Purpose, Theory, and Practice of Classroom L2 Writing Assessment

Abstract

Over the last decade or so, assessment in English language education has witnessed a major paradigm shift from traditional forms of testing to a stronger focus on outcome-based and standard-referenced assessment (Davison and Cummins 2006). Such a shift results in an increasing attention to a “substantive connection between assessment and meaningful instruction” (Shepard 2000a, p. 3), where teachers’ evaluation of student learning, their feedback, feedback from peers, and students’ self-assessment play an important role in mediating students’ learning and knowledge construction. This paradigm shift is evidenced in the assessment reform that has taken place in different parts of the world, including the United Kingdom where the Assessment Reform Group originated and Europe where the Common European Framework of Reference (CERF) has laid a foundation for language assessment reform throughout the continent (Berchoud et al. 2011; North 2014). The crucial role of teachers and learners in classroom assessment; the interrelationships between teaching, learning, and assessment; and the use of classroom assessment for promoting student learning and for improving teaching are encapsulated in the notion of “assessment for learning,” which came into use in the late 1980s and early 1990s, originating from the UK Assessment Reform Group, as well as “assessment as learning” to denote the active role of the learner in taking charge of their learning during classroom assessment. Instead of having classroom writing assessment dictated by the traditional testing paradigm, where teachers design assessment activities that conform to high-stakes standardized tests, it is imperative to reenvision excellence in classroom writing assessment so that assessment can be better utilized to empower students, enhance learning, and improve teaching.