Assessment is an essential component of teaching. Recently, the importance of assessment has increased even further. Genesee and Upshur (1996) refer to students’ achievement as one of the most important focus of classroom-based assessment. They believe that “teachers need to know what and how much students have learned in order to monitor the effectiveness of instruction, to plan ongoing instruction, and for accountability purposes” (p. 47).
Assessment can be done at different stages:
Assessment at the end of each unit of instruction is probably useful for both internal and external purposes; in other words, it is of interest to, teachers for planning instruction, students for organizing their own learning, school authorities for accountability,
…show more content…
Nevertheless, as Brown and Abeywickrama (2010) assert, in educational practice, assessment is an ongoing process that encompasses a wide range of methodological techniques. Whenever a student responds to a question, offers a comment, or tries out a new word or structure, the teacher subconsciously makes an appraisal of the student's performance.
2.2.1. Traditional Assessment vs. Alternative/Authentic Assessment. Assessment is an important element of the classroom procedure. Birenbaum (1996) claimed that assessment not only serve as feedback on the learners’ success or failure in the learning process, but also it provides valuable insight into the effectiveness of the teaching practice and indicates the areas that need further development and improvement. Therefore, the problem is that how a teacher can assess the activities and performances of the learners during instruction by using some tests or quizzes. Is it possible to assess the ongoing activities of the students with these forms of assessment? How is it possible to evaluate the students' activities in a formative way by using some tests or quizzes? Is there any opportunity for the students to work with each other collaboratively in this way of assessment? Is there any place for the creativity of the learners in this way of assessment? Since teachers usually apply such paper and pencil tests to examine the outcome or (product) of learning, so how do such tests assess the process of