English assessment in Public High School: possible paths to change the reality and empower learning

Abstract

This paper aims to bring the main aspects of English language assessment in Brazilian Public High Schools, and also suggestions for its improvement. It will bring approaches about how assessment is seen and carried out, mainly in the discipline of English language. It is a fact that assessment is a huge part of the teaching and learning process, being a manner of analysis, related to students progress. This paper will also expose how assessment is put into practice in Brazil, what characteristics we should find in a well-planned assessment, what the main forms of assessment are and how they can be improved. The methodology used to perform this work will be a bibliographical research in books and articles related to the theme. Many relevant authors such as Joan Kelly Hall, Lyle F. Bachman, Melissa Santos Fortes and Ana Maria Stahl Zilles, Pedro Demo and Penny Ur bring some perspectives of assessment, and they will be cited in the paper (sic).