Vol. 5, Issue 4, Part C (2019)

Abstract
The current trend in second language teaching in Cameroon is that of a shift from the Objective based approach also called the communicative approach to the competency-based approach (CBA). This alteration should normally trigger change in the objectives, material designing and above all, the assessment strategies to reflect the new method. In the light of the above, this paper investigates the assessment tactics of teachers of the junior secondary school levels in a bit to check if it is in line with the competency-based assessment principles. It thus juxtaposes the theory of the competency-based assessment versus the practice in Cameroon. This researcher opines that, the principles of a CBA assessment are not respected by most language teachers in Cameroon because of lack of knowledge and the difficulty in material designing and development. Through the use of a questionnaire administered to teachers of English, observation of past test and examination questions, observation of the logbook and interviews granted to some pedagogic inspectors, data has been elicited and analysed. Findings revealed that the assessment tactics used by teachers do not reflect that required of the competency-based assessment. Rather, the judgemental policy continues to follow that of the objective based approach and thus structuralism and linguistic input is prioritized over functionality and usage required of the current methods.