Summative Assessment Of Learning

Chapter one sheds the light on the theoretical side of this research work. It is divided into two main parts: the first part will be concerned with assessments in general and the second part with the assessment of the speaking skill in particular. The first part first introduces the definition of the key concepts of the study, then mention in some detailed way the main principles of tests and testing. After that, it provides a historical point of view of testing and assessments. The second part firstly investigates the nature of the term speaking providing different views. Then, it deals with the assessment of this skill mentioning the types of speaking tests, the challenges that face test developers in designing such tests, the different
tasks

In this sense, the distinctions are mentioned:
1-3-1 Summative and Formative Assessment
A distinction is made between summative and formative assessment. Summative assessment or “assessment of learning” is a graded assessment carried out at the end of a course or programme of study in order to measure what the learners have learnt “… for purposes of certification and (latterly) accountability” (Torrance & Pryor, 1998, p. 8). Final and proficiency exams are examples of summative assessment. However, Formative Assessment or “assessment forof learning” is often a non-graded assessment that takes place during a course aiming at promoting the level of students by providing them with useful feedback,
A key development in the formative assessment process, and an indispensable condition for improvement, is that the student comes to hold a notion of the standard or desired quality similar to that of the teacher, is able to monitor the quality of what is being produced at the time of production, and is able to regulate their work appropriately.(Gipps, 1994, p. 126)
The positive point is the fact that learners can adjust their learning, before it is too late.
Chapter One Literature

1-3-2-1 Formal Assessment
Formal assessment is performed under special classroom conditions. It is evaluated by giving grades to each student’s work. There are four main types of test: Placement test,
Achievement test, Proficiency test, and Diagnostic test.
A placement test is needed to place learners in their right classes according to their levels
“The aim is to produce groups which are homogeneous in level that will use institutional and teacher time most effectively.” (Harris & McCann, 1994, p. 29). It has to be noted in this type of assessment that it should be performed at the beginning of the year or the course as its function is to put the learners in their right classes. Anachievementtest is performed at the end of a course to determine how much learners have learnt, or, as its name indicates, what learners have achieved at the end of a course, “...their purpose being to establish how successful individual student, groups of students, or the courses themselves have been in achieving objectives.” (Hughes, 2003, p.