proficiency versus achievement testing

Whether you test for proficiency versus achievement may depend on 
your purpose for testing.

If you are teaching a class, and you need to give a grade to the 
students on whether or not they have learned what you have taught 
them, it might be fairer to test on what you have taught, not on 
general proficiency.

One example might be when I took modern Greek.  I was one of only two 
non-heritage learners of modern Greek in the class.  Everyone else in 
the class had been exposed to modern Greek on some level or other at 
home or at church or on summer vacations in Greece.  Many of them 
were taking the class because they had a language requirement, and 
because they needed/wanted to learn to read and write in Greek.  

When the teacher came into the class a few minutes early, she would 
often talk Greek with the students.  Especially in the first and 
second quarters, I understood NOTHING.  Other students were able to 
carry on a conversation with her.

However, when she talked to me using the vocabulary I had been 
exposed to in our book, and which I had had a chance to learn, I did 
fine.  I could write better than any of the Greek-Americans except 
for the student who was planning to become a Greek Orthodox priest 
(the only Greek American who was doing any serious studying for the 
class).

If the teacher had given me a grade based on my proficiency relative 
to that of other students, on topics not covered in class, I would 
have gotten quite a low grade.  By testing us by using vocabulary and 
on topics that we had been exposed to, I could get an A.

I worked various parts of my anatomy off in that class, and would 
have been very upset if I had been given a grade based on my ability 
to use and understand vocabulary that I had never had a chance to 
learn.

In a low-level listening-speaking class, I will often give out a very 
long list of questions based on the topics we have covered over the 
course of the term.  I explain that I will ask questions randomly off 
the list (this is done in a corner, individually, while other 
students are involved in group work - I tape record it so that I can 
review it later).  I explain that students who cover just the bare 
minimum get a C.  Students who can add more information, especially 
if they can ask me questions back and understand when I respond, can 
expect higher grades.

Is this grade going to be an accurate measure of how the students 
will be able to function in an all-English environment?  Of course 
not.  Is it a fair way to determine part of the oral production grade 
for a particular class?  I think it is.

Karen









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