Teachers and schools throughout the United States are facing changes due to both the standards-based curriculum movement and the school improvement focus of both state and federal governments. As teachers implement these changes, one must remember that "there is a close relationship between assessment and instruction" (Rennie, 1998, p.27) Therefore, one can not simply change the way that teachers teach or the material that is taught. It is also necessary insure that changes are made in assessment methods.

Student evaluation in most schools has depended on traditional assessment methods, but current trends indicate that there is a need for schools to also prove what students are capable of doing in addition to what they know. In order to accomplish this task, many are incorporating a variety of non-traditional assessment methods in addition to traditional evaluation methods. Non-traditional evaluation methods may be used throughout the curriculum, however it may be necessary to provide professional development to enable teachers to use them. Traditional assessments are often designed to be teacher-proof. Non-traditional assessment methods on the other hand require, that teachers and other instructional leaders are capable of using them in order to design instruction (Jamentz, 1994).

Traditional assessment methods in foreign language classrooms are "focused on individual skills, such as knowledge of vocabulary and grammatical accuracy" (Rennie, 1998, p. 27). These tools have been often used to evaluate "students' knowledge about the language, not what they could do with the language" (Rennie, 1998, p. 27). Also, these tests have often required students to merely recognize correct responses rather than to produce them. Additionally, traditional assessments have been used to compare performances of large groups of students across populations (Rennie, 1998).

Non-traditional or performance based assessment methods "require students to demonstrate knowledge and skills by carrying out challenging tasks" (Rennie, 1998, p. 27). These forms of evaluation include portfolios, journals, demonstrations, conferences and observations. While these methods assess learning outcomes and processes, they are also used to plan instruction and encourage student involvement in the learning process (Rennie, 1998).

The use of alternative, performance or non-traditional assessments in foreign language classrooms has been influenced by changes in best practices and the development of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines. The ACTFL's Guidelines have been used to set outcome goals in many states and entrance requirements for many universities (Rennie, 1998).

Teachers are faced with a variety of challenges as they develop, use and evaluate classroom assessments. When making decisions about assessment use, one needs to examine evaluation tools in order to ascertain if they exhibit fairness, address what has been taught, provide students with expected standards of performance and are able to be used to improve instruction.

Fairness in assessment is often difficult to determine, in that it must be clarified as to whether one is looking for fairness in understanding or fairness in administration. One definition of fairness or equity would require that one student's performance could be compared to another student's performance in a standard method (Baker, 1994). This definition creates conflict when teamed with Bloom's mastery learning concept that all students can learn when provided with conditions appropriate to their situation. It must be decided if it is necessary to use identical assessment methods and/or instructions for each student. Or, if it more important that all students have an equal understanding of what is expected of them (Baker, 1994). If the goal of the classroom is to address the needs of diverse learners, then the fairness of evaluations must also address the need to adapt.

When evaluating assessments, it is necessary to determine if they address the knowledge and skills that students have had the opportunity to acquire (Carr & Harris, 2001, p. 35). Additionally, students need a chance to build their capacity to succeed by providing them with information about how well they are expected to perform. This can be accomplished by allowing students to examine scoring rubrics and/or high quality responses (Jamentz, 1994).

Assessments should also be monitored to see the effect that they have on instruction. Two of the major reasons to evaluate in a standards-based classroom are to assess teaching and improve learning (Carr & Harris, 2001). Traditional assessments have often been seen as a means of sorting students, rather than as a means of improving student learning. Instructionally sound assessments enhance the opportunity to learn by providing information about what students already do well and what they still need time and instruction to master (Jamentz, 1994). This information can then be utilized by teachers and other instructional leaders to determine the types of learning experiences that need to take place in the classroom, the school or the district.

Through an increased availability of technology, foreign language teachers are able to develop truer types of authentic assessments and address the needs of diverse learners. For example, students can be read foreign newspapers on the Internet, watch foreign news broadcasts or go on virtual tours of foreign sites. Activities such as these provide the opportunity to evaluate students in ways that are nearer those of real life (Rennie, 1998). Additionally, students are able to show what they can do through the inclusion of both video and audio examples of their work in portfolios.

Computers and other technologies also allow special needs students to participate more actively in the classroom. Those who are unable to speak may use computers to produce artificial speech and can therefore participate in skits and other performance assessments. Also, those who can not see can listen to and repeat the words of native speakers by using CDs and tapes.

Assessment is a vital component of action research. In order to determine if a research project has been successful, one must triangulate or find multiple sources to prove findings. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the tools that will be used to measure the success of the project in a variety of ways in order to insure the validity of the project. Assessments must be evaluated for their fairness, their ability to produce data and the ways that they reflect classroom teaching. Assessments chosen should also address the needs of diverse learners and present authentic situations.

It is important to remember that there is no one right way to assess students (Rennie, 1998). Teachers must look at each assessment tool to determine if it is evaluating the goals that it was meant to address. Each situation is different and the same tool may not be appropriate for different students or groups of students. Therefore, assessment can not be an automatic process that is the same year after year.

Also, non-traditional or performance assessments can easily fall into the same categories of failures often associated with traditional methods. Non-traditional tasks can perpetuate the teaching of relatively unimportant knowledge if other methods do not change along with the means of assessment. According to the 1990 California Assessment Collaborative study, the "real challenge in assessment reform is structuring an opportunity for educators to work together to reinvent what teachers, students and schools do" (Jamentz, 1994, p.3)

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