Question:

Submitted by Ahmad Alruhban, Marmara University, Turkey

What is the difference between assessment and evaluation in language teaching?

Dr. Richards responds:

Assessment is a general term referring to procedures that can be used to measure students progress in a course. Tests are one form of assessment but many forms of assessment are not tests, such as observations, interviews, or questionnaires.

Evaluation refers to procedures used to determine the overall effectiveness of a language course, and may involve many different procedures such as interviews with teachers and students as well as classroom observation. Students’ performance on texts may also be used as one component of evaluation.