ASSESSING ORACY: THE TEACHERS’ ORACY CONSTRUCT
Submitted by:
Anne-Grete Kaldahl
Abstract:
Keywords: Assessment of oracy, the teachers’ oracy construct, rhetoric
The ability to use the oral language to express oneself and communicate with others is a key competency in being a competent citizen in the Norwegian school system and in the democratic society (Rychen & Salganik, 2003, Norwegian Knowledge Promotion, 2007).
This article reports on an exploratory quantitative investigation into the teachers’ assessment on oracy across subjects on a high stake, oral, national exam in 10th grade in Norway. The aim is to detect the teachers’ implicit oracy construct through surveying 495 teachers. The teachers’ professional judgement is presumed to be based on a tacit understanding of oracy, and curriculum standards (after LK06 where oral competency became a key competency). Yet little is in fact known on how teachers define and assess oracy.
1) What oracy dimensions do teachers value when assessing oral competency across different subject domains in 10th grade on high stake, oral exams in lower secondary schools?
2) What is the teachers’ implied empirical construct definition of oracy in 10th grade on high stake, oral exams in lower secondary schools?
What the teachers are trying to form an assessment opinion about is called a construct (Kane, 2006). This is not a construct in a psychometric understanding (Kane, 2006), but more an implicit, quasi, tacit construct to be seeked in the teachers’ experienced knowledge base (Polyani, 1966).
The survey is conceptualized, and results interpreted with rhetorical resources (Aristotle) and assessment theory (Kane, 2006). The validating process of the surveying instrument for taping into teachers’ assessment of oracy using SPSS 24 and factor analysis is presented.
The results from the analysis of the survey revile, that the content of the utterance is the most valued part of oral competency. The teachers value a complex oracy construct, which is consistent within subjects. The teachers develop a unified oracy construct through their culture and traditions when given freedom to practice through vague policies.
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Kane, M. (2006). Validation. I:R.L. Brennan (Red.) Educational Measurement, 6, s.17-64.
Norwegian Knowledge Promotion, (2007) Udir. Oslo
Polanyi, M. (1966). The tacit dimension. London. Routledge.
Rychen, D. S., & Salganik, L. H. (eds.) 2003: Key Competencies for a Successful Life an a Well-Functioning Society. Hogrefe & Huber, Washington og Göttingen.