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 Objectives
The Symposium seeks to open dialogues among
key stakeholders on the subject of English
language assessment in relation to curriculum,
teacher education, and classroom practice.
Participants will explore alternative approaches
to assessment, with particular emphasis on
criterion-referenced measurement. Ways of
implementing criterion-referenced testing
policies will be explored in light of international
experience.
Rationale
Malaysia enjoys a leadership role in English
Language education in the region. Testing
for language learning is in many ways unlike
testing in other academic areas and is therefore
worthy of a focused analysis. The incorporation
of advanced approaches to language test development,
including criterion-referenced assessment,
alternative assessment, and computer-based
testing, will help ensure that Malaysia remains
at the forefront of innovation in ELT. Furthermore,
the influence of high-stakes examinations
on language teaching practice, particularly
in fulfilling the curriculum and syllabus
aims, is evident in all contexts where such
examinations are administered; Malaysia is
by no means exempt from this washback effect.
In order to address this issue, it is important
for those concerned to consider ways to create
positive washback in which examinations, curriculum
and classroom practice jointly interact and
produce the kinds and levels of language acquisition
which will most benefit learners and society.
This symposium will give participants an opportunity
to gain a heightened awareness of and insights
into such assessment areas:
• performance assessment, including
oral, written, and portfolio evaluation
• criterion-referenced assessment in
large-scale
• testing internal assessment, including
teacher-produced tests and quizzes
• web-based assessment
Recent educational reforms such as the establishment
of Smart Schools and the teaching of mathematics
and the sciences in English, as well as
continued concern over the declining levels
of achievement in English language among
our school children, make the timing of
this symposium opportune.
Impact
This symposium will bring together both
assessment specialists and implementers
to explore a number of possible directions
in which testing may evolve in the Malaysian
context. Case studies and test procedures
from international contexts will be examined
and critiqued. Internationally recognized
experts in these areas will present a variety
of perspectives which may be useful to their
local counterparts. The contacts and linkages
formed during the symposium will, ideally,
lead to future collaboration, research and
idea exchange to further enhance Malaysia's
testing programme.
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