2。 Literature Review

2。1The definition of formative assessment

The formative assessment including diagnostic testing is a range of formal and informal assessment procedures conducted by teachers during the learning process in order to modify teaching and learning activities to improve student attainment。 It typically involves qualitative feedback (rather than scores) for both students and teachers that focuses on the details of content and performance。 It is commonly contrasted with summative assessment, which seeks to monitor educational outcomes, often for purposes of external accountability。 The formative assessment attaches the importance to the evaluation process。 This assessment focuses on the process of teachers’ education and teaching, rather than teachers’ education teaching effectiveness。 The teachers are not only the objects of the assessment, but also the subjects of the assessment。 Teachers’ participation in activities and evaluation is an important feature of the formative assessment。 The conclusion of the assessment serves to provide diagnostic advice for future professional development of teachers, but not just for the evaluation of teachers past work performance and implement incentive。 Compared with the summative assessment, formative assessment reflects the democratic and humanistic spirit better。

2。2 Current situation

As we known, the formative assessment is a long-term, stable and uninterrupted process; it is based on the continuous observation of students’ learning process, recording, and reflection to evaluate students。 But in the real class, the teachers just lay the emphasis on the marks of students in the all kinds of examinations, rather than the four practical skills which are extremely important for students in the learning process。文献综述

Formative assessment is to the evaluation of students' learning process, to confirm the potential of students, improve and develop the students' learning"。 The purpose of formative is to motivate students to learn, to help students effectively regulate their own learning process and make students to obtain a sense of achievement, enhance self-confidence, and cultivate the spirit of cooperation。 But, the students just are forced to improve their marks in the examination, so they may have a little interest in learning actively and positively。 And also, formative assessment is not only from the need of the one to test, but also pays more attention to the need of the one to be tested。 This assessment attaches great importance to the learning process, and students’ learning experience。 Meanwhile, it lays emphasizes on the interaction between teachers and students or between students and students。 But in the real learning and teaching process, the students dare not to talk with their teachers because they are afraid of making some mistakes in the talking process, so they may have little chance to improve their listening and speaking skills。 

2。3 Related Research

Li MeiJie uses a teacher-talking and questionnaires to study the formative assessment and specifically provide some suggestions for education administration and school management; the essay mainly investigates the teachers and the students' cognition of formative assessment, which commonly used real classroom formative assessment。 Formative assessment is beneficial to improve students' learning interest and motivation。 The study finds that the teachers and students’ understanding of formative assessment is not good, some teachers and students know little about formative assessment。 Real classroom a lot of formative assessment is only a superficial form, and doesn't really play the role of formative assessment。 Li Bin use the methods of portfolios to help students find out their problems and correct the mistakes。 Teachers will give feedbacks to the students according to the  all kinds of evaluation results timely, and let them understand their own problems, correct mistakes, improve the quality of learning。 Therefore, many feasible methods of formative assessment can be applied in the middle school English teaching。 In this essay, the author spares efforts to the applications of assessment, such as portfolios, which is a new kind of formative assessment in the teaching process。 The portfolios can help teachers and students assess better, and especially, it can be great help of forming good learning habits and methods。 And also, it puts forwards the detailed requirement to teachers, parents and peers, make the portfolios as the regular homework for students themselves。 So in the long process of finishing daily portfolios, students can form good learning habits, methods and values。