The effect of Peer Assessments Strategy on Students' Speaking Skills At the Third Graders of SMPN 3 Tarakan
Speaking is one of the four language skills, described as communicating thoughts, views, or messages via spoken language. This study aimed to analyze the effect of using the Peer Assessment Strategy to improve the speaking ability of third-grade students of SMPN 3 Tarakan. This study applied a pre-experimental design with a one-group pre-test and post-test model involving 29 students. Data were collected through a speaking performance test, which was assessed using the speaking rubric with five aspects comprehension, pronunciation, grammar, fluency, and vocabulary. The same test was administered before and after the treatment. The treatment consisted of four speaking-focused meetings that included peer assessment activities The results showed a significant improvement in students' speaking performance after the treatment. The mean score increased from 36 97 in the pre-test to 61.66 in the post-test. The parred samples t-test showed a significance value of 000, indicating a statistically significant difference Among all aspects of speaking, grammar had the highest improvement, and pronunciation had the lowest improvement, although it still increased. The results of this study conclude that peer assessment was an effective strategy to improve speaking by encouraging reflection, feedback exchange, and student engagement.