a piece of writing that shows the achievement of a task assigned by the teacher (see ‘description of task and task rubrics’). The kind of information that we can get from this piece of assessment is really varied and useful when prospecting the following evaluation action plan, tests and practices  in a school year. I believe that first of all, with this kind of tool, we can observe if the student is able to communicate his ideas with ease in English, of course according to his level and age. Second, we can see if he has been able to integrate the grammar and vocabulary revised along with the evaluation and he is already able to use it.

One more thing is, ‘Leadership is key in orienting data use in ways that disrupt rather than reinforce patterns of inequity’ (Teacher's College, Columbia University, 2015, 040302), from this I understand that it is of utmost importance that each child has the same opportunities to communicate about themselves and his cultural background freely. I think that this kind of practice is also an opportunity to use English learning to communicate something personal and meaningful and by sharing this with  the class each individual has the opportunity to get better engaged with their own learning but also with each other. ‘No child left behind’.

I totally agree that ‘teachers need to be provided with a rich understanding of assessment. They also need support in accessing data, translating them, and disaggregating them in ways that will support goals of equity and excellence for all students’(Teacher's College, Columbia University, 2015, 040302). It is crucial for learning that assessment starts to be perceived as a way of improvement, not only academic but also personal improvement.

I have the responsibility to awaken students’ interest in their learning. I have mentioned several times that effective self- assessment is one of the keys of effective learning. So with this kind of practice there are different ways to enhance better learning and awareness for instance: spotting common mistakes of different kinds (spelling/ use of be/ sentence structure) to have some remedial practice later on. Get some work done on writing tips such as capitalization and punctuation, paragraph writing and so on. Products can also tell about how ready students are for this kind of tasks and the criterion used in the rubrics so they can be adjusted for later products that represent a bigger challenge for students or if necessary to lower the next tasks for students who performed weakly in this one. On the other hand the products are telling me, the teacher, if I provided students with plenty of guidance and sufficient models to achieve the task. By looking at their products there are many things I can plan for the next lesson. I will be able to see what to reteach, what to test again and what to present next. In addition some peer-discussion with another teacher teaching the same grade will be of much benefit.

Finally, ‘As students are asked to monitor their own progress and to design learning strategies to boost their individual achievement, they too will need to learn how to become reflective learners and gain the capacity to analyze data’ (Teacher's College, Columbia University, 2015, 040302). In that sense, after receiving this type of work, and no matter my students’ age, I really need to teach them how to read and interpret ‘error correction codes’. For me it is a good way to boost motivation and improvement. When my learners start to interpret the correction code and improve their work they are fostering soft skills such as critical thinking and autonomy, skills that they will need not only to learn English but for life.

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It is true that formal assessment is important as it is used most of the time to promote students to a higher level or to enroll in a new course. In that sense, learners are often asked to create projects that may be assessed systematically at the end of a term; using a rubric. In addition, summative assessment, as its name implies "summarizes" a student's learning at the end of an evaluation period ( term, year, course, unit) It involves assessment of learning.  In that sense and taking into account the PRINCIPLES OF ASSESSMENT, this kind of spoken project is valid because is intended to assess a student's ability to communicate his ideas using a foreign language according to his age and knowledge. It is reliable as the results that I can get from it are accurate and consistent, as can be read in the project rubrics criterion. Of course, the criterion to support this type of tool must be carefully designed so the tool remains reliable and valid (5).

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Picture cards are useful for presenting and recycling vocabulary; they can be used to drill pronunciation and to encourage recognition and production of words. They are useful for visual learners, as  students will associate the word with the picture on the card. Aural learners will benefit from hearing the words spoken aloud and kinesthetic learners enjoy moving around and touching or interacting with the cards. Students need to see and hear new words a number of times before the vocabulary moves from their short term memory to their long term memory.It is also a motivating and fun way to either start or finish a class(3). I chose picture cards, because again for me it is a matter of building up routines that can result in ‘easy’ practice and verification for my learners. Another thing is that with very young learners, you need to have visual support so as to trigger their prior knowledge easier. By a quick game using picture cards, I intend that my learners realize how difficult or easy it is for them to first, name the picture, then to make a sentence using that word and third to probably label it correctly with no spelling mistakes, and so on. By paying attention to performance in these quick activities (games, warmers and fillers  with picture cards) I can tell for instance if they are ready for the unit tests or if they have worked on the LMS  carefully enough to reinforce this vocabulary. It is valid because the picture cards are closely linked to the course content, their use and reinforcement is marked by the course pace and it is neutral and also matches the course intentions. It is reliable as it is consistent across time and tasks.

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Assessment for learning is the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to go and how best to get there. Assessment for learning should be used to enhance all learners’ opportunities to learn in all areas of educational activity. It should enable all learners to achieve their best and to have their efforts recognized (Assessment Reform Group, 2002). I really like the idea of building learning, this activity should be active and also reflective. In that way my goal as an educator is that awareness is at its best on both learners and teachers. In that sense coding is a really useful tool, because it develops skills that in learning must be natural for instance, self- correction and of course, self-awareness. I find it quite useful to promote autonomy when assessing learning, no one can tell me better about progress but each of my students themselves. What I mean is that, when my learners know and understand how to mark their work and how to interpret the colors used to mark their books and notes they discover what  they need to do better, probably what they need  to practice more and which their weaknesses and strengths might be. So I believe that this kind of activity reinforces motivation and also promotes understanding of goals as well as it fosters motivation. The results of this kind of assessment can tell you about how students are progressing and if they are struggling with any content, no need to say something or raise a question but to observe. Non-verbal communication is said to be more powerful.

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The best way to assess proficiency in vocabulary and grammar is within the context of assessing oral or written language skills, where students demonstrate their ability to understand or use English vocabulary and grammar in meaningful ways (Hughes,2003, cited by Shin and Crandall, 2014). Although grammar may be taught to young learners more implicitly, we can still assess how well our students are acquiring English grammar both in oral communication and in writing (6). Routines allow students to quickly accomplish day-to-day tasks that are required of both the teacher and students. Routines also help to create smoother transitions between activities and therefore allow fewer opportunities for disruptions to occur (Burden, 2003; Docking, 2002). Having said that, for assessment for learning to happen it is essential that I as a teacher observe, analyse and collect evidence of my students progress or failure, in that way I will become conscious of achievements and drawbacks so that I can come out with strategies and tasks that help students become more reflective on their mistakes and assets for later to be able to self assess. I am a strong believer that learning to spot common errors when learning a foreign language will allow students to make better progress in a faster and more autonomous way. Once more I consider this tool is valid and reliable as it is not an isolated practice and it is built on   the target language of course. I also consider that this kind of routine can help students to develop to provide their peers with constructive feedback.

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I consider that it is a clear example of what I can call assessment for learning as it helps to shape and improve the students' learning. It can also be seen as a means to monitor learning goals, through a shared ongoing creative process. The unit test is a language and skill progress test students must take at the end of each unit. It is a short tests and offers both students and the teacher information about the latest learning goals (the ones from the last unit) (4). Sense of achievement is a quite important aspect to work with when teaching young learners; Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development suggests that the development stage thinking becomes more logical and organized, but still very concrete; in that sense offering bites of real quantity assessment can be of much worth. Again and taking into account the checklist provided by Darr(2005) it is valid and reliable as it is closely related to the content course (designed by children of such age) and also offers consistency across time and markers. This kind of tool is much help and data can tell you if doing some extra counselling or remedial work is needed.

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FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT - AUTONOMOUS LEARNING - REMEDIAL WORK

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LITTLE BRIDGE - VIRTUAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

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LITTLE BRIDGE - VIRTUAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

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I consider that formative assessment is essential; this together with self-awareness, self-discipline, self-confidence and self-assessment. This is why I believe that using a VLE designed for kids, that includes attractive graphics and that relates to their age and likes of learners, can be of much help when trying to foster the skills listed above.  It is valid because it measures the ability of the kid to answer a specific English learning task, these results are used to know if he/she is doing well in the process of acquiring a foreign language. It can be considered valid as the results in the VLE  are taken into account to adjust the clase pace and also to recommend him/her on further practice. I consider it is reliable as results have shown consistency across time, tasks and across markers. Information provided by the results tells about the level of acquisition a student is getting according to the class level, it also shows if he is an average, below or above level individual. So he can become a candidate for extra counselling(2)

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Analyzing the tools I usually use, I have come up with certain conclusions. First, I have realized that there must be some consistent change in the way I promote assessment in my class. I also need to vary the kind of assessment I am encouraging. I have always been so self-centered and I think that because of my preferences and my individual learning experience I have focused on tools that mainly promote self-assessment. I would now need to change my mind and start working to implement different strategies that make peer and class evaluation possible.

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Mock exams let students practise revision strategies that are proven to be more helpful and discover what works best for them. Testing yourself is an effective way to improve your knowledge and ability to recall information. It also takes time and practice to perform well under pressure.Mock exams can be used as a way of getting students to feel comfortable receiving feedback, which paves the way for further improvement and learning(1)
For me it is valid as: it is of much help when making inferences and decisions for the learners. It also provides quality information that allows me to know how well students are doing in these external standardised tests. Results are also taken into account to make decisions on the next school year and the possibility of students undertaking this kind of test at a certain point in the school year. Plus, the questions are clear, the time limit is sufficient, the language used is suitable and the reading demands are fair. According to the test/retest method for determining reliability this kind of test is. It is also quite appealing for students' age and it provides them with a certain sense of easiness and achievement.

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I think an LMS that enhances online practice of the four skills can be a good tool to assess objectively students indpendent performance. Its use for me its practical and reliable as it offers data of each student. It can tell you about your whole clas performance of individual practice. It is a excellent tool for autonomous leraneing and a time saver when marking as it uses mechanised feedback and tracking. Another advantage of the LMS I am currently using is that it offers instant feedback to students so they know how well or bad they did in their practice. The reason why I chose this tool is because it also promotes natural communication by using a clas forum and a internal 'email', this is of much help when teaching children as they are safe in this controlled environment. Data produced in the reports, you can download, can help me analyse if my learners are doing well, how well they are doing and the skills I need to pay more attention to. It has it drawbacks of course, becasue at times kids receive help from their parents when doing homework, however if you set the rules at the very beginning of the course and explain both learners and tutors what the aim of this tool is, chances are they collaborate effectively to use it properly and with honesty. Nowadays,it is importnat to have these kind of tools as they are quite attractive for young learners, they are more appealing than doing homework in a notebook. Still, it fosters learner autonomy and independence. Once more it is not an isolated tool but a joint to the other tools analysed in this assessment portfolio.

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Oxford Online Practice is an online course component for English Language Teaching coursebooks from Oxford University Press.

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(1) - Busch, B. (2015, diciembre 3). Practice makes perfect: why mock exams are great for students’ brains. The guardian. http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2015/dec/03/practice-makes-perfect-why-mock-exams-students-brain

Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving students’ learning with effective learning techniques: Promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology: Promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest: A Journal of the American Psychological Society, 14(1), 4–58.

(2) (S/f-a). A+hitchhiker’s+guide+to+reliability.pdf. Recuperado el 23 de noviembre de 2021, de http://A+hitchhiker's+guide+to+reliability.pdf

(3) (4) Oxford Discover 1 Second Edition. Teacher's book (2019). Oxford Universtity Press.

(5) Shin, J. K., & Crandall, J. A. (2013). Teaching young learners English: From theory to practice (helbling languages). CENGAGE Learning Custom Publishing.

(S/f-b). A+hitchhiker’s+guide+to+validity.pdf. Recuperado el 23 de noviembre de 2021, de http://A+hitchhiker's+guide+to+validity.pdf

Teacher's College, Columbia University. (2015, April). Teacher's Use of Assessment Data to inform Instruction: Lessons From the past and prospects for the future. Teacher's college Record, 117(040302), 26.

Cherry, K. (s/f). What are Piaget’s four stages of development? Verywellmind.com. Recuperado el 14 de diciembre de 2021, de https://www.verywellmind.com/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-2795457

(S/f). Odu.edu. Recuperado el 14 de diciembre de 2021, de https://www.odu.edu/content/dam/odu/col-dept/cdse/docs/4-classroom-routines.pdf

https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/project/the-assessment-reform-group

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Project overview

The Assessment Reform Group was a voluntary group of researchers brought together as the Policy Task Group on Assessment by the British Educational Research Association (BERA) in 1989. In 1996, when BERA ceased to support policy task groups, the Group adopted the name ARG and its meetings were funded by the Nuffield Foundation. The ARG was dissolved in 2010.

The aim of the Assessment Reform Group (ARG) was to ensure that assessment policy and practice at all levels takes account of relevant research evidence. In pursuit of this aim the main targets for the Group's activity were policy-makers in government and its agencies. It also worked closely with teachers, teacher organisations and local education authority staff to advance understanding of the roles, purposes and impacts of assessment.

The activities of the Group included study of the implications of assessment policy and practice, as well as reviewing research and disseminating findings through conferences, seminars and publications.
Inside the Black Box
In 1996, funding from the Foundation enabled the ARG to commission Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam to undertake a literature review on the use of assessment to help with learning. They found decisive evidence that 'formative assessment' could improve learning, and published a booklet for practitioners called Inside the Black Box, the production of which was funded by the School of Education at King's College London.

Additional funding from the Foundation enabled the ARG to publish 'Assessment for Learning: Beyond the Black Box', which is available to download as a PDF from the publications section on this page.

After the publication of this review, the Foundation funded a programme of work with teachers that led to the identification by Black, Harrison, Lee, Marshall and Wiliam of advice for improving classroom assessment. This work was independent of the ARG and was published in 2002 as Working inside the Black Box.
Assessment systems for the future
In 2003, the Foundation awarded the ARG a grant to explore the role that assessment by teachers could take for summative purposes. More information is available on the project page.
Analysis and review of Innovations in Assessment (ARIA)
The Foundation also funded the ARG's Analysis and Review of Innovations in Assessment (ARIA) project, which was designed to help develop understanding of assessment involving teachers. More information is available on the project page.

Members of the ARG

Members of the ARG between 1989 and 2010 were:
Professor Jo-Anne Baird
Professor Paul Black
Professor Patricia Broadfoot
Professor Richard Daugherty
Professor Bryan Dockrell
Professor Kathryn Ecclestone
Professor John Gardner
Professor Caroline Gipps
Professor Wynne Harlen
Professor Louise Hayward
Professor Mary James
Dr Paul Newton
Professor Desmond Nuttall
Professor Judy Sebba
Professor Gordon Stobart
Professor Dylan Wiliam

Publications

Black Box series Black P and Wiliam D (1998) Inside the Black Box: Raising standards through classroom assessment. Originally funded and published by King's College, now by GL Assessment. Inside the Black Box was published in amended form in a US journal as: The Assessment Reform Group, Assement for learning: Beyond the Black Box (1999), University of Cambridge School of Education (PDF) The Assessment Reform Group, The role of teachers in the assessment of learning (PDF) Books Black P, Harrison C, Lee C, Marshall B and Wiliam D, (2003) Assessment for Learning- putting it into practice, Buckingham, Open University Press. Journal articles Black P and Wiliam D (1998) 'Assessment and Classroom Learning' Assessment in Education 5(1) 7-74. Black P and Wiliam D (2003) 'In Praise of Educational Research': formative assessment, British Educational Research Journal 29(5) 623-37. Wiliam D, Lee C, Harrison C and Black P (2004) 'Teachers developing assessment for learning: impact on student achievement.' Assessment in Education 11(1) 49-65. Harrison C (2005) 'Teachers Developing Assessment for Learning: Mapping Teacher Change' Teacher Development 9 (2), pp. 255-264. Lee C. and Wiliam D (2005) 'Studying changes in the practice of two teachers developing assessment for learning' Teacher Development 9 265-283. Black P and Wiliam D (1998) 'Inside the Black Box: Raising standards through classroom assessment', PhiDelta Kappan 80 (2.139-148 October 1998). Reprinted in 2010 as 'Kappan Classic' in PhiDeltaKappan 92(1) 81-90.

We aim to improve people's lives by funding research that informs social policy, primarily in Education, Welfare and Justice. We also fund student programmes that give young people skills and confidence in science and research.

We are an open, collaborative and engaged funder that offers more than money. Through connecting the individual projects we fund, we strengthen their collective impact and give voice to an overarching narrative.

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The Assessment Reform Group | Nuffield Foundation

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The Assessment Reform Group was a voluntary group of researchers brought together as the Policy Task Group on Assessment by the British Educational Research Association (BERA) in 1989. In 1996, when BERA ceased to support policy task groups, the Group adopted the name ARG and its meetings were funded by the Nuffield Foundation.

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Spelling bee contests have been used for many schools around the world to promote students' learning and motivation of language. At school we have chosen to continue performing this type of contest so that it fosters intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. From the necessary preparation for this contest I have created a spelling bee list to accompany the course content. I have chosen this piece of assessment, as I strongly believe that this kind of practice fosters student’s willingness to learn and at the same time improves their progress substantially, plus it becomes a matter of meaningful learning as it is voluntary and takes with it a memorable experience. I consider it valid and reliable as it can be seen as a short test that more than one teacher can carry out and will have the similar results; besides it keeps a proper level as the spelling bee list is carefully planned and designed according to the course aims and taken from the course components. It is valid as this kind of tool is built up from the content of the course itself. It is also valid as it is interesting and appealing for most of the learners. The reading and listening that it demands is suitable for the learner. It shows balance as it is practiced according to the course pacing and content being reviewed. A short spelling bee round is perform at the beginning of each day, just as part of the class routine, students know that they need to revise the list on a daily basis after school (however it is not compulsory)  so as a result they can turn to become a finalist for the current evaluation  and later the winner of the evaluation to then win a ticket to the final competition. Along the process I can see that they are actually acquiring the vocabulary from the list. I  have also observed certain improvements in spelling and better writing of sentences since while revising the list  they are exposed to language at their level and by this they are able to use it accurately.