Comparing criterion and norm referenced assessments of langauge skills in the second language

This article addresses different approaches towards assessing students’ language skills. The increased interest in new assessment is based on an issue: traditional assessment does not provide full description of students’ outcomes which is important for the teachers to monitor learners’ progress and to plan for instructions. The test score mainly shows that a student has succeeded or failed, but it gives the teacher an incomplete picture of student needs and strengths. The concept of criterion-referenced assessment is to assess language as communicative competence. This article gives clear idea about these assessments and how useful it is to use criterion-referenced assessment.