CRITICAL BOOK REVIEW

“English Language Assessment And Evaluation”

Lecturer:
Prof. Dr. Berlin Sibarani, M.Pd.

Arranged By:
Name : Indah Ramahati Br Bangun
Nim : 2192421004
Class : English Education 19A

ENGLISH EDUCATION 19 A
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS
STATES UNIVERSITY OF MEDAN
2020
 PREFACE

Praise the presence of God Almighty who has given mercy and blessings to every
human being. So that the Critical Book Review (CBR) assignment for the "English Language
Assessment And Evaluation" course can be completed properly. I did this CBR to fulfill my
college assignments with the aim of gaining insight and deepening knowledge about
evaluation and assessment in teaching.

In writing this CBR, I realized that there were still many shortcomings and for the
writing of this CBR. I as a writer looking forward to your comments and suggestions to help
improve my CBR work for the better. Finally, I wish you a happy reading and I hope you will
gain additional insight by reading this Critical Book Review.

Medan, February 2021

Author
 TABLE OF CONTENT

Preface....................................................................................................................... i
Table List Of Content.............................................................................................. ii

I.INTODUCTION
A. Background.............................................................................................. 1
B. Purposes................................................................................................... 1
C. Benefits.................................................................................................... 1
D. BooksIdentity........................................................................................... 1

II.SUMMARY OF BOOK....................................................................................... 2

III.DISCUSSION
A. StrenghtsandWeaknesses......................................................................... 4

IV.CLOSING
A.Conclusion.................................................................................................. 5
B.Suggestion.................................................................................................. 5

REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 6
 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1. Background
In this day , many people are lazy to read or write directly in books. So criticizing
books is one way that can be done to increase reading interest. Critical Book Review is the
activity of reviewing a book and its related contents, which aims to make readers know and
understand according to the content or problems in the book. The description of the contents
of the book contains the scope of the problem that is discussed critically, the way the author
explains and the theory is developed.
Thus a book report or book review is very useful for knowing the contents of the book
as well as knowing the advantages and disadvantages of the contents of the book that has
been read. Therefore, we expect readers to know and understand the report or book review so
that they can properly assess the contents of the book and not only read the book but can
understand what is in the book in depth. therefore also here I will review books on evaluating
and assessment in teaching that can help us to teach and later and can be used as a reference
if you want to teach.
2. Purpose
The purpose of writing a critical book review is to fulfill the assignments of the
English Language Assessment and Evaluation course and is expected to be a useful reference
for adding insight to writers and readers in knowing the strengths and weaknesses of a book.
3. Benefits
1. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the book being reviewed
2. Test the quality of the book by criticizing the book to see its strengths and weaknesses
and Provide input to the author of the book in the form of criticism and suggestions
for the writing, content and substance of the book

3. Book Identity

Main Book
Title : Language assessment: principles and classroom practices
Writer : H. Douglas Brown
Publisher : Pearson Education
Publication year : 2004
ISBN : 0-13-098834-0

Comparison Book
Title : Educational Testing And Measurement
Writer : Tom Kubiszyn and Gary Borich
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons, Inc
Publication year : 2013
ISBN : 978-1-118-46649-0
 CHAPTER II

SUMMARY OF BOOK

MAIN BOOK

Formative And Summative Assessment

Formative and summative assessment. Most of our classroom assessment is formative

assessment: evaluating students in the process of "forming" their competencies and skills
with the goal of helping them to continue that growth process. The key to such formation is
the delivery (by the teacher) and internalization (by the student) of appropriate feedback on·
performance, with an eye toward the future continuation (or formation) of learning. For all
practical purposes, virtually all kinds of informal assessment are (or should be) formative.
They have as their primary focus the ongoing development of the learner's language. So when
you give a studenf:a-comment or a suggestion, or call attention to an error, that feedback is
offered in order to improve the learner's language ability.

Summative assessment aims to measure, or summarize, what a student has grasped,

and typically occurs at the end of a course or unit of instruction. A summation of what a
student has leamedimplies looking back and taking stock of how well that student has
accomplished objectives, but does not necessarily point the way to future progress. Final
exams in a course and general proficiency exams' are examples of summative assessment.

One of the problems with prevailing attitudes toward testing is the view that all tests
(quizzes, periodic review tests, midterm exams, etc.) are summative. At various points in
yo~r past educational experiences, no doubt you've considered such tests as summative.You
may have thought, "Whew! I'm glad that's over. Now I don't have to remember that stuff
anymore!" A challenge to you as a teacher is to change that attitude amo~g your students:
Can you instill a more formative quality to what your students might otherwise view as a
summative test? Can you offer your ~tudents an opportunity to convert tests into "learning
experiences. ?

COMPARISON BOOK

General Purposes: Formative and Summative Assessment

In addition to being designed for a wide variety of specific content areas (e.g.,
assessing reading vocabulary, comprehension, spelling, mathematics, algebra, general
science), educational tests also can be designed for the more general purposes of formative
and summative assessment. Summative tests/assessments have been and continue to be the
most commonly administered tests in education .Summative tests are administered after some
period of instruction (this can vary widely, e.g., a unit on vertebrates in biology, a semester of
physics, a year of algebra) and are intended to provide a measure or gauge of student learning
following the completion of a unit of instruction. Summative tests are lengthy and are used to
assign grades, evaluate curriculum effectiveness, assess annual gains in student, school, and
district academic improvement (i.e., to meet state and federal accountability requirements),
and for a variety of other purposes. Summative tests/assessments can be very useful if the
purpose of testing is to inform us about broad achievement trends after instruction has been
completed. However, summative tests/assessments may not be very useful if the purpose of
testing is to evaluate the effectiveness of instruction on a day-to-day basis. Summative tests
are simply not designed to be sensitive to such small, specific changes in achievement; rather,
they are designed to measure larger and broader changes in achievement.

Formative tests/assessments will be more useful than summative assessments if the

purpose of testing is to inform day-to-day instructional decision making (e.g., move on to the
next step in the curriculum, review or re-present the content using a different
approach/medium, or provide instruction in a different setting). Formative assessments tend
to be brief so as to minimize interference with instructional time and to facilitate repeated
administration in the classroom. One type of formative assessment is called curriculum-based
measurement, or CBM . CBM assessments are called probes, and these probes are about one
minute long. CBM probes are intended to be utilized on an ongoing, frequent basis as part of
the instructional process to monitor student progress (progress monitoring).

The frequent administration of such brief, formative tests/assessments enables the

teacher to make daily adjustments to instruction, as necessary, to maximize student learning.
When frequent progress monitoring indicates a student is not progressing at the same rate as
are other students in the class, this may indicate the student needs either more intensive or
differently delivered instruction. Formative assessments such as CBM have played a
relatively minor role in classroom testing in the past. However, the passage of the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) in 2004 prompted a rapid and
dramatic increase in the use of formative assessment for progress monitoring of student
learning in the regular education classroom over the last few years (Federal Education Budget
Project, 2011). If you know that the IDEIA is a special education law, you may wonder how
it could affect regular education in this way. The answer is that today’s classrooms have been
transformed by many diverse populations into heterogeneous classrooms of culturally,
linguistically, and academically diverse learners. This change has brought many of the
concerns historically relegated to special education front and center into the regular
classroom.
 CHAPTER III

DISCUSSION

A. The Strengths And Weaknesses Of The Book

1. The Strengths Of The Book

After I analyzed the book “LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT: PRINCIPLES AND

CLASSROOM PRACTICES” and the book “EDUCATIONAL TESTING AND
MEASUREMENT: I found several advantages of these two books. good to study because
each chapter has sub-chapters as well which makes it easier for us to learn. Then the
advantages can also be seen in the comparison book where the explanation of the summative
and formative assessment is given with very clear examples. Finally, in my opinion, this book
is suitable as a reference for prospective teachers

2. The Weaknesses of book

After I analyzed the book "Language assessment: principles and practice in class" and
the book "TESTING AND MEASUREMENT OF EDUCATION" I found a weakness in the
main book, namely in the main open the explanatory material regarding summative and
formative explanations is only given without many examples because I think it will be easier
to understand. material by offering examples.
 CHAPTER IV
CLOSING

1. Conclusion

The conclusion that I got after reviewing these two books is that reviewing this book
will improve our critical thinking skills as students. then the material from the books that we
review will also add to our insight. For example, in this book, summative assessment and
formative assessment and many explanations about the material so that I understand the
material better because when I review the book I read the book and the material I will review.
after reading it, I began to discover the strengths and weaknesses of the book, which trains us
to think critically as students.

2. Recommendation

My hope as the author of this review is that the assignment I have done can be used as
evaluation material for the author in refining this book and can be a useful reference for
others who want to study the same material.
REFERENCES

Borich, T. K. (2013). Educational Testing Measurement. John wiley and Sons, Inc.

Brown, H. D. (2004). Language Assessment : Principles and Classroom Practices. united states:
Pearson Education.