From Control to Understanding: Rethinking Evaluation in ELT Classrooms

Assessment, Assessment in Action, Assessment Practices, Evaluation, Formative Assessment, Reflective Evaluation, Summative Assessment 0 comments

Getting ready for evaluation

AI-generated picture by Prof. Jonathan Acuña Solano in July 2025

✍️ Introductory Note to the Reader

I wrote this post as both a teacher educator and a curriculum developer, currently reflecting on my professional practice after participating in a faculty development course on evaluation through Calidad Docente at Universidad Latina. This course led me to rethink how we approach evaluation in the English Language Teaching (ELT) classroom, not only as a way to measure learning, but more importantly, as a process to support it.

In what follows, I explore the difference between evaluation of learning and evaluation for learning, with a focus on formative assessment, student agency, and how meaningful feedback can transform the classroom into a space for authentic growth. This reflection stems from a deep belief that grammar and vocabulary are not end goals but tools to support real communication, and that our assessments should mirror that purpose.

From Control to Understanding: Rethinking Evaluation in ELT Classrooms

Abstract

This reflective essay explores the shift from traditional evaluation models based on control and final grading toward formative assessment practices that foster understanding and student growth. Grounded in insights from Unidad Didáctica 1 and supported by ELT research, the piece advocates for feedback-rich environments where learners co-construct knowledge and teachers act as facilitators. Written from the perspective of a teacher educator and curriculum developer, the essay emerges from personal reflection after completing a faculty development course on evaluation through Calidad Docente at Universidad Latina. Key themes include evaluation for learning, formative assessment, and the development of student agency through feedback.

Resumen

Este ensayo reflexivo examina el paso de modelos tradicionales de evaluación centrados en el control y la calificación final hacia prácticas formativas que promuevan la comprensión y el crecimiento del estudiante. Basado en ideas de la Unidad Didáctica 1 y respaldado por investigaciones en enseñanza del inglés, el texto aboga por entornos donde el feedback sea constante, los estudiantes construyan el conocimiento en conjunto y los docentes actúen como facilitadores. Escrito desde la perspectiva de un formador de docentes y diseñador curricular, el ensayo nace de la reflexión personal tras cursar una capacitación sobre evaluación ofrecida por Calidad Docente en la Universidad Latina. Entre los temas centrales se destacan la evaluación para el aprendizaje, la evaluación formativa y el fomento de la autonomía estudiantil.

Resumo

Este ensaio reflexivo analisa a transição de modelos tradicionais de avaliação baseados no controle e na nota final para práticas formativas que promovem a compreensão e o desenvolvimento do aluno. Baseado nas ideias da Unidad Didáctica 1 e fundamentado em pesquisas na área de ensino de inglês, o texto defende ambientes de aprendizagem onde o feedback é constante, os alunos constroem conhecimento em colaboração e os professores atuam como facilitadores. Escrito do ponto de vista de um formador de professores e desenvolvedor curricular, o ensaio resulta de uma reflexão pessoal após participar de um curso de formação docente sobre avaliação promovido pela Calidad Docente da Universidad Latina. Os temas centrais incluem avaliação para a aprendizagem, avaliação formativa e a promoção da autonomia do aluno.

Reflecting on today’s language teaching environments, the concept of evaluation should be undergoing a significant transformation. As a teacher educator, I have come to believe that the way we assess our students says much about our educational values and teaching philosophy. Are we measuring retention or nurturing growth? Are we issuing grades or fostering reflection? Drawing on insights from Unidad Didáctica 1: El sentido actual de la evaluación en educación (MEP, n.d.) and other key thinkers in the field, this essay outlines the shift from an evaluation rooted in control to one grounded in understanding, especially as it applies to English Language Teaching (ELT).

Beyond Grades: Redefining Evaluation vs. Assessment

Before any pedagogical shift can occur, teachers must first recognize the important distinction between evaluation and assessment. In many contexts, the former is linked to assigning grades, often summative in nature, while the latter refers to the broader, formative processes that support learner development (Brown & Abeywickrama, 2010). A well-prepared language teacher does not merely deliver content and verify mastery through tests; rather, they must create meaningful, scaffolded learning activities that allow students to produce output, reflect on their performance, and grow.

This broader perspective aligns with the constructivist view of learning in Unidad Didáctica 1, which emphasizes that evaluation should guide instruction and allow learners to demonstrate how they are building knowledge, not merely what they’ve memorized. “Assessment should be used to support learning and help students improve, not just to classify or penalize them” (MEP, n.d., p. 5, own translation).

In communicative classrooms, this means creating tasks where students can engage in meaningful language use, rather than simply retrieving isolated grammar forms. As Richards (2006) reminds us, “Grammar is a resource for communication, not just a set of rules to be memorized” (p. 6).

From Control to Comprehension: A Paradigm Shift

Unidad Didáctica 1 urges educators to move from “evaluación como control” (evaluation as control), characterized by final exams and standardized scores, to “evaluación como proceso de comprensión” (evaluation as understanding). This transformation parallels what Black and Wiliam (1998) refer to as the transition from assessment of learning to assessment for learning.

Evaluation as control tends to reduce language learning to isolated grammatical items, checked through discrete-point testing. Its primary focus is on verifying outcomes and determining whether students pass or fail. In contrast, evaluation as understanding invites teachers to diagnose learning in real-time, use feedback loops, and adapt instruction to learner needs. It encourages students to reflect on their performance, identify gaps, and develop strategies to grow (Heritage, 2010).

In practical terms, this might mean replacing a grammar test with a reflective speaking activity where learners receive formative feedback. As Fulcher and Davidson (2007) argue, “Language assessment is not just about determining what learners can do now; it should provide information that can shape what they do next” (p. 12).

An Ethical Commitment to Learners

Unidad Didáctica 1 also reminds us that evaluation is not merely a technical process, but an ethical one. Language teachers have a duty to align with institutional standards and syllabi, which represent a contract between teacher and learner. When assessment deviates arbitrarily from these norms, through what might be called “fly-by” grading, it undermines both transparency and fairness.

As Brookhart (2013) notes, “Good assessment is ethical. It requires transparency in goals, fairness in application, and feedback that supports learning” (p. 15). Instructors must therefore ensure that students understand the purpose and criteria of evaluation tools, and they must avoid subjective impressions when assigning scores. Meanwhile, learners must recognize feedback as a valuable tool, not a judgment.

Assessment in Action: Strategies for ELT

To enact these principles in the ELT classroom, teachers can draw on several practical strategies:

● Backward design (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005), which starts with learning outcomes and plans instruction in reverse, ensures that assessment aligns with communicative goals, not isolated grammar points.

● Checklists and rubrics make expectations visible and can be used not just for grading, but for providing specific feedback that supports student autonomy.

● Peer assessment protocols encourage reflection and accountability when used with scaffolding. For example, learners can adopt a simple format: “One thing you did well, and two things to improve.”

● ePortfolios allow students and teachers to track growth over time and reflect on language development across multiple tasks.

All of these tools embody what Unidad Didáctica 1 advocates: evaluation that is continuous, dialogic, and focused on learner understanding rather than teacher control (MEP, n.d., pp. 6–7).

Transforming Teacher Identity through Reflective Evaluation

When teachers shift from assessing what students know to how they grow, their professional identity also evolves. Teachers become guides and facilitators, not gatekeepers. However, this shift can be difficult in systems driven by grades, standardized curricula, and parent or institutional pressure.

In my role as a teacher educator, I help trainees understand that grammar-focused testing is not inherently wrong, but incomplete. As Dr. Richards (2006) emphasizes, grammar should be seen “as a means to develop fluency and accuracy in communication, not an end in itself” (p. 6). By helping teachers adopt reflective lesson planning and incorporate rubrics, portfolios, and formative tasks, we promote an assessment model that values meaning-making, pragmatics, and negotiation of meaning, the true fabric of language use.

Conclusion

In ELT, as in all education, we must ask ourselves: Are we assessing to control or to understand? The future of evaluation lies in its capacity to empower rather than rank, to illuminate learning rather than obscure it. When teachers design assessments that align with how learners build knowledge, and treat feedback as a moral responsibility, we create classrooms where language development becomes a shared, reflective, and human experience.

📚 References

Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 5(1), 7–74. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969595980050102

Brookhart, S. M. (2013). How to create and use rubrics for formative assessment and grading. ASCD.

Brown, H. D., & Abeywickrama, P. (2010). Language assessment: Principles and classroom practices (2nd ed.). Pearson Longman.

Fulcher, G., & Davidson, F. (2007). Language testing and assessment: An advanced resource book. Routledge.

Heritage, M. (2010). Formative assessment: Making it happen in the classroom. Corwin.

Ministerio de Educación Pública (MEP). (n.d.). Unidad Didáctica 1: El sentido actual de la evaluación en educación. Retrieved from http://calameo.com/read/004414688fb9501437d4a

Richards, J. C. (2006). Communicative language teaching today. Cambridge University Press.

Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design (Expanded 2nd ed.). ASCD.