Assessing Reading Outcomes
Beginning teachers are likely to worry that a holistic approach to reading and language learning in general does not allow for any focus on the individual parts, such as vocabulary, grammar, content, etc. This is an understandable concern since such an approach emphasizes the relationship of the individual parts that constitute the text as a whole rather than the individual parts of a text. The issue usually comes down to the question: What is the best way to teach and assess grammatical accuracy? Should assessment ever focus on grammatical accuracy if the pedagogical approach takes a more integrated, contextualized approach?
Before you watch this clip, brainstorm about your expectations for your students' accuracy and what the role of accurate language use should be in assessment.
Test What You Teach How You Teach It
The final challenge for any curriculum (holistic or otherwise) is summarized in the old saw: "test what you teach how you teach it." If students are taught to read using a matrix, they should be assessed using a similar task. For example, a matrix sets up learning that joins content and language; the elements in the matrix constitute a topic-and-comment logic—set within two columns, two parallel cells provide the material for particular kinds of sentences. If the instructor thinks grammar accuracy is important, then the sentences or phrases that come out of the matrix information need to be evaluated for accuracy of formal features as well as accuracy of content weighting and selection. Spelling, grammar, expression, and content can all be evaluated in terms of accuracy. However, teachers must make clear to students how much accuracy counts in their grading scheme. If grammatical accuracy is never touched on in reading activities, it would be unfair to make it a primary focus when testing reading.
Matrix Options at Different Levels
At beginning levels, students will need structured tasks that provide them with explicit directions about what to look for and how to find it. Later, the matrix can have a less prescriptive format, such as a précis or concise summary that allows learners to manage their language production by organizing information according to a logical pattern they see in a text. More advanced learners can also provide a statement in English or the foreign language concerning the implications they read in the pattern of logic uncovered in their matrices. For example, if a reader discovers a series of events and outcomes in a Batman film that all result in extraordinary special effects then they probably will recognize and write about the implication that every time a bad guy does something explosive, innocent people are put in danger and when good guys use technology it is to save people—a pattern of good versus evil with visual correlations of color and sound.
In summary, teachers can manage the outcomes of reading through an assessment program that reflects a concept of reading as a holistic combination of students' grammatical accuracy, their comprehension of content, and their critical thinking.