Designing Meaningful Evaluation

Evaluation is one of the most important parts of implementation.

Guide: Assessment and Evaluation

Before designing evaluation tools or planning assessments, this guide introduces key principles to support coherent and fair evaluation practices:

• Types of assessment and evaluation – understand the distinct roles of diagnostic, formative, summative, and certificative evaluation, and how each supports learning at different stages
• Task design in ESL – prioritize meaningful communication, integrate skills, and ground tasks in authentic or plausible situations
• Use of success indicators – select and combine indicators strategically across tasks to reflect learning over time, rather than in a single evaluation
• Evaluation as professional judgment – rely on multiple sources of evidence, varied contexts, and documented progress to make informed and equitable decisions

Together, these principles help teachers design evaluation practices that are aligned with the devis, support student learning, and ensure that judgments about achievement are valid, transparent, and fair.

Seeing It in Action

The following final exams scenario and sample descriptors present a concrete example of what the implementation of the new devis for A01 could look like.

Final Exams A01 - Snapshot

Final Exams A01 –Detailed Overview

Final Exams A01 –Lesson Plans and Materials

This sample final exam scenario was developed by the ESL Community of Practice as a practical model for teachers transitioning from the previous devis to the new ones. It presents a coherent, three-week evaluation sequence that integrates reinvestment, the writing process, and oral interaction in a structured and manageable way. The package includes detailed lesson plans, supporting materials, and evaluation grids.

The model can be readily adapted for levels A02–A04, as well as for B-block courses.

As departments grow more comfortable with the new devis and the action-oriented approach, they may choose to expand toward a wider range of evaluation formats that promote authentic, meaningful language use in real-world contexts.

Taking Evaluation to the Next Level

AI Prompt Generator for Creating Descriptors

This tool helps teachers generate customized rubric prompts using AI. It ensures alignment with the devis while allowing flexibility for specific tasks.

Interview with Caroline Cormier and Bruno Voisard on Specs Grading

This interview explains specs grading and how it can support competency-based evaluation in a fair and transparent way.

Next: Recapping the Apply Section

Final Thought

Implementation is not about starting from zero.

It is about:

• building on what you already do
• aligning with a clearer framework
• moving forward step by step

This is our reform.

Now it’s time to bring it to life.

Continue to Adapt to see how teachers across Québec are already putting these ideas into practice.