Examining Assessment Design in the Pakistan English Language Curriculum at Secondary Level: A Comprehensive Qualitative Analysis of its Implementation

ABSTRACT The assessment is an integrated part of the learning process. The effectiveness of assessment design and practice during and after teaching will determine how language skills develop. This research study critically analyzes the Pakistan language curriculum 2006, regarding language assessment design. The study aimed to investigate the assessment design, mechanism, methods, and strategies envisaged in Pakistan's 2006 language curriculum. The study's goals were to investigate the LNC's 2006 language assessment plan and comprehend how extensive the 2006 national curriculum's assessment design is intended. Another goal is the extent to which this design supports language assessment and addresses language assessment ideas. The Pakistani national curriculum from 2006 will be the subject of a document analysis that considers both formative and summative assessment methods, techniques, and strategies. The language assessment theories and Bloom’s assessment mechanism were used as theoretical lenses. The document analysis model proposed by Bowen (2009) was used for this investigation. The study's findings demonstrate that Pakistan's LNC 2006 assessment design could be more helpful in developing language skills, by improving its level. The assessment strategies and methods for the development of every language skill are missing. The action verbs used for, Standards, benchmarks, and SLOs are at a deficient level and belong to Bloom's Taxonomy's first three stages of the cognitive domain. The summative test rather than ongoing assessment is indicated; hence the marking scheme is solely meant to be used for writing skills. Speaking and listening skills are nearly entirely ignored in assessment design. The standard for the development of textbook activities is likewise deficient in terms of assessment. The guidelines for teachers that train them on assessment are absent. In order to improve the language assessment design, policymakers and curriculum developers will use the study's findings. The findings will also help teachers comprehend and implement language assessment design appropriately. Keywords: Assessment, assessment design, language assessment, curriculum, textbooks, instruction.