Today!

Assessment and Testing Programme

There is a growing emphasis on individualisation and personalised learning paths
in the mixed-ability language classroom. Assessment and testing are increasingly
important as a means of facilitating this. Teachers need to be able to assess their
students more accurately. They also want to enable all students to perform to the
best of their ability. This means extension material that will enable faster students
to achieve a higher grade, and remedial support for weaker students.
Today! provides the following materials to help teachers achieve these
requirements:
• diagnostic assessment: Beginning-of-year Test
• continuous assessment: Unit Tests (A and B versions)
• progress monitoring: Achievement Tests and Skills Tests (A and B versions)
• extension tests for stronger students
• remedial worksheets for weaker students
• Mid-year and End-of-year Review Tests to measure ability (multi-level)
These materials can be downloaded from the eText as PDFs. They are also available
as editable Word documents so that they can be tailored to the specific needs of
your class if required.
All the tests have A and B versions. The B version has the same exercises as the
A version but in each exercise the items are slightly different or are in a different order
to discourage cheating.

Support for students with dyslexia

Specially adapted tests are also provided for students with dyslexia, to ensure
that these students are not disadvantaged as a result of their reading and writing
difficulties when taking tests. These tests are at the same level as the regular
tests but include a number of changes to the design and content that take into
account the special needs of dyslexic students, including larger point size, increased
interlinear spacing and a dyslexia-friendly layout. They are therefore only available
as PDFs and there is only one version. (See the Workshop on Coping with Learning
Difficulties in the Teacher Resources section for further details and advice on
marking and grading the dyslexic student’s work.)

Description of the Tests

Diagnostic Test
This test is for use at the beginning of the year and enables you to find out how
much your new students know. It covers vocabulary sets and simple functional
language that students can be expected to have learned in the early years of English
language exposure, and includes the main areas of language in the first two units of
the Students’ Book. No grammar manipulation is required, but the language topics
become progressively more advanced. There is a final productive task, in which
students are asked to write a few sentences about themselves.

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Assessment and Testing Programme

Unit tests
There are eight Unit Tests, after every unit. They test Grammar, Vocabulary and
Communication (functional language).

Achievement Tests
There are four Achievement tests, one after every two units. They cover Grammar,
Vocabulary and Communication (functional language) from the previous two units,
and include more productive tasks than the Unit Tests.

Skills Tests
There are four Skills Tests, one after every two units. They test the four skills:
Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking, and include some exam style tasks. The
Writing and Speaking tasks are carefully guided and controlled. The Speaking tasks
are intended to be done in pairs.
Note that the same audio is used for the listening task in the regular and specially
adapted tests. The task is adapted for dyslexic students.

Extension Tests
These provide more challenging tasks for stronger students to allow them to gain
a higher mark. They can be given as an add-on to the standard test. Note that the
Skills Test Extension tests Reading and Writing only.

Remedial worksheets
These worksheets are not in test format. They can be given to students who have
done less well in the tests, either in class or for homework. They provide additional
revision of the key language areas in the test. They do not include listening.

Review Tests
There are two Review Tests, Mid-year and End-of-Year. They are available at two
levels: Basic and Standard. An Extension test is also available. The tests integrate
language from all previous units and include exam style tasks and Listening and
Writing. Weaker students can take the Basic level test, which enables them to
achieve a minimum standard. Stronger students have the chance to gain a top grade
by taking the Extension test after the Standard test. Note that the same audio is
used for the listening task in the Basic, Standard and dyslexia-friendly tests. The
tasks are adapted as necessary.

Administering the tests

We advise that you administer the tests after completing the activities in the
Revision lessons for the relevant units. Before you do so, read the tests through
carefully and make sure that all the necessary language has been revised. Make
a note of any rubrics that might need explaining. You may need to give dyslexic
students more time to complete the tests.

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Assessment and Testing Programme

The Skills tests include Listening and Speaking. You may want to give the Listening
test separately at a different time.
The Speaking tasks should be carried out in pairs. It is a good idea to partner a
dyslexic student with a non-dyslexic student. (Note that the task in the adapted
tests is different.) The whole class can work simultaneously while you walk around
the class listening and allocating an ‘impression’ mark to each pair. Alternatively,
you may want to allocate this part of the test to a few students at different times,
enabling you to evaluate their performance in more depth.

Assessing productive performance

Today! Starter aims to take students towards A1 Breakthrough level of the
Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). At this stage, learners are
considered Basic users, and are very dependent on the teacher or other speaker
using simplified language input, speaking slowly and clearly and repeating or
paraphrasing if necessary.
A1 is considered the lowest level of generative language use – the point at which
the learner can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and
clearly; ask and answer simple questions about themselves, where they live, people
they know, and things they have; initiate and respond to simple statements on very
familiar personal topics.
In terms of language ability, learners begin to form very simple but complete
sentences, using a limited range of pre-rehearsed basic structures and familiar
formulaic expressions. They begin to show the ability to control basic syntax such
as person and verb or singular and plural noun forms, as well as basic punctuation
in writing.
Assess your students’ performance in the Tests against this general description of
what can be expected at the current stage of their English language learning career.

Writing
Use these questions to help you assess students’ performance in the Writing tasks.
The Answer Key provides sample answers.
• Do they complete the task set?
• Do they use the appropriate vocabulary for the task?
• Do they show control of the required grammatical structures?
• Do they use correct spelling and orthography?

Speaking
Use these questions to help you assess students’ performance in the Speaking tasks.
• Do they complete the task?
• Do they interact effectively?
• Do they use the appropriate vocabulary for the task?
• Do they show control of the required grammatical structures?

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