Assessment Package Introduction

Contents – Starter Level

Test type Quantity Total marks Timing

Placement Test (A/B) 1 50 30 minutes

Grammar Checks (A/B) 8 15 5–10 minutes

Vocabulary Checks (A/B) 8 20 5–10 minutes

Unit Tests

Language: Vocabulary, Grammar and Communication (A/B) 8 40 25–30 minutes

Skills: Listening, Communication, Reading and Writing (A/B) 4 30 30 minutes

Review Tests

Skills: Listening and Communication, Reading and Writing 2 30 45 minutes

Speaking (A/B, Teacher’s Notes) 2 20 10-15 minutes per pair

Mid-Year Test

Language: Listening, Vocabulary, Grammar, 1 50 45 minutes

Communication, Reading (A/B)
Writing 1 20 30 minutes

End of Year Test

Language: Listening, Vocabulary, Grammar, 1 50 45 minutes

Communication, Reading (A/B)
Writing 1 20 30 minutes

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 Assessment Package Introduction

Introduction
Overview of package Exam preparation
The Wider World Assessment Package provides a wide As your students are going to be working towards their end
range of tests which can be used at different points in the of school exam, the tests also provide regular opportunities
course. Starter level has: for them to try exam-style tasks in a low-stakes test
environment, which should help them feel more confident
• 1 x A and B Placement Test
going into the final exam.
• 8 x A and B Grammar Checks
• 8 x A and B Vocabulary Checks We would recommend using past papers or practice
• 8 x A and B Unit Tests (Language) papers in addition as you get close to the date of the exam.
• 4 x A and B Unit Tests (Skills) Expected outcomes
• 2 x Review Tests (Skills) We would expect all students who have completed the
• 2 x A and B Review Tests (Speaking) instructional material to score at least 50%, and the best
• 1 x A and B Mid-Year Test (Language and Skills) students to score 90–100% on any given test. We have
• 1 x Mid-Year Test (Writing) deliberately included more challenging questions in each
• 1 x A and B End of Year Test (Language and Skills) test so as to help you identify students performing above
• 1 x End of Year Test (Writing) the level.
Assessment of learning or Tests on paper
Assessment for learning?
Most tests are provided in both PDF and Word format. We
Any test can be used either as assessment of learning or recommend using the PDF versions as they are. However,
assessment for learning. Assessment of learning usually if you do need to edit the tests, this should be possible.
takes place after the learning has happened and provides
The Unit, Review, Mid-Year and End of Year tests have
information about what the student is achieving by giving a
several parts to them, and each part is in a separate file.
mark or a grade. You can also use the tests as
This makes them flexible, and allows you to assign only the
assessment for learning by providing specific feedback on
parts you want or have time to administer and mark.
students’ strengths and weaknesses, and suggestions for
improvement as part of the continual learning process. Tests on MyEnglishLab
It is a combination of both types of assessment which can The Review and End of Year tests can be taken through
provide powerful tools for helping your students’ progress. the MyEnglishLab platform. All students take the A tests
when working online, while the free writing and speaking
Marking Writing and Speaking tests
tests are not included on MyEnglishLab.
Writing and Speaking tests have detailed marking keys to
The tests are automatically scored, and students get
help you mark consistently, and to help you give students
instant detailed feedback showing them where they went
meaningful feedback. If you have the marking scheme for
wrong or how to improve if you have allowed a ‘try again’
the exam your students will ultimately take, you may prefer
option. Each part can be assigned separately.
to refer to this.
Whichever marking scheme you use, it can be very useful
Placement test
to go through it with your students before they take the test The Wider World Placement tests are designed to help the
so they know what they are going to be marked against. teacher to place students at the right level of the Wider
You can then refer back to these marking criteria in your World series. The Starter level test contains ten exercises,
feedback. each with five questions, and is designed to last for 30
minutes.
Versions of tests
If students get less than 10% correct, then they will need
Most tests have two versions, A and B, which are designed
substantial extra practice and remediation at the beginning
to be at exactly the same level of difficulty and feature the
of the course. If they get between 10–40% they should
same task types. However, the test items in each are
start at this level and the teacher should assess the scores
different. For listening tests, the tasks are different but the
to check whether remediation is required. If they get
audio is the same, making it easy to administer.
between 50–75% correct the teacher should consider an
You can use the A and B tests in two ways: additional oral interview to decide whether the expected
• Give half of the class A versions and half of the class B level or a higher level with some remediation would be
versions – this helps to deter cheating. more appropriate. If they get over 75% then they should
• Give all students the A test and then use the B test start at the level above.
either for students who missed the test or as a re-test
or remedial work for students whose score shows they
need a little more work on the unit objectives.

© 2017 Pearson WIDER WORLD 1 PHOTOCOPIABLE 2

 Assessment Package Introduction

Grammar Checks As with the Units tests, you can assign all or some of the
There are eight A and B Grammar Checks, which test the parts of the test, depending on the time available.
grammar taught in both grammar lessons in each unit of The tests will take approximately:
the Student’s Book. Each Grammar Check is roughly half a • Skills (Listening and Communication, Reading and
page and should take between 5 and 10 minutes. Writing): 45 minutes
The Grammar Checks can be used at the end of a lesson, • Speaking: 10–15 minutes
for homework, as a review at the beginning of the next The Review tests as a whole are scored out of 50 marks.
lesson or later in the unit as quick revision. The parts of the test are split as follows:
Vocabulary Checks • Skills (Listening and Communication, Reading and
There are eight A and B Vocabulary Checks, which test the Writing): 30 marks
vocabulary taught in each unit of the Student’s Book. They • Speaking: 20 marks
should take between 5 and 10 minutes each. Mid-Year and End of Year tests
The Vocabulary Checks can be used at the end of a The Mid-Year Test provides a language- and skills-based
lesson, for homework, as a review at the beginning of the test covering learning objectives from Units 1-4 of the
next lesson or later in the unit as quick revision. course while the End of Year Test is a language- and
Unit tests skills-based test covering learning objectives from the
There are eight A and B Unit tests for Language (which whole course.
comprise Vocabulary, Grammar and Communication), Each test has two parts: Language (Listening, Vocabulary,
which test the learning objectives of each unit. These Grammar, Communication, Reading) and Writing. The
should be administered after each respective unit review. Language paper has A and B versions. There is only one
There are four A and B Unit tests for Skills (which comprise version of the Writing paper. Sample responses for writing
Listening, Communication, Reading and Writing). These tasks are provided in the Answer keys.
should be administered after the Skills Review sections at You can assign all or some of the parts of the test,
the end of every even-numbered unit of the Student’s depending on the time available.
Book. The tests will take approximately:
You can assign all or none of these, depending on the time • Language: 45 minutes
available. If you are including the listening test, it is set as • Writing: 30 minutes
the first activity, so you can run the listening audio first, and
The Mid-Year Test and the End of Year Test are each
then students can do the other sections in their own time.
scored out of a total of 70 marks. The parts of the test are
The tests will take approximately: split as follows:
• Language (Vocabulary, Grammar and Communication): • Language: 50 marks
25-30 minutes • Writing: 20 marks
• Skills (Listening, Communication, Reading and Writing):
20 minutes
The Unit test scores are as follows:
• Language (every unit) (Vocabulary, Grammar and
Communication): 40 marks
• Skills (every other unit) (Listening, Communication,
Reading and Writing): 30 marks
Review tests
There are two Review tests (one every four units). These
are cumulative achievement tests, and so test the learning
objectives from all units so far in the course:
• Review test 1: Units 1–4
• Review test 2: Units 1–8
Each test has two parts: Skills (Listening and
Communication, Reading and Writing) and Speaking.
There is only one version of the Skills paper. The Speaking
paper has A and B versions, as well as notes for the
teacher with questions. Sample responses for speaking
and writing tasks are provided in the Answer Keys.

© 2017 Pearson WIDER WORLD 1 PHOTOCOPIABLE 3