Observation

It is important to look closely at some aspects of our class, 

as casual observation occurs constantly, 

 you have to structure a deeper observation 

focusing on specific aspects relating them to each other.

What to read if there is nothing to write?

Reading and writing are the two more boring skills for children. We live in a society where children don’t know what is read a book for pleasure. They don’t even k now how to write their own feelings because they simply just don’t care about it. In this society we are teaching to our students to see reading as a hobby not as a necessity. Anyway, we don’t reach too much to instill our students to see reading as a hobby. It is not enough. It is completely different when students read a book when they want, and when they know the importance of reading constantly.

Students don’t like to read theta why they don’t know how to write, in reading people find the inspiration and drive to write. The problem is that people ignore this, including teachers; that’s why we pay poor attention to assess reading and writing. We use the same methods trying to fulfill with the requirements. This is one of the reasons our students don’t like to read neither to write. We impose methods for assessing those skills so that students feel uncomfortable to write and lazy to read.

Write is not just gather hundred of words in an “essay”, and read is not just a matter of finishing a book of thousands of pages. We are killing our own students’ incentive to choose a reading instead of playing video games or writing a text instead of watching TV.

Are you listening?

Assessing listening is not such as easy as we thought. Teachers think they are right at the moment of assessing students. There are many aspects that make listening difficult but it is obvious that we overestimate evaluative process, mainly in the perceptive skills. Teachers can’t observe neither the process nor the product in the performance of the listening. This is one of the many factors that make listening more complex. Another aspect that is ignored by teachers is to consider all the skills not as a separated item, it is essential to take into account that all the skills complement each other.

In the case of listening, speaking is the ideal complement. Even when it is clear that in classrooms our students listen more than they speak. However we need to strengthen the two skills to develop them equally. As it is said a good listener is a good speaker. 

Numbers, grades, and more numbers

Ignorance is one of the key aspects that do not allow advance and improve education. Many teachers are expert in some specific subjects. However, they are ignorant in many issues surrounding the "mystery" to assess our students. I mention it as a “mystery” because is something that few people know, it is not so easy neither simple as many have tried to implement, actually some have not deciphered yet.

I can bet that many teachers don’t have any single idea of the principles of language assessment. After reading this chapter, I realize that what we think we know about assessment, it is nothing in comparison with what we should know. We don’t know and actually we don’t care what makes a good test. This happens due to the fact that teachers must use their free time to think and make tests, to this last, you can add the time we spend grading them; as I always say it is not the best paid job to do all what we have to do. I am not defending the negligence of the teachers, but we must be realistic.

However, it can be said that teachers have been learnt gradually how to improve their methods to assess students. Anyway it is not enough; teachers should learn to give more than grades. Numbers don’t teach at all, I mean numbers don't describe your performance. As the author mention the only thing we create giving to our students just grades, is a competitive environment in our class, and the idea is to create a cooperative learning.  Students need more than just a single number who classify them upper some students and lower than others. It that what we are teaching our students? To feel better and worse than others? 

Evaluation?

The vast majority of teachers don’t know about the importance and all factors that should be taken into account to evaluate our students. It is not just a matter of failing or passing. We have in out hands a vital function, and what we do?, well it is easier and faster doing nothing, any teacher has a reason to complicate more his life, and neither to work harder with a poor salary. We do what the institution/ school wants, and the only thing they care about are grades. So we give them grades.

It is easy to say that teachers are doing a mediocre job when you don’t have forty or fifty students in a classroom, try to teach them  a subject that most of the students hate and they think it is impossible to learn, to all these add the fact that it is necessary to ask each of those students if they have the physical and psychological conditions to take an exam. Something doesn't fix.

There is something wrong, maybe is our fault maybe not.

It is needed to change the system.