Instructor Video Topic 5: Assessment

Alison led a module on assessment in the ESL/EFL classroom, focusing on the purpose of assessment and how it should support learning. She differentiated between formative and summative assessments, and compared traditional and alternative assessment methods, discussing their benefits and limitations. Alison emphasized the importance of selecting appropriate assessment practices for multilingual learners and recognizing factors that influence fair and equitable assessment. She discussed key concepts such as validity, reliability, alignment, and bias, and provided examples of various assessment types. Alison highlighted best practices, including aligning assessments with learning objectives, using multiple assessment methods, providing frequent feedback, and considering learners' backgrounds and preferences. She concluded by reinforcing that effective assessment is ongoing, purposeful, and integral to instruction, and that fair assessment should recognize students' diverse backgrounds while maintaining high expectations.