Assessment

1. Initial Placement Testing

All new students shall sit for the placement tests in English, Mathematics, and Computing Skills. Based on the profile of placement test results, candidates are placed in an appropriate class and level.

 2. General Approach to Assessment of the Foundation program

Unless the unit descriptor specifies otherwise, all units of the Foundation Program shall be assessed as follows;

            a. In course Assessment

 In each course there are designated weekly assessment tasks in the four macro-skills (reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking). Weekly assessment shall also be conducted in Computing and Mathematics courses. In-course assessment provides a measure of how well students are meeting key objectives of the Foundation Program.

             b.Mid-course and End-of-Course Assessments

• For each course there are also two tests, a mid-course test and an end- of-course test,  which give an independent estimate of the students'   proficiency in the three macro-skills of Reading, Writing and Listening. Similar tests shall be conducted in Computing and Mathematics courses.
• There will be no grading for English courses and General Foundation Programs. The result will shown either “Pass” or “Fail”
• Speaking and Writing tasks are assessed directly, using an appropriate set of specific assessment criteria, which vary according to the nature and degree of complexity of the task.
• Listening and Reading tasks are generally assessed by continuing the number of correct responses to specific questions, and then correlating the total number of correct responses with the above scale, based on experience and correspondence with other indicators.
• The above mix of formative and summative assessment provides a good overview of student abilities which can also be compared across different classes. It also provides clear evidence to the head of Foundation and Language Studies Department as to whether a student is ready to proceed to the next level, providing a more objective basis for such decisions than teacher recommendation only.