Refining the Assessment Literacy Competence among K12 EFL Teachers

Year 2024, Volume: 11 Issue: 4, 250 - 266

Özlem Doğan Burcu Ünal

https://doi.org/10.17275/per.24.59.11.4

Abstract

Language assessment literacy as a relatively new term denotes teachers’ understanding of the assessment construct both theoretically and practically. Given the importance of assessment in the teaching and learning process, the main purpose of the current study is to investigate the general and skill-based language assessment literacy levels of EFL teachers working at K12 schools in Türkiye and to analyse their needs both in pre-service and in-service years. Considering the purpose of the study, a mixed-method research design was employed. At the initial phase of the study, the quantitative data were collected by means of the Language Assessment Knowledge Scale (LAKS), and 272 EFL teachers working at K12 schools in Türkiye participated. Descriptive and inferential analyses were run, and results showed that the participants’ mean score in LAKS was 31.59 out of 60. The participants demonstrated the highest level of knowledge in assessing reading, while assessing listening was identified as the area where teachers had the least expertise. In the second phase, semi-structured interviews were conducted with volunteers to learn more about the teachers’ opinions on language assessment knowledge and their needs. Qualitative findings complemented the findings from the questionnaire by revealing details about the reasons of the participants’ scores in LAK scale.

Keywords

assessment literacy, K12 teachers, language teacher needs;, pre-service and in-service teacher education

Ethical Statement

The formal ethics approval was granted by the Social and Human Sciences Research and Publication Ethics Committee of Yıldız Technical University.

References

• Baker, B. A., & Riches, C. (2017). The development of EFL examinations in Haiti: Collaboration and language assessment literacy development. Language Testing, 35(4), 557–581. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532217716732
• Ballıdağ, S. (2020). Exploring the language assessment literacy of Turkish in-service EFL teachers. (Unpublished master’s thesis). Kocaeli University, Türkiye.
• Cirit, N. C. (2015). Assessing ELT pre-service teachers via Web 2.0 tools: Perceptions toward traditional, online and alternative assessment. The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 14(3), 9-19.
• Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Creswell J. W. (2008). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating qualitative and quantitative research (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
• Çetin-Argün, B. (2020). Language assessment knowledge of preservice teachers of English as a foreign language. (Unpublished master’s thesis). Çağ University, Türkiye.
• Deluca, C., & Klinger, D. A. (2010). Assessment literacy development: Identifying gaps in teacher candidates’ learning. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 17(4), 419-438. https://doi:10.1080/0969594x.2010.516643
• Doğru, D. (2020). Assessment literacy conceptions and practices EFL teachers in higher education. (Unpublished master’s thesis). Bahçeşehir University, Türkiye.
• Fulcher, G. (2012). Assessment literacy for the language classroom. Language Assessment Quarterly, 9(2), 113–132. doi:10.1080/15434303.2011.642041
• George, D. & Mallery, P. (2012). IBM SPSS statistics 19 step by step a simple guide and reference. Routledge.
• Hatipoğlu, C. (2010). Summative evaluation of an English language testing and evaluation course for future English language teachers in Türkiye. English Language Teacher Education and Development (ELTED) Journal, 13, 40-51.
• Jannati, S. (2015). ELT teachers’ language assessment literacy: Perceptions and practices. The International Journal of Research in Teacher Education, 6(2), 26-37.
• Kaya, T. (2020). Exploring language assessment literacy of EFL instructors in language preparatory programs. (Unpublished master’s thesis). Bahçeşehir University, Türkiye.
• Lam, R. (2014). Language assessment training in Hong Kong: Implications for language assessment literacy. Language Testing, 32(2), 169–197. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532214554321
• Mede, E., & Atay, D. (2017). English language teachers’ assessment literacy: The Turkish context. Dil Dergisi, 168 (1), 1-5.
• Mertler, A. C. (2003). Secondary teachers’ assessment literacy: Does classroom experience make a difference? American Secondary Education, 33(1), 49-64.
• Ölmezer-Öztürk, E. (2018). Developing and validating language assessment knowledge scale (LAKS) and exploring the assessment knowledge of EFL teachers. (Unpublished doctoral thesis). Anadolu University, Türkiye.
• Öz, S., & Atay, D. (2017). Turkish EFL instructors’ in-class language assessment literacy perceptions and practices. ELT Research Journal, 6(1), 25-44.
• Plake, B. S. (1993). Teacher assessment literacy: Teachers’ competencies in the educational assessment of students. Mid-Western Educational Researcher, 6 (1), 21- 27.
• Popham, W. J. (2009). Assessment literacy for teachers: Faddish or fundamental? Theory Into Practice, 48(1), 4–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405840802577536
• Price, M., Rust, C., O’Donovan, B., Handley, K., & Bryant, R. (2012). Assessment literacy: The foundation for improving student learning. The Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development.
• Purpura, J. E. (2016). Second and foreign language assessment. The Modern Language Journal, 100(1), 190–208. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12308
• Semiz, Ö. & Odabaş, K. (2016). Turkish EFL teachers’ familiarity of and perceived needs for language testing and assessment literacy. Proceedings of the 3rd International Linguistics and Language Studies Conference, 3(1), 66-72.
• Sevilen, Ç. (2021). Exploring the language assessment literacy of EFL instructors and students’ perceptions about assessment in English preparatory program. (Unpublished master’s thesis). Bahçeşehir University, Türkiye.
• Stiggins, R. J. (1995). Assessment literacy for the 21st century. Phi Delta Kappa, 77(3), 238.
• Tamerer, R. (2019). An investigation of Turkish pre-service EFL teachers’ language assessment literacy. (Unpublished master’s thesis). Kocaeli University, Türkiye.
• Tao, N. (2014). Development and validation of classroom assessment literacy scales: English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in a Cambodian higher education setting. (Unpublished PhD dissertation). Victoria University, Australia.
• Tavşancıl. (2006). Tutumların ölçülmesi ve SPSS ile veri analizi (Measurement of Attitudes and Data Analysis with SPSS). Ankara: Nobel Yayın Dağıtım (Nobel Publication Distribution).
• Taylor, L. (2009). Developing assessment literacy. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 29, 21-36. https://doi:10.1017/S0267190509090035
• Vogt, K., & Tsagari, D. (2014). Assessment literacy of foreign language teachers: Findings of a European study. Language Assessment Quarterly, 11(4), 374–402. https://doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2014.960046
• Volante, L., & Fazio, X. (2007). Exploring teacher candidates’ assessment literacy: Implications for teacher education reform and professional development. Canadian Journal of Education, 30(3), 749–770.
• Webb, N. (2002). Assessment literacy in a standards-based urban education setting. In annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans.
• Xu, Y. & Brown, G. T. L. (2017). University English teacher assessment literacy: A survey-test report from China. Language Testing and Assessment, 6(1), 133-158.
• Yetkin, C. (2015). An investigation on ELT teacher candidates' assessment literacy. (Unpublished master’s thesis). Çağ University, Türkiye.