Introduction

Teaching involves assessment. In making decisions about lesson content and sequencing, about materials,
learning tasks and so forth, teachers have to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the alternatives
available to them. They make selections based on their experience, on their understandings of learning,
language development and of language proficiency itself, together with what they consider to be most
appropriate and in the best interests of those they teach. Equally, as part of their professional practice, they
are always involved in the observation of their learners, which leads to the development of insights about
learner progress and judgments about specific learning outcomes and overall performance. (Rea-Dickins
2004:1).
The theme of assessment is a difficult and sometimes contentious area amongst CLIL teachers. In some
respects it lies at the heart of the question of how to define the level of content-language integration, because,
ultimately, no matter what is taught and how it is taught, the mode of assessment determines how the learners
perceive the teachers intention and of course, also shapes performance data.

Outcomes
1.- To identify the conditions for assessment ( individual or wholegroup...).
2.- To be able to identify the focus of an assessment task ie content, language or both.
3.- To design a sample assessment task that reliably reflects the objectives of a CLIL unit of work.
4.- To be able to use different tools for assessment in a CLIL unit.

5.1.- Assessment and Evaluation: differences

The term assessment is sometimes used interchangeably with the term evaluation. Assessment more often
relates to individual students achievements, whereas evaluation deals with systems, materials, procedures
and their values.
Assessment: a process of collecting and interpreting evidence for some purpose. In education, assessment is
intended to be a tool that supports learning and helps measure progress being made toward achieving planned
learner outcomes.
Evaluation: the term is often used to denote the process of collecting evidence about programmes, systems,
procedures and processes and the interpretation of that evidence with respect to stated or desired objectives
(Harlen,2007). For example, evaluation provides information about the quality of a curriculum, a study
programme or teaching.
The distinction between assessment and evaluation is important as each serves a different purpose. However,
there is a potential overlap which is relevant to the question of whether we are assessing content, language or
both. Programme evaluation might centre on learners' language attainment (many research reports do so) and
this might be an appropriate place and method to carry out discrete language assessment as well.
Teachers role in assessment is inevitable by:
Making decisions about the process of the lessons
Determinig the strengths and weaknesses of alternatives available to the learners.
Making selections on their experience and making judgments about their learners progress.

5.2.- Assessment Principles in CLIL

Assessment in CLIL is a complex area for a number of reasons. First, there is the dual focus language and
subject which inevitably means there are two assessment processes involved. Key issues here are the extent
to which language and subject assessment are integrated, that is, they are assessed at the same time and
through the same tasks and activities. Where they are integrated, the impact of the mode of integration on the
assessment outcomes needs to be understood.
Coyle,D. et al. (2010; p. 129-131) summarize the assessment principles in CLIL as follows:
Clear learning objectives are needed before an assessment focus can be chosen. Learning
objectives/outcomes should use a format which acknowledges the different areas of learning in the
classroom (such as the 4Cs approach)- this will usually include content skills first, then language in
some form. In a CLIL classroom there are likely to be more possible angles of assessment at any one
point because of the integrative nature of content and language. Therefore, even more than in first
Language lessons, we cannot always assess everything.
We should use a mixture of formal and informal assessment which is both task-based and assignmentbased, and a mix of specific test times and class work sampling.
We should familiarize the learners with the assessment measures and success criteria, expressed in a
student-friendly format.
Content language should be assessed using the simplest format of language which is appropriate for that
purpose.
Language should be assessed for a real purpose in a real context- sometimes this will be for
form/accuracy, sometimes for communicative competence and/or fluency.
the
assessment is orally based, wait time is crucial, as in CLIL contexts we should be asking students
If
to think, and thinking takes time and the expression of that thinking takes longer.
Scaffolding is not cheating we need to assess what students can do with support before we assess
what they can do without it.
Students need to be able to take some responsibility for their own assessment, both in terms of self- and
peer- assessment. This will enhance their longer-term learning potential.

5.3.- The Main Issues for Assessment in CLIL

Authentic Assessment in CLIL

1.- It is an integral part of every lesson:
1.1.-Learning intentions should be shared with students
1.2.-Success criteria should be used
1.3.-Learners should be involved into self- and peer- assessment
1.4.-Feedback on learners performance should be provided
2.- It should be planned
3.- Learning outcomes should be established: decisions on how their achievement will be
assessed should be made.
Assessment is often a major area of teacher uncertainty in CLIL contexts and, as with other
issues relating to CLIL, must be considered with the CLIL practitioners' specific situation in mind.
The major questions regarding CLIL assessment are:
What do we mean by assessment in CLIL?
What do we assess, content or language?
Do we assess content or language first?
Do we sometimes assess one and not the other? If so, which, when, why and how?
What about cognition and culture?
What tools can we use for assessment?
Who assesses?

When do we assess?
How do we assess?
What is the role of standard examination systems?
Is there a role for the Common European Framework?
These are the key questions asked by the majority of CLIL teachers when they meet to discuss
practice. CLIL Units must have clear objectives. What really matters is priority. Being content
teachers, CLIL teachers should always have content as dominant objective. Then, of course,
language will be learnt in the process. Therefore, content first, then language.

What, why, when and how do we assess?

Assessment in general can be defined as the process of deciding, collecting and interpreting
information about childrens learning and skills and use it for some purpose.

Why do we assess?
According to Harlen and Qualter (2010:172), there are two main reasons for assessing:
The use of information to help learning;
To find out and report on what has been learnt at a particular time.
The first of these is described as formative assessment or assessment for learning. The second
is described as summative assessment or assessment of learning. These are not different kind of
assessment but different purposes. Whether they serve their purpose depends on how the
information is used. Formative assessment is, by definition, used to make decisions about how to
advance learning while it is taking place. Summative assessment has several uses including
reporting to parents, other teachers, tracking progress and sometimes for grouping and selection.
Teachers have to decide on:
The purpose of the assessment ( help learning, find out about previous knowledge, report
on outcomes, etc.);
Information required to serve the purpose of the assessment;

How to gather the information so that it is suited to the purpose;

How to interpret the information;
How to report and communicate the results.

When do we assess?
Assessment is part of the teaching therefore it is relevant at any point (before, during and after a
didactic unit). Formative assessment means taking action as appropriate but equally refraining
from spending time on things the children already know or can do for themselves. Harlen and
Qualter,(2010:174).

How do we assess?
First of all we have to establish an appropriate classroom atmosphere in which studentsfeel
comfortable and secure.
There are different ways of gathering information about childrens ideas, learning and skills such
as questioning, observation, testing, concept mapping, discussing, etc. The most important thing
to focus the information gathering is to be clear about the goals of the childrens activities.
It is also very important to consider students role in assessing their work. First of all, knowing
their goals puts any learner in a better position to achieve them, and much more if they have
participated in setting the outcomes. It provides for independence and can lead to self-regulated
learning and an increase in self-esteem.

Who should assess?

Teachers wish to retain the major role in this, but we can consider the following factors in
establishing the possible range of teacher, self- and peer-assessment methods available:
Clear success criteria enable learners to peer-assess or self-assess in certain kinds of
tasks.
Assessment
can be collaborative within the whole- class setting if the teacher shows

anonymous extracts from work and invites constructive amendments.

Presentations can be assessed for a range of factors; for example, the communication of
certainitems of content, use of media, use of effects to scaffold understanding and
contribution of members of a group.
Self- and peer-assessment can be used as a platform to elicit comments about the learning
process by asking why the judgments are as they are.
Relying on teacher assessment alone could impoverish a CLIL classroom. The teacher will still be
the main assessor, but there are numerous possibilities to vary this in appropriate circumstances.

5.4.- When is Assessment effective? Diagnostic, Formative and

Summative Assessment
Assessment

1.- Before instruction,

2.- During instruction, and
3.- After instruction
allows the teacher to make the best instructional decisions.
Three Categories on Assessment

Assessment is divided into three broad categories:

Diagnostic (assessment for learning)
Formative (assessment for learning)
Summative (assessment of learning)
Assessment takes place:

oat the programme start-up to establish benchmarks;

odaily, through observation;
odaily during and/or at the end of each lesson with the students;
oat the end of each unit;
oat intervals, such as formal reporting by means of the report card.

Diagnostic Assessment
It gives the teachers specific information about when and how to proceed with instruction.
It establishes a baseline from which to observe growth.
It is assessment for learning.

Formative and Summative Assessment.

Assessment processes can be broadly divided into summative and formative and this division forms a major
distinction. Formative assessment is more complex than summative assessment, as its intention is to be directly
diagnostic with a view to immediately impacting on the learner's next steps. It is also formative for the teacher,
because it can alter planning and practice mid-unit (or even mid-lesson) and not just after all the work is
complete, as a summative test might do.
According to Harlen and Qualter,(2010) The characteristics of formative assessment are that it:
takes place as an integral part of teaching;
relates to progression in learning;
depends on judgements which can be child-referenced on criterion-referenced;
uses methods which protect validity rather than reliability;
uses information from childrens performance in a variety of contexts;
involves children in assessing their performance and deciding their next steps.
There is a good deal of common ground between formative assessment and learning through inquiry- both serve to
develop learning with understanding and to enable pupils to take responsibility for identifying what they need to do to
achieve the goals of their activities. It could almost be said that inquiry requires formative assessment. Harlen and
Qualter,(2010:179).
Summative assessment makes a judgment on the capability of the learner at that point in time and, apart from

offering that judgment back to the learner, it often leads to some form of information-giving to another party, for
example the school management or the learner's parents. It is therefore associated with testing in a more
formal setting or an end-of-unit, 'final' result, even if this is not obtained through an examination.
Summative assessment has an important but different role in childrens education. According to Harlen and

Qualter,(2010) the characteristics of summative assessment are that it:

takes place at certain intervals when achievement has to be reported;
relates to progression in learning against public criteria;
enables results for different children to be combined for various purposes because they are based on the
same criteria;
requires methods which are as reliable as possible without endangering validity;
involves some quality assurance procedures;
should be based on evidence relating to the full range of learning goals.
The difference between assessment for these two purposes should be kept very clearly in mind, especially
when both are carried out by teachers. It is too often assumed that all assessment by teachers is formative or
that assessment carried out frequently in whatever way is formative. Unless the assessment is used to help the
ongoing learning, this is not the case.
Depending on the purpose of the assessment different emphasis is laid on reliability (dependability of the
assessment result) and validity (how well what is assessed reflects what is needed to serve the purpose of the
assessment.
For summative assessment reliability is important since its purpose is to provide information about where
children have reached in their learning that parents and other teachers can depend upon. So attention has to be
given on increasing reliability as far as possible without endangering validity. Harlen and Qualter,(2010:
176-180).
In 2002, the Assessment Reform Group in England produced a document of ten principles for 'Assessment for
Learning' (AFL), which makes clear that both teachers and learners will benefit from the processes described
and that formative assessment should be central to classroom practice. Some of the key features in this
document are:
the sharing of learning intentions (meaning that teachers tell students at the beginning of the lessons what
they will learn);
the use of success criteria (meaning that students will be told what the task will involve and what the
outcome will contain);
the involvement of learners in self- and peer-assessment;
the importance of feedback, which should be sensitive to learners' self-esteem and which should thereby
positively impact on motivation.

5.5.- Some distinguishing Characteristics in CLIL

Most CLIL teachers intuitively assess progress made in meeting outcomes associated with language, content
and learning skills as they proceed through a lesson. However, advanced planning is also required. As learning
outcomes are established, it is important to decide how their achievement will be assessed. Moreover, learning
is likely to improve if students are involved in planning for assessment. Time needs to be taken at the end of
each lesson to analyse progress made in achieving those outcomes.
Progress students make in the following areas is assessed:
o achievement of content and language goals;
o achievement of learning skills goals;
o use of language for various purposes (i.e., academic, social, business registers);
o ability to work with authentic materials, as well as with native and non-native speakers of the CLIL
language;
o ongoing growth (avoiding plateauing).
Further, the following are also assessed:
o effort, level of engagement; day-to-day work; day-to-day communication;
o all four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing); oral presentations; projects;
o planned and spontaneous assignments;
o partner and group work; balance between co-operation and self-reliance;
o social and emotional development.
Assessment is done:
o based on planned curriculum outcomes;
o based on pre-established criteria that have been shared with the students in writing and discussed
thereafter;
o when learning appears to be hindered;
o by collecting anecdotal information about each student;
o through student portfolios;
o through files of student work;
o by using evaluation grids;
o by means of checklists, e.g., level of participation.

5.6.- Self and Peer Assessment

Group work can be more successful when students are involved in developing the assessment process. This
may include establishing their own assessment criteria through consultation with teaching staff. Alternatively you
can provide students with sample self and/or peer assessment criteria.
Self and also peer-assessment make children aware of the importance and value of assessment and promotes
higher order thinking since it requires children to think about HOW they learn (metacognitive thinking).
The main aims of self and peer assessment are to:
increase student responsibility and autonomy;
strive for a more advanced and deeper understanding of the subject matter, skills and processes;
lift the role and status of the student from passive learner to active learner and assessor (this also
encourages a deeper approach to learning);
involve students in critical reflection;
develop in students a better understanding of their own subjectivity and judgment.

Peer assessment
Students individually assess each other's contribution using a predetermined list of criteria. Grading is based on
a predetermined process, but most commonly it is an average of the marks awarded by members of the group.
Peer assessment can save teachers time but it requires a class atmosphere where cooperation and
collaboration, rather than competition, are encouraged. Harlen and Qualter, (2010:214).
Advantages:
Agreed marking criteria means there can be little confusion about assignment outcomes and
expectations.
Encourages student involvement and responsibility.
Encourage students to reflect on their role and contribution to the process of the group work.
Focuses on the development of student's judgment skills.
Students are involved in their process and are encouraged to take part ownership of this process.
Provides more relevant feedback to students as it is generated by their peers.
It is considered fair by some students because each student is judged on their own contribution.
When operating successfully can reduce a lecturer's marking load.
Can help reduce the free rider problem as students are aware that their contribution will be graded by
their peers.
Disadvantages:
Additional briefing time can increase a lecturer's workload.
The process has a degree of risk with respect to reliability of grades as peer pressure to apply elevated
grades or friendships may influence the assessment, though this can be reduced if students can submit
their assessments independent of the group.
Students will have a tendency to award everyone the same mark.
Students feel ill equipped to undertake the assessment.
Students may be reluctant to make judgments regarding their peers.
At the other extreme students may be discriminated against if students gang up against one group
member.

Self Assessment
This is similar to peer evaluation but students assess their own contribution as well as their peers using an
established set of criteria.
Advantages:
Encourages student involvement and responsibility.
Encourages students to reflect on their role and contribution to the process of the group work.
Allows students to see and reflect on their peers' assessment of their contribution.
Focuses on the development of student's judgment skills.
Disadvantages:

 Potentially increases lecturer workload by needing to brief students on the process as well as on-going
guidance on performing self evaluation.
Self evaluation has a risk of being perceived as a process of presenting inflated grades and being
unreliable.
Students feel ill equipped to undertake the assessment.
Peer-assessment can lead to better self-assessment. If a learner has formulated ideas about a piece of work
sufficiently well to communicate and justify those judgments to another learner, she or he will be more able to
look at her or his own work in the same objective manner.

Preparing students for self or peer assessment

Students may have little exposure to different forms of assessment and so may lack the necessary skills and judgments to
effectively manage self and peer assessments. There may also be a perception amongst students that the academic is
shirking their responsibilities by having students undertaking peer assessments. In this situation students may be
reminded of the Graduate Students Attributes. This also highlights the need to fully prepare and equip students for their
own assessment and for the assessment of others.

It is helpful to introduce students to the concepts and elements of assessment against specified criteria in the
first weeks of class when you explain the unit of study outline. This requires taking time at the outset of the
group activity or unit of study to discuss what is required and to provide guidance on how to judge their own
and others' contributions. Students will need to be assisted to develop criteria that match the learning outcomes
with regards to the output and process of the group work. If assessment criteria for each element are set up
and clearly communicated, your role will also change to one of facilitator.

5.7.- Assessing Content & Language

Assessing Content
CLIL teachers should choose a method of assessment which uses the least language. Examples of this are that
the learners should complete grids, draw diagrams of pictures, decide if bulleted statements are true or false,
correct facts which are wrong, make simple presentations linked to visuals or answer content-based questions
with a simple yes/no response. We need to define which aspect of the content we are assessing:
o Factual knowledge (checking detail)
o General understanding (major points)
o Ability to manipulate the content, using higher-level thinking skills such as interpretation, analysis,
synthesis or application.
o Ability to research more independently and extend the topic knowledge beyond what has been presented
by the teacher.
Assessment should not always be of individuals, but will sometimes be of groups of learners.

Assessing Language
We need to be sure which aspect of language we are assessing: It could be the ability to:
o Recall subject-specific vocabulary.
o Operate functionally, using appropriate language structures and forms to discuss and disagree, ask
effective questions, report in appropriate language structures, and so on.
o Listen or read for meaning.
o Present or discuss effectively.
o Demonstrate thinking/reasoning in the CLIL language.
o Show awareness of grammatical features of the language.
Teachers need to be clear both why they are assessing language as opposed to content and how they wish to
do this.
We can assess language through a variety of approaches:
o Selected- response: true/false, matching, multiple choice.
o Constructed -response: fill-in, short answers, performance assessments.
o Personal- response: conference, portfolio, essay writing, oral reports, self- and peer-assessment,
interviews.
If we focus on concrete objectives, then regular assessment opportunities come. We should propose
purposeful learning activities, which involve students in thinking and problem-solving, in pairs or in groups. In this
way, it may not be necessary to create a specific test because the activities themselves can be used for
monitoring and can provide real evidence of learning.

5.8.- Strategies and Tools For Assessment

Here are some examples of assessment tools in CLIL lessons:
Portfolios and dossiers (language and subjects).
Classroom diaries and observation grids.
Self- and Peer-assessment worksheets.
Group work / interaction assessment grids
Task performance grid (accuracy, presentation, support, etc).
Tests in different format and with the possibility of using manipulative material.

Alternative Assessment Formats

1.- Recording to a grid:
It requires little language knowledge to stimulate content recall.
It activates / organizes thinking.
Once completed, the grid can be used for a further task, involving pair work (negotiating).
2.- Reading visual texts of all types:
Matching pictures to vocabulary.
True / false.
Gap-filling from a box.
Decision task: two versions are given and the correct one has to be chosen
3.- Matching information:
With this format, demonstrating comprehension should always involve real decision based on concept
understanding (ex.: matching sentence halves).
The focus is on meaning.
4.- Labelling:
The simplest of all the productive formats, it comes in single-word form.
Very useful at elementary level, or in the introduction-phase of the lesson.
5.- Other productive formats:
They are more complex.
When you want your students to speak or write, they need a model.
They also need scaffolding activities (note-taking, fill-in a grid).
First in pairs / groups, then individually.

5.9.- Summary
1.- Clear learning objectives; they will usually include content / skills first, then language in some form.
2.- Because of integration and dual focus, in CLIL lessons we cannot always assess everything.
3.- We should use a mixture of formal / informal assessment, which is both task-based and assignment based.
4.- Learners should be aware of assessment in a student-friendly format.
5.- Content knowledge should be assessed using the simplest form of language which is appropriate for that
purpose.
6.- Language should be assessed for a real purpose in a real context -sometimes it will be for form / accuracy,
sometimes for communicative competence / fluency.
7.- If assessment is orally-based, then wait time is crucial (thinking and expressing what they think takes time).
8.- Scaffolding is not cheating. We need to assess what students can do with support, before we assess what
they can do without it.

5.10.- Bloom's Taxonomy

Useful Verbs
COMPETENCE
KNOWLEDGE
observation and recall of information

KEY WORDS (VERBS)

Tell, List, Describe, relate, Locate, Write, Find, State,
Name, Arrange, define, Duplicate, Label, Memorize,
Order, State, Relate, Repeate, Repeat, reproduce,
recognize, Recall.

knowledge of dates, events, places

knowledge of major ideas
mastery of subject matter
COMPREHENSION

Explain,

Outline,

Discuss,

Distinguish,

Predict,

Restate, Translate, Describe, Convert, Defend,

Estimate, Generalize, Express, Locate, Report,

understanding information
grasp meaning

Select, Review, Interpret,

Summarize, Infer, Compare.

translate knowledge into new context

Exemplify,

Classify,

interpret facts, compare, contrast

order, group, infer causes
predict consequences
APPLICATION
use information
use

methods,

Apply, Choose, Demonstrate, Dramatize, Illustrate,

Interpret, Operate, Practice, Schedule, Sketch,
concepts,

theories

in

situations
solve problems
knowledge

using

required

skills

ANALYSIS
seeing patterns
organization of parts

Solve, Use, Write, Show, Construct, Complete,

new
Examine, Classify, Execute, Implement.
or

Analyze, Appraise, Calculate, Categorize, Compare,

Contrast, Criticize, Distinguish, Examine, Experiment,
Question, Test, Investigate, Separate, Differentiate,
organize, Attribute.

recognition of hidden meanings

identification of components
SYNTHESIS
use old ideas to create new ones
generalize from given facts

Create, Invent, Compose, Predict, Plan, Construct,

Design, Imagine, Propose, Devise, Formulate,
Arrange, Assemble, Collect, Develop, Manage,
Organize, Write, Generate, Plan, Produce.

relate knowledge from several areas

predict, draw conclusions
EVALUATION
compare and discriminate between ideas
assess value of theories, presentations
make choices based on reasoned argument
verify value of evidence
recognize subjectivity

Appraise, Argue, Assess, Choose, Judge, Predict,

Rate, Select, Support, Value, Evaluate, Decide,
Verify, Recommend, Prioritize, Check, Critique.

5.11.-CLIL ASSESSMENT
Template for Analytic Rubrics: Assessment
( Lend, Perpignan, March 10, 11 th, 2011)
Criteria

5
excellent

4
good

3
satisfactory

2
almost

1
unsatisfactory

satisfactory
CONTENTUse
of
basic
subject concepts
and

knowledge

(what)
Principles
&
relationships (how
it relates)
Application

of

knowledge to new
situations
Creativity /
evaluation
Use of language
Listening
Speaking
Reading
Writing
interaction
Cooperative work

Content: _____________ Language: ____________ Total score: ________________________

Score

5.12.- Bibliography
- Assessment in CLIL: http://www.coun.uvic.ca/learning/exams/blooms-taxonomy.html
- CLIL The question of assessment by Richard Kiely
http://www.developingteachers.com/articles_tchtraining/clil1_richard.htm
Annex 1: Assessment, evaluation and reporting. Supporting beginning teachers. A leaflet about
assessment written by Mini Dindayal and published by the Toronto District School Board in 2005. It gives some
examples of the most common strategies and tools for assessment.
http://schools.tdsb.on.ca/asit/standards/btstart/BTAE.pdf
Annex 2: Formative Assessment strategies and tools. Consists on a table showing different assessment
strategies and tools accompanied by an explanation and an example.
http://daretodifferentiate.wikispaces.com/file/view/03+-+Formative+Assessment+Strategies.pdf
- Harlen, Wynne (2007): The Quality of Learning: assessment alternatives for Primary Education.
- Harlen, Wynne (2007): Assessment of Learning SAGE Publications Ltd. ISBN 9781412935197
- Do Coyle, Philip Hood and David Marsh: CLIL. Cambridge University Press
- Rea-Dickins, Pauline (2004): Understanding teachers as agents of assessment. Language Testing, Volume
21, issue 3 (July 1, 2004), Ingenta / SAGE Publications.
- Anne Qualter, Wynne Harlen (2004): The Teaching of Science in Primary Schools. David Fulton Publ. DavidF
- Maria Pavesi,Daniela Bertocchi,Marie Hofmannov,Monika Kazianka: "Teaching through a Foreign Language.
A guide for teachers and schools: http://www.ub.edu/filoan/CLIL/teachers.pdf