EVALUATING STUDENT LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY THROUGH PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT TASKS

Given the emphasis on complex and sophisticated disciplinary skills and considerations of modern educational system there arouses an urgent need to improve the ways of learners' performance assessment that reach far beyond ordinary multiple-choice tests. This has led educators and trainers to reconsider how content is delivered and assessed. This paper attempts to provide an in-depth look at how performance assessment actually is employed at Yerevan State University, what benefits it offers and what performance outcomes may be observed by the teachers. Taking into account the fact that Performance assessment is a method of teaching and learning that successfully integrates not only the process but also the product which reaches far beyond simple testing, performance assessment tasks involve students in constructing various types of products for diverse audiences, engaging students in developing the process that leads to the finished realistic product. The essence of performance-based tasks is that they require that students generate and produce rather than remember and repeat. While performance assessments differ along numerous dimensions, including length of the task and its focus, they all require that students use and apply critical skills and knowledge to demonstrate understanding. Performance tasks can ignite learning. Students can rise to the challenge of tasks that call for the application of knowledge. In fact, being an active way of learning and assessing, performance assessments can be considered a recommended methodology and efficient English language learning strategy.