Abstract:
The thesis of this paper is that evaluations and ethics are always located, and that teaching (English, in this case) is between the two. Given todayÝs globalisation however, matters of competence and excellence are not as they were. A new ethics in evaluation needs to take into account todayÝs changing world, which includes different valuings and definings of skills and knowledges. Norway and Australia provide some examples of the historical shifts between summative and formative assessments of students' work. These are seen in relation to British work regarding educational assessment. Implicitly the paper points to changes in Higher Education practices, to the matter of changing English itself, and to what it is like to teach as a foreigner. The paper is a result of one year's teaching of (Australian) English in Norway, with teacher-students visiting London and Oslo schools. The paper deals with (1) the students and the context, (2) evaluation and assessment, and (3) ethics.