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In this unit, there are different ways of evaluating students’ levels and progress as well as some of the common external exams that may need to prepare the students for. There are a number of ways to assess a student’s language level by tutorials, evaluation by the students and tests. As for tutorials, it can take place with the whole group or with individual students. It is unlikely that the teacher will have the time to conduct individual tutorials every lesson but it might be useful to spend some time, perhaps the last ten minutes at the end of the week, reviewing the work done, discussing the aims of the lessons, how well the students performed the tasks, whether there are any problems. Students can be evaluated by means of a questionnaire or guided discussion. For instance, they can be asked whether they feel that they are getting enough grammar, if the balance of skills work is right, if they think the work is too easy, too difficult or just right. The results of the survey can then be discussed and future lessons considered in the light of students’ comments. It is often appropriate to give tests at different stages in a course. Teachers often give a periodic progress test on the word covered. This can be in the form of a formal written test, or a more informal group activity, even a game – as long as it gives information to both you and the student as to how they are progressing. These tests may be every week, month, term, or after a certain amount of the course book has been covered. Many teachers prefer to give regular but short tests and then a longer, formal test every term. If the students are following a course leading to an external examination, they are usually eager to do practice tests to get some idea of how close they are to the required standard, and also to get used to the structure of the examination. Another test that students might take is an achievement test, which is usually an internal test given at the end of a course at the end of the school year. These tests are designed to enable teachers to place new students into the correct class according to their language ability. Most schools conduct this type of testing by multiple choice questions and a spoken interview to make sure the student is also able to communicate and participate at the required level. These kinds of tests usually start with fairly simple questions and become progressively more difficult. Progress tests should be used periodically to argue what language has been remembered or acquired and what language has been forgotten. These tests are useful to let teachers and students know what language items need more work. Progress tests should include a balance of all four skills such as reading, writing, speaking and listening, as well as grammar and vocabulary that have been covered. Some schools keep progress tests on files to match topics and language from the course books in use, otherwise progress tests can often be taken from the relevant teacher’s book. Many teacher are not in favour of formal testing as it is often more of a test of memory than actual knowledge. Such teachers believe that as they see the students on a regular basis, they are able to measure their progress by ongoing observation in the classroom. Diagnostic tests are basically similar in content to placement tests and are sometimes more extensive. They are given at the start of the course to see what the students already know and to help the teacher to prepare lessons and materials that will enable students to work on the areas of difficulty indentified by the test. Practice tests should follow the format and the structure of the external examination that they are being given in preparation for.