Ensure the scoring is balanced and fair

It is important that teacher-assessors look at the full range of levels and all four domains when assessing individual students. Level 6 is often under-used as teachers expect a perfect performance. Similarly, it is easy for teachers to develop scoring biases, for example, giving much more emphasis to accuracy than fluency, or rewarding the number of points given in a presentation more than the overall quality of the ideas.

When undertaking the formal assessment, teachers should focus on one student at a time. They should ensure they have heard enough oral language from the student to make a sound judgment. It is not necessary to stop students mid-sentence or give every student the exact same number of minutes for their "turn". Some students may need a little more time to warm up or to get involved in a group interaction than others. Teachers should use their professional judgment to set reasonable time limits, but at the same time create a very supportive and low-stress environment. Buzzers should not be used.

To view Mrs Christina Lee talking about fairness in the SBA process.

Teachers should record their judgment of the student's oral language level in each of the four main domains directly onto the student's Assessment Record. They should then convert their judgments to a total score out of 24. The Assessment Record is then signed by the student and the teacher to certify that the oral text produced is the student's own work and complies with all mandatory conditions.