A Comparative Study of the Evaluation Strategies in the LMD and Classic Systems

Abstract

The implementation of the new system « LMD » in Algerian higher education is an ambitious project .In the field of foreign language and especially in English, it is of great importance to the teaching/learning process. Indeed, the LMD system introduces new courses that are not given in the classic one at the level of first year classes in particular. In addition, it gives more importance to the continuous/ formative evaluation than the classic one does. Whereas the formative evaluation is optional in the classic system, it is compulsory in the new system. The main question here is to which extent is that evaluation efficient in case that the students are aware of its impact on their success by the end of each course. The major aim of this paper is to examine the validity and effectiveness of the “formative evaluation” in the LMD system. To answer the question stated above, the present paper takes the following elements as its basis: the students’ level, exam grades, teachers of systems opinions, the common courses syllabi, and the time allotted. To give credit to our claims, this paper relies on a restricted population of teachers who have the experience in teaching 1st year students of the English language department in both systems LMD and Classic. The study spots the light on the teacher’s assessment of the new testing tool. At the end of this work, we come to the conclusion that students in the first place have to pay much more attention to the importance and validity of the continuous evaluation in order to remedy their deficiencies that are related to the latter.