In both Part A and Part B of the SBA component in the HKDSE English Language curriculum, teaching/learning and assessment are very closely linked. Assessment includes the formal planned moments when students undertake an assessment task. However, it also includes the far more informal, even spontaneous moments when teachers are monitoring student groupwork and notice one student speaking more confidently, or while they are on the MTR and think of a technique to help students improve their speaking skills. Any programme of school-based assessment must incorporate self and peer assessment as well as teacher assessment, as it is only when students understand the assessment criteria and how they are applied to the oral language they produce can they actually take responsibility for their own learning . Thus, the most important component of the assessment cycle is feedback and reporting, as unless assessment information is communicated clearly to students, it cannot be used effectively to improve learning (or teaching).

Thus, as can be seen from Figure 2, in school-based assessment, assessment needs to be continuous and integrated naturally into every stage of the teaching-learning cycle, not just at the end.

To view Prof Liz Hamp-Lyons talking about the interrelationship between assessment, teaching and learning in SBA.

Unlike most external exams, school-based assessment tasks can be used for formative as well as summative purposes.

Summative assessment refers to more formal planned assessments at the end of a unit or term / year which are used primarily to evaluate student progress and / or grade students.

Formative assessment is usually more informal and more frequent, involving the gathering of information about students and their language learning needs while they are still learning.

Formative assessment has two key functions: informing and forming. In other words, formative assessment shapes the decisions about what to do next, by helping:

• the teacher to select what to teach the next lesson, or even in the next moment in the lesson; and
• the students to understand what they have learnt and what they need to learn next.

To view Prof Dylan Wiliam talking about formative assessment and the difference between formative and continuous assessment.

The SBA component makes up 15% of students' summative assessment in the HKDSE, but because this assessment is undertaken while students are still learning (and teachers are still teaching), these summative assessments can also be used for formative purposes, that is, to improve learning and teaching.

To view Prof Dylan Wiliam talking about the way summative assessments can be used formatively.

To view Mr Chi-hang Lee talking about how to use SBA activities for formative purposes.

The SBA component can even help students improve their oral skills for the external oral exam, provided the school sets clear and explicit short and long-term goals for oral language development, and not just lots of practice papers.

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