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KTU SFL Assesment and Evaluation

KARADENIZ TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL of FOREIGN LANGUAGES

ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION

 

ASSESSMENT

The students are assessed at the beginning, during, and at the end of the process. The assessment procedures are as follows:

  • The students who gain admission to the university first take the Placement Test, the aim of which is to place the students at the appropriate level.
  • The students who get the required score at the Placement Test have the right to take the Proficiency Exam. The students of 30% medium of English programs who get 60 out of 100 and the students of 100% medium of English programs who get 70 out of 100 start their departments. Those who get below these grades are placed in suitable modules.

During each period, the students are assessed through: a midterm, an End of Module Test (EMT), writing portfolio and speaking portfolio tasks, online activities and digital readers, and classroom performance (CPG) for Module 1, Module 2, and Module 3. The percentages of each assessment procedure are as follows:

Midterm: 30%

End of Module Test (EMT): 45%

Writing Portfolio: 7%

Speaking Portfolio: 8%

Online Activities and Digital Readers: 5%

Classroom Performance Grade: 5%

At each level, the students of 30% medium of English programs are expected to get at least an average grade point of 64,5 to move onto the next module. Those studying at 30% medium of English programs repeat the module if they get below 64,5 average grade point. The students of 100% medium of English programs are expected to get at least 69,5 average grade point to move onto the next module and those who get below 64,5 average grade point repeat the module.

The contents of the midterms and EMTs are clearly defined in test specifications and blueprints. The portfolio tasks include the writing and speaking assignments related to each module. The writing tasks are written twice as a first draft and a final draft. First drafts are written within a specified class time and under exam conditions. The students are to correct their mistakes in the first drafts by making use of the correction codes provided by the instructors and write the final drafts. Each draft of each writing task is graded by the instructors.

Speaking task grade is calculated on two bases: The first is the formative assessment of the students during the whole period in accordance with their performance observed during in-class speaking activities, scored by using a formative assessment rubric for speaking which help students to see their own development and have feedback to improve their performance. The second is both formative and summative assessment of the students’ speaking performances on the basis of ‘speaking presentation tasks’. It is formative since the students can have feedback by means of the analytic rubric used to grade their performance as a process, which will help them to identify their weak and strong points in speaking to make use of during the following period. It is summative since the instructors come up with final decisions about the speaking performances of the students at the end of the period and grade the final products.

At the end of the Module 4, students take B2 Proficiency Exam which consists of language use, writing, listening, and speaking sessions. Their grades from this exam are calculated with the other assessment tools of the module. The percentages of each assessment procedure are as follows: Midterm 30% + B2 Proficiency Exam 45% + Writing Portfolio 7% + Speaking Portfolio 8% + Online Activities and Digital Readers 5% + Classroom Performance Grade 5%.

The students of 30% medium of English programs who get 64,5 complete the preparatory program successfully. The students of 100% medium of English programs are to get 69,5 to complete the preparatory program.

 

EVALUATION

There are two types of program evaluation conducted at KTU School of Foreign Languages Preparatory Program: Formative Evaluation and Summative Evaluation.

Formative Evaluation

Formative Evaluation is carried out to identify areas which need improvement and collect reliable data guiding the decision-making to make the preparatory program function better in accordance with the pre-planned educational goals and objectives by the means of different tools which are as follows:

  • Needs Analysis conducted by The Curriculum and Material Development Unit with the present and graduate students, lecturers from the future departments of the students, and instructors in the School of Foreign Languages to set the expectations from the preparatory program via questionnaires and interviews with focus groups. This process guides making data-driven decisions.
  • Weekly meetings held by the Administration Unit.
  • Meetings held by the instructors teaching the same modules to discuss and elaborate on the ongoing teaching process (strengths and weakness of the course materials, flowcharts, syllabi,  both summative and formative assessment tools like exams and portfolios) every fourth weeks of each period and to make suggestions to ensure a better teaching and learning environment. At least two members of the Administration Unit attend these meetings to take notes and convey them to the Unit in order to take action.
  • Meetings held with representative students from all classes to have a better insight into the students’ perspective on the preparatory program from various aspects. These meetings are held in the second week of each period and at least one member of the Administration Unit, Accreditation and Quality Unit, and Media Unit attend these meetings to take notes and convey them to whom they may concern.
  • Meetings held by the coordinators of each academic unit to ensure better co-operation and communication and to attain better results in unit activities especially during decision making phases. These meetings are held at least twice an academic year (the week of the Placement Test at the beginning of each academic year and the first week of the 3rd period).
  • General meetings held in the first week of each period. All the academic staff attend these meetings. Not only are the instructors informed about the previous and upcoming periods but also their own ideas and judgements are gathered. In other words, the general evaluation of the whole period is done via these meetings.
  • Classroom observations held by the Professional Development Unit to gain insights into how teaching and learning take place in the actual setting. Each lesson observation is conducted in three stages: a pre-observation meeting, observation, and a post-observation meeting. Thus, valuable data is gathered from these processes to more precisely identify strengths and areas that need improvement.

 

Summative Evaluation

To attain both valid and reliable feedback on the effectiveness of the preparatory program, summative evaluation is carried out by a number of means:

  • Surveys conducted with the instructors with the help of a questionnaire designed by the Curriculum and Material Development Unit to have quantitative data about the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the program through the eyes of the instructors. The results are analysed by the Curriculum and Material Development Unit and discussed with both the Administration and the other Academic Units with the help of a report presented in the first Academic Units meeting at the beginning of each academic year.
  • Surveys carried out with the students at the end of each period by means of questionnaires including various questions about the program, instructors, course materials, and physical conditions of the school. These questionnaires are designed by the Curriculum and Material Development Unit and posted on the internet.  After the analysis of the data gathered from these questionnaires done by the Curriculum and Material Development Unit, the report is shared are with all the administrators, coordinators and instructors to evaluate the whole academic year.
  • Test analysis conducted to evaluate the effectives of the exams by the Testing Unit. A report for each exam is written on the basis of the test analysis sheets gathered from the instructors for their own classes. The average score showing the performance of the students for each part of the exam under question is calculated and sent to each instructor to make them evaluate their own students’ performance and also theirs in accordance with the whole school for the related module. A final report, moreover, is written by the Testing Unit depending on the whole test analysis outcomes to guide the upcoming test preparation and application processes of the next academic year.
  • Final activity reports written by each academic unit. These reports help both evaluate the whole academic year and guide the decision making process for the upcoming academic year.
  • Instructors’ performance evaluation forms filled in by the Administration Unit. These reports not only help evaluate the performance of the instructors but also enable to praise those who deserve and help them to develop a better self-criticism attitude on the basis of reliable quantitative data.