Alternative Assessment in the Post-Method Era: Pedagogic Implications

Abstract

This article aims at presenting an state of the art status of formative assessment as a pedagogic tool. To this end, a brief developmental account of different modes of assessment over the last decades will be presented first. Then, formative assessment will be discussed in its constructivist guise. The present literature on assessment suggests that assessment for learning (formative assessment) not only represents an assessment tool but it also serves as a pedagogic tool to enhance learning and thinking. It has also gone to lengths to affect the design of classroom tasks and activities. Attempts have been made to delineate the underlying principles of formative assessment which can be used to picture the formation process of learners’ knowledge and development. Subsequently, alternative assessment techniques of which the present article will give an account have been suggested by scholars to operationalize these principles. The article also presents some research findings on the use and outcomes of formative assessment procedures in Asian EFL context.
Key words: Formative assessment; Cconstructivism; Pedagogic tool; Alternative assessment; EFL instruction