ASSESSMENT IN JAPANESE

Assessing students takes time and is not done in one single assessment for one single mark. While it is true that student speeches and formal Hiragana (script) tests are significant, they are not the most accurate indication of a child's ability. I have found that in formal testing conditions children freeze or cannot produce language that they can ordinarily produce in more relaxed circumstances. I always refer to a brilliant writer named Stephen Krashen who coined the term 'affective filter'. He argued that we we are relaxed and free from extra-sensory stimuli that we produce better language and our brains don't become cloudy. As adults. we might be able to relate to that feeling when we become 'tongue-tied' when speaking in public or in tense situations.
When I do administer formal testing ,especially speaking tests, they take time as they are individual or paired assessments.That is why I give a window of assessment time say, "between May 17-21" ,not just on a single day.I cannot feasibly test 30 children in a thirty minute session and so testing sessions are spread out. I always try to give students the same assessment questions and use the same criteria sheets for each student. The location of the test doesn't matter for the speaking assessment as long as it is relatively quiet and relaxed. So..if I test a student on the 17th in one classroom and another on the 18th in another classroom, the difference in conditions is negligible as long as I make sure that students are not impeded by interruptions or other students.I do, however, take into consideration the length of time that students have to prepare for tasks for example, a child who does his assessment on the 21st should be arguably more prepared for an assessment than a child who was first 'cab off the rank' on the 17th. This, however is only a small influence. I prefer to look at the preparation that a child has made, whether they have been conscientious in class and have above all, done the very best they possibly could have. Not everyone is going to get an 'A' and no child is perfectly fluent in Japanese (even the native speakers). Getting a 'C' in a subject that is in a second language is completely normal. There is alway room for improvement. I am still studying I have been doing this for longer than I care to mention.
Please be assured that assessment is ongoing and a great deal of it is observational/ anecdotal in conjunction with more quantifiable assessment. At the day, I would love to see the love of language instilled in the students not the dread of impending assessment.