This paper examines the positive aspects and potential problems in the discourse of transition from summative to formative assessment of oral language development of Chinese secondary students. The discussion includes concepts such as teacher observation, feedback, testing, and the views of teachers on oral language summative assessment. | Formative assessment is the most important assessment practice, as it has a powerful impact on student learning. The aim is to help students learn to ‘self assess’ so they can move on in order to achieve. Formative assessment helps indicate how well a student has learned particular skills/knowledge. Future teaching and learning is then based on this assessment. Formative assessment occurs when teachers/peers provide information to students in ways that enable the student to improve learning through a self-evaluation. This information/feedback needs to be specific and concrete, and linked to the key indicators given to the students prior to any summative assessment task. Black (1998a) concluded based on at least 20 studies that formative assessment helps the ‘low attainers’ in improving their learning whilst raising the overall level of achievement. He also found a number of common characteristics among the research reports. These include: the involvement of new modes of pedagogy that calls for significant changes in classroom practices; the active involvement of pupils in the assessment process; the results of the assessment practices have to be used in adjustment of teaching and learning strategies; formative assessment can affect the motivation and self-esteem of pupils with obvious benefits in engaging pupils in self-assessment. Bloom, Hastings and Madhaus (1971) defined ‘summative assessment’ by including evaluation tests conducted at the end of units or course to judge the extent of students’ learning. The purpose is to grade or certify students, evaluate their progress or to find out the effectiveness of a curriculum. This form of assessment mainly reflects students’ school performance and may have important consequence on students’ future. Summative assessment is appropriate for measuring the extent to which the overall skill objectives of a unit or course have been realised and to provide students with an opportunity to demonstrate the skills they have learned in action (Fennell & Maccoll, 1983). Summative assessment is made when a problem is fully developed and implemented. Assessment addresses the overall effectiveness of the program. Summative assessment is often in the forms of school-leaving tests, final examinations, etc. (Gao, 2002). Summative assessment usually follows a unit of learning and is carried out to summarise achievement at a given point in time and is often more structured than formative AARE, Adelaide 27 Nov – 1 Dec 2006 assessment. It provides teachers, students and parents with information on student progress and level of achievement. Summative assessment also provides feedback to teachers, syndicates, departments and schools on the effectiveness of class or school-widen programmes- . it is used for programme evaluation.
