Innovation in Language Learning
From Key Competence-Based Language Curricula towards Meaningful Assessment: A Case of Washback in the Romanian Lower Secondary Education
Ligia Sarivan, National Center for Policies and Evaluation in Education (Romania)
Cornelia Novak, National Center for Policy and Evaluation in Education (Romania)
Angelica Mihailescu, National Center for Policy and Evaluation in Education (Romania)
Abstract
Our paper presents the results of a study from 2021 that focused on the national assessment results of the first lower secondary cohort of graduates who studied according to the new key competence-based Romanian curriculum. Our objective has been to analyse how the new curriculum is translated into the compulsory assessment tasks and scoring grids. We also explored how the actual national test results could highlight the students’ needs in terms of more meaningful performance in language learning. The research includes: an analysis of the official documents (curriculum and syllabi); an analysis of the national test and the scoring grid applied in 2021; the discussion of the students’ results and the reporting compared to the expected curricular outcomes and the needs for further learning in high school. Since the language curriculum is developed according to the key competences’ framework of reference, the official learning provision is agency oriented. However, our study highlights that the national assessment generates a large washback effect by promoting traditional test patterns that focus on reading – grammar – writing within decontextualized tasks. Our conclusion reveals the gaps between the intended curriculum and the implemented curriculum that hinder innovative methodology and agency oriented practices in the language class.
References
[1] OECD (2019). PISA 2018 Database. https://www.oecd.org/pisa/data/2018database/
[2] OECD (2019). PISA 2018 - Assessment and Analytical Framework. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/pisa-2018-assessment-and-analytical-framework_b25efab8-en
[3] National assessment for grade 8, school year 2020-2021, test 4 and scoring grid (in Romanian), Bucharest: Ministry of Education
[4] National curriculum, grades 5-8 (in Romanian) OMEN 3393/ 28.02.2017, Bucharest: Ministry of Education
[5] Noveanu, G. et al. (2013). The Reading Challenge. (in Romanian) Bucharest: Editura Didactică și Pedagogică
[6] Sarivan, L., Novak, C., Mihăilescu, A., & Pleșa, C. (2020). Meaning in Reading. Could Romania’s PISA 2018 Results Become a Wake-Up Call to Innovate Practices? in Pixel (ed.) Innovation in Language Learning. Conference Proceedings, International Conference, Bologna: Filodiritto Editore, pp. 244-250
[7] Syllabi for National Assessment, grade 8, school year 2020-2021 (in Romanian), OM 3237/ 05.02.2021, Bucharest: Ministry of Education
