Chapter One Introduction
1.1Research Background
English，as a globe language, has become an important tool widely used for internationalcommunication on science and technology as well as on cultural exchanges. China，as aresponsible great power on the path of peaceful development，is expected to bear importanthistorical missions and play a significant role in international affairs.Establishing Englishclasses can definitely lay a foundation for improving national quality and training talents withinnovative ability and intercultural communicational competence.Teaching evaluation is avital component in English teaching system.It is an important guarantee to achieve curriculumgoals. Only in the scientific and rational way can the evaluation system exert positive effectson English teaching and language acquisition.We have to admit the truth that the teaching evaluation in our country has been confinedto summative assessment for a very long time,which is mostly represented by standardizedtest. The final conclusion comes from nothing but the examination results.However，somemore important matters are often overlooked, such as learning process，emotional attitude,cultural consciousness and learning ability. Nowadays, students who lose their interest inlearning English because of the failure in the exam take a large proportion. They no longerhave faith in their learning ability. Tradition summative assessment destories their confidenceand makes no efforts to stimulate learning motivation.New English Curriculum Standard (2011) points that the evaluation system shall help topromote the development of students' comprehensive language utilization ability. The newpersified optimization evaluation system aims at arousing students' enthusiasm. It is goodfor thinking skills and independent learning ability of students and can guide them gain theintercultural awareness and help to shape their healthy personality. Therefore, we can evaluatethe students' abilities of all aspects.Both summative assessment and formative assessmentshould be involved in this system.
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1.2Significance of the Present Research
With the development of the era and an increasing appeal for the reform of teachingevaluation, the functions and values of formative assessment in the process of teaching andinspecting are give fully affirmed and positively assessed. The researches on formativeassessment is helpful for understanding different evaluation methods. In the meanwhile, it canalso enrich and develop the theory and practice of English teaching and learning.The purpose of teaching evaluation is not to distinguish “good” students from “poor’’students based on the examination and definitely not only to test the teaching achievements.Teaching evaluation is a scientific process, which is conductive to encouraging students toleam. Meanwhile,it should not only monitor the teaching process but also feed back theteaching information. Scientific evaluation will make students experience success and feelvictorious consistently. It can lead students not only to greater self-insight but also to buildconfidence in learning English.Domestic and overseas researches indicate that appropriate use of formative assessmentin English teaching is benifical to the promotion of language learning.
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Chapter Two Literature Review
2.1 Definition of Formative Assessment
When people talk about an assessment, it is a judgment or a consideration of somethingor someone. Assessment has been widely used in so many fields. It is a social activity. Thesubject judges the value of certain object through how satisfied the object meets the demandsof subject. The assessment in education is to make effective judgment on social value ofeducation activities. The value includes the one which is already achieved and the potentialvalue that the object has the opportunity to obtain..The concept of assessment emerged differently in different times.In the 1960s，it isgenerally believed that assessment is equal to measurement. So what matters is themeasurement tool's objectivity and accuracy. With the advances in assessment，newrecognition in teaching evaluation has been achieved. Richards and Nunan(2000)points outthat assessment refers to the set of process through which a learner's level of knowledge andskills are judged, while evaluation pay attention to the wider process of collecting andinterpreting data to judge a certain program or programs. The data we refer to during theevaluation process will include not only learner assessment data but also other information.“ Assessment is usually an ongoing strategy which student learning is not onlymonitored- a trait shared with testing- but by which students are involved in making decisionsabout the degree to which their performance matches their ability''(Hancock 1994:6).According to different purposes of educational evaluation, it consists of two parts:summative assessment and formative assessment. Summative assessment usually just showsthe students' learning results after the course. The information is to ensure the languageteaching targets are met. The summative assessment rarely helps to inspire the languagelearners in the process of language acquisition. While formative assessment provides teacherswith the information of all aspects. These feedbacks contribute to the improvement of courseteaching.
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2.2 Development of Formative Assessment Abroad
With the historical development of education evaluation ,formative assessment has gonethrough the following stages: From the early 1960s to the late 1960s is the early application stage. Michael Scrivenfirst used formative assessment in his research of curriculum improvement(Scriven 1967 ).Since then, formative assessment is really applied to the evaluation process. In Methodologyof Evaluation and Scriven's other early works, conceptual assessment didn't arrive where it istoday. He believed that it could collect the student's information and then help to increasescores. In that way, formative assessment is to improve the education quality by diagnosingthe problems in the teaching plan，teaching process, and teaching activities and providingfeedback for the teaching act activities in progress.The purpose of formative assessment is notto distinguish or differentiate. It focus on improving the teaching plan and education program.
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Chapter Three Research on Formative Assessment.........13
3.1Research Design........13
3.2The purpose........13
3.3Subject........13
3.3Instruments........14
3.4The Procedure........14
4.1 Data Collection and Analysis of the Background Qquestionnaire........18
4.2Data Collection and Analysis of the Pre-test and Pro-test Questionnairess........21
4.3Data Collection and Analysis of the tests........22
4.4Summary........21
Chapter Five Conclusion........23
5.1Finding........23
5.2Implications for Future Study........23
5.3Limitations of the Study........24
Chapter Four Data Analysis and Discussion
4.1 Data Collection and Analysis of the Background Qquestionnaire
The survey was carried out at the first class of the semester. Students filled out thequestionnaire and returned it to the teachers.There was no time limit. Therefore，the studentscan finish it carefully.According to the analysis of the questionnaire, the advantage and disadvantage of thestudents can be exposed . The conclusion will be drawn by using SPSS to analyze all the datawe have collectedFrom statistics above，we can get that most of the students come from the family ofworkers. Their parents， level of education is low. Almost all the students have learntEnglish, but it seems that their interest of leaning English was cut down.. They lose interestin learning English because they are not motivated to learn. They don，t know theimportance of learning English. In fact，they are confused. They can，t find the reason whythe should leam it. Neither do they find the pleasure of leaning English. Traditionalassessment didn' inspire students to get pleasure in language acquisition. But with the helpof formative assessment., we encourage students to gain both the so called "knowledge"and the pleasure in the process of language learning.
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Conclusion
According to the research that the author set in No. 68 Middle school, based on the datafrom pre-test and post-test,here are the conclusions of this research about formativeassessment in middle school English language teaching.First of all，formative assessment is more effctive to help students to mastermeta-cognitive strategies. As has been stated before, potfolios can aid students to reflect theirprogress can help them to reflect their weaknesses in English language learning .Secondly, Formative assessment is more effective to Strengthen students’ motivationthan traditional summative assessment.ormative assessment enhances the interest of studentsfrom different levels. Interest is a non-intellectual factor which excites students in the processof English language learning.To inspire the passion and enthusiasm of the learner is to helpthem guide the correct need for knowledge, so that they can form the good learning habit.Formative assessment is student-centered assessment system, laying a lot of emphasis on theprocess. During this research, students enjoy the experience of success, with the positiveencouragement from their teacher. For this，they became more and more confidence,motivated on English learning.
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Reference (omitted)