Beyond Tests: Alternative in Assessment (Brown & Hudson)

It is well-known that everyone wants a test for everything; for this reason, tests have acquired a great importance nowadays. First of all we have to know that tests are one of number types of assessment. Long time ago a new term was proposed, that was “alternative assessment” such as journal, portfolios, observations, self-assessment, peer-assessment, it was discovered that these assessments gave a power of balance to the classroom. Later, the authors of this paper (Brown and Hudson) discover that these assessments implies something new that may be exempt from the requirements, so he proposes alternatives in assessment instead.

There are some of the alternatives in assessments that are different from formal tests. In contrast, standardized tests are designed to minimize time and money on part of designer and test-taker and alternative assessments are time consuming instead.

On the other hand, we also have to talk about performance-based assessment; it implies productive observable skills since the tasks students perform are consistent with course goals and curriculum.  

Portfolios are one of the most common alternative assessments especially within a framework of communicative language teaching. They include essays, reports, and journals, among others.

Journals are very common written assessment; they include diaries, language-learning logs, among others.

Observations are based on nonverbal behavior; perception, feelings, etc.

Self and peer assessment derives their theoretical justification from a number of well-established principles of second language acquisition.