By Julio Vangel Pérez

Assessment is another fundamental aspect of teaching.

Assessment can help you determine a student's proficiency in a language. 

Using assessment can help to identify the strengths and weaknesses a learner has. 

Teachers also need to use constant assessment to determine how well students are comprehending the material that has been covered or how much information they picked up from a specific course.

Assessment and evaluation are not the same yet they are closely related.

Assessment relates to individual student learning. It is “the act of collecting information and making judgments on a language learner’s knowledge of language and ability to use it” (Chapelle and Brindley, 2002, p.267).

Evaluation refers to a broader term concerning a collection and interpretation of information relating to the value of an entire course or program for the reach of specific functions or goals.

Reasons to assess:

Diagnosing students strengths and weaknesses.

Deciding what to and what not to teach next.Giving students feedback.Seeing students progress.Handing students a final grade.

Formative assessment and Summative assessment

Formative assessment occurs anytime during the course of teaching, when it is intended or necessary with the purpose of improving the learner’s outcome. Formative assessment is usually informal.

Summative assessment happens at the end of a teaching process and is carried out in order to judge what students have achieved during the course. Summative assessment is often formally designed and administered.

Classroom testsElicitationObservationStudent JournalsPortfoliosError analysisChecklistsQuestionnaires

We have two types of grammar tests:

Discrete point which assess individual grammar items, these contrast with integrative tests that attempt to evaluate a range of skills and abilities.