Springer Teacher Involvement in High-Stakes Language Testing

This book advocates that teachers should play an active role in high-stakes language testing and that more weight should be given to teacher judgement. This is likely to increase the formative potential of high-stakes tests and provide teachers with a sense of ownership. The implication is that the knowledge and skills they develop by being involved in these tests will feed into their own classroom practices. The book also considers the arguments against teacher involvement, e.g. the contention that teacher involvement might entrench the practice of teaching to the test, or that teachers should not be actively involved in high-stakes language testing because their judgement is insufficiently reliable. Using contributions from a wide range of international educational contexts, the book proposes that a lack of reliability in teacher judgement is best addressed by means of training and not by barring educators from participating in high-stakes language testing. It also argues that their involvement in testing helps teachers to bolster confidence in their own judgement and develop their assessment literacy. Moreover, teacher involvement empowers them to play a role in reforming high-stakes language testing so that it is more equitable and more likely to enhance classroom practices. High-stakes language tests that adopt such an inclusive approach facilitate more effective learning on the part of teachers, which ultimately benefits all their students. From the Back Cover This book advocates that teachers should play an active role in high-stakes language testing and that more weight should be given to teacher judgement. This is likely to increase the formative potential of high-stakes tests and provide teachers with a sense of ownership. The implication is that the knowledge and skills they develop by being involved in these tests will feed into their own classroom practices. The book also considers the arguments against teacher involvement, e.g. the contention that teacher involvement might entrench the practice of teaching to the test, or that teachers should not be actively involved in high-stakes language testing because their judgement is insufficiently reliable. Using contributions from a wide range of international educational contexts, the book proposes that a lack of reliability in teacher judgement is best addressed by means of training and not by barring educators from participating in high-stakes language testing. It also argues that their involvement in testing helps teachers to bolster confidence in their own judgement and develop their assessment literacy. Moreover, teacher involvement empowers them to play a role in reforming high-stakes language testing so that it is more equitable and more likely to enhance classroom practices. High-stakes language tests that adopt such an inclusive approach facilitate more effective learning on the part of teachers, which ultimately benefits all their students. About the Author Daniel Xerri is a Lecturer in TESOL at the University of Malta, and the Chairperson of the ELT Council within the Ministry for Education and Employment in Malta. He sits on IATEFL’s Conference Committee and on TESOL International Association’s Research Professional Council. Between 2015 and 2017, he was the Joint Co-ordinator of the IATEFL Research SIG. Xerri holds postgraduate degrees in English and Applied Linguistics, as well as a PhD in Education from the University of York. He is the author of many publications on different areas of education, assessment and TESOL, including articles published in ELT Journal, English in Education, and International Journal of Research and Method in Education. Further details about his work can be found at: www.danielxerri.com Patricia Vella Briffa currently teaches at the University of Malta Junior College. She has taught English to learners at various stages of language learning for general, speci