Uncertainty in Assessment: Measure to Change

For #TESL0100

The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle holds that you cannot simultaneously measure both the position and the velocity of something, at least for very small particles. In other words, you can't measure one parameter without changing the other one. In the realm of quantum physics, this is very significant.

So how does this relate to language assessment? Assessment is measuring a student's performance in a language task. Sometimes, assessment means a test, and in some types of ESL instruction, tests are necessary. Students who are learning English for the purpose of further study, or to get a job credential, will have to take tests. Students who want to get into an ESL program will likely have to take a placement test. And usually, when someone is going to take a test, they will practice or study beforehand. Thus the test, or the preparation for the test, will cause some change in the student's ability and also in their emotional engagement with the language, whether positive or negative. The act of preparing for a test may not produce the most desirable change in the student, especially if the student does not do as well as they had hoped, or doesn't get any feedback other than a grade.

However, I have learned that there are many ways other than tests to assess a student's performance in language tasks. Additionally, many of these assessments methods have the purpose of producing positive change in the student. Suiting the assessment to the task, and to the student, makes it part of the learning process, rather than just a measurement of achievement. Assessment that provides action-oriented feedback doesn't just tell the student how well they performed the task. This type of assessment and feedback relates the the student's goals, encourages reflection, gives information about the learning process, encourages back-and-forth dialogue between teacher and student, and motivates for continued improvement. There are many tools teacher can use to give this type of feedback, but the point is to give students information they can use to move forward in their learning. This is the kind of change an assessment should cause.



Resources:

The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica (2018), Uncertainty Principle, [webpage], retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/science/uncertainty-principle .

Williams, S. (2015) REALIZE 2015 Forum: Action Oriented Feedback, [video], My English Online, retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDbkhsNfmK4 .