Difference between : Evaluation, test and assessment

In language teaching,, there are many misconceptions in relation to what is evaluation, what is assessment, what is testing and the differences among them.
A- EVALUATION

According to David Nunan (1999), “Evaluation is the collection and interpretation of information about aspects of the curriculum…for decision making purposes” (Nunan, 1999, p85).
Loannou and Pavlou (2003), give a similar definition of evaluation. They state that: “Evaluation is the process of gathering information in order to determine the extent to which a language program meets its goals.” (p.4)
As it can be seen evaluation is the part of the teaching process that allows gather and understand information about it, which will be useful not only for teachers but for all the people being part of the teaching process, to make changes, innovate in case something is not working well, confirm if things are going well, strength part of the teaching-learning process and determine if the aims proposed at the beginning of the process are being achieved.
In this sense, the evaluation have been classified according to its purpose.
Thus, we will find three different types of evaluation:
1-formative evaluation the evaluation is carried out as part of the process to see what is working well and what is not.
2- Illuminative evaluation It seeks to find out how different aspects of the program are being implemented.
3- Summative evaluationwhich seeks to make decisions about the value of different aspects of the curriculum.

B-TESTING


* Testing: Concerns & Cautions:
Increased emphasis on testing is partly the result of real need for improved quality and accountability in the schools, the evaluation of learner's progress and program effectiveness do have a role to play in ensuring that learners receive high quality services. However, this type of testing often leads to inappropriate practices of testing.


---> This is to mean that sometimes there's some much emphasis on the testing (especially Achievement tests) + pressure to finish the program before the test's day that teachers devote all the time for preparing these tests that they neglect other activities.


* Types of Tests:


1)- Achievement Test:
It measures what learners have learnt, of what skills have been acquired from the instructions.


2)- Readiness Test:
Assesses the skills the learner have acquired so that the teachers can plan instructions accordingly (to see the areas of strength of each learner)


* Achievement and readiness tests are designed to provide info for the teachers so that they can plan and individualize instructions for a specific group of learners.


3)- Development Test:
Assesses learners' ability to acquire skills rather than the skills that they have already acquired


4)- Diagnostic Test: (Difficulties or problems)
This test is used to identify the learners who have special needs to determine the nature of the problem and to suggest remediation strategies.
Teachers should be trained to observe and assess young learners to evaluate their acquired abilities rather than they acquiring information

C-ASSESSMENT

Assessment is taken to refer to the set of processes by which we judge students learning. According to Tom Angelo (1995), assessment is: “an ongoing process aimed at understanding and improving student learning”.
It is clear that assessment is related more specifically to the students and the group of methods that are used to judge their performance. In this case, both teachers and students are involved in the assessment process. Teachers usually make use of activities, tests and exercises to assess students, not only how well they are doing but also, for identifying what factors are causing their success or failure. And students make use of self-assessment and peer assessment in order to identify by themselves and with the help of their peers which are their strengths and weaknesses and also for identifying the ways of learning and materials they like the most. Depending on the results of the teacher’s assessment and student’s self assessment, different actions and changes can be made after analyzing these results during the evaluation of the process.

Thanks Sabine ! I often confuse the three myself ! That's really helpful

My pleasure my sweet sassy