What Needs to Be Developed to Facilitate Classroom‐Based Assessment?

Abstract

When invited to contribute to this Forum asked myself, What issues have seemed most fundamental?yet perplexing because they are not well or widely understood?for the students who usually take my masters level course called Second-Language Assessment? These master's stu dents are experienced teachers, mostly of English, but also of other languages such as French or Japanese, who come from Ontario and many other parts of the world to improve their professional qualifications and knowledge. They teach in schools, businesses, colleges, or universities in Canada, Asia, Europe, or the Middle East. What have they, while reflect ing during assignments or class discussions, considered crucial to under stand and develop about classroom-based A primary issue is these teachers' own knowledge and professional abili ties. A common remark is, Why wasn't there a full course on assessment during my initial degree (i.e., bachelor of education or TESL certificate)? I've needed to know these things for years now. Or 'Why don't my employ ers (or principals or department heads) give us workshops or organize projects on assessment? A second issue concerns relating assessment to professional or curriculum standards in their teaching. Students in this master's course might remark, Now can see how to use the criteria in this policy to help my students evaluate their own progress. Or they may ask, with astonishment, Why didn't anyone else ever tell us about the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages? A third issue involves relating assessment to their students' learning. They might ponder, for instance, I am never sure whether my responses to students' writing really help them improve. These are three issues about classroom-based assess ment in need of further development, not only conceptually but also in