Course Syllabus
Course: TESL 2300
Division: Humanities
Department: Languages & Linguistics
Title: Testing and Evaluation
Semester Approved: Summer 2023
Five-Year Review Semester: Spring 2028
End Semester: Spring 2029
Catalog Description: In order for teachers to be successful, the ability to construct effective assessments is vital. This course familiarizes potential teachers of languages with theory and techniques in the construction, analysis, use, and interpretation of second language assessment. It also introduces useful techniques of teacher self-evaluation.
Semesters Offered: Spring
Credit/Time Requirement: Credit: 1; Lecture: 1; Lab: 0
Justification: In order for teachers to be successful, the ability to construct effective assessments is vital. This course is designed to provide basic competence in this area of language teaching. This course is required for completion of the Certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language. This course will most likely transfer as an elective credit.
Student Learning Outcomes:
Students will be able to create language tests that will effectively measure second language proficiency in various skill areas. Students will do homework, take quizzes, and create language tests.
Students will develop self-evaluative abilities to assess testing and teaching. Through tests, homework, and a final exam students will demonstrate these abilities.
Content:
Test types and formats (e.g., aptitude/placement, diagnostic, criterion vs. norm reference).
Creating tests for the four skill areas of language (speaking, listening, reading, writing).
Other testing instruments for language instruction (oral interviews, self-evaluations, portfolios).
Washback effect of tests on teaching.
Evaluating the effectiveness of tests.
TESL theory and application are intrinsically and implicitly invested in the plurality of language learning communities and styles, and in engaging deliberately with diversity and difference in the language classroom.
Key Performance Indicators:
At the instructor's discretion, the following criteria will be used for the purpose of assessment:
Creation of Testing Instruments 25 to 40%
Homework 25 to 35%
Quizzes 20 to 30%
Tests 20 to 35%
Representative Text and/or Supplies:
Coombe, Folse, Hubley, A Practical Guide to Assessing English Language Learners, The University of Michigan Press, current edition.
Pedagogy Statement:
Through reading, research, discussion, homework, tests, and application, students will practice and learn how to create a range of inclusive and effective assessment instruments. Central to the above work will be the exploration of questions and challenges of rigor, equity, and bias in academic assessment. In all cases, coursework will also help students learn about and develop test instruments that don't discriminate among cultures.
Instructional Mediums:
Lecture
Online
Maximum Class Size: 20
Optimum Class Size: 15
