ELT practitioners can accommodate both increased learner involvement in skill area testing and still maintain high testing standards. Classroom assessment offers an ideal environment for piloting and implementing learner- centered assessment techniques. Unlike national or standardized exam situations, in classroom testing situations teachers often have control over exam development and administration. The classroom assessment environment provides opportunities to hand over decision-making duties and creative tasks to learners. Learners learn primarily because of what they bring to their classroom experience in terms of their perceived needs, motivations, past experiences, background knowledge, interests, and creative skills.
Learners are active as opposed to passive recipients of knowledge.
They may assume a decision-making role in the classroom, often deciding what is to be learned, through which activities, and at what pace. Learners can also produce materials and provide realia for the classroom. Classroom teachers can expect similar benefits from adopting assessment practices that utilize learner-centered techniques. Classroom teachers who involve their students in test development, administration, and marking may find their students becoming more motivated and responsible. Learner involvement in classroom assessment can also raise both teacher and learner awareness of learning and test- taking strategies.