Understanding language assessment literacy: Developing language assessments

Yıl 2018, Cilt: 14 Sayı: 1, 178 - 193, 13.03.2018

Ahmet Erdost Yastıbaş , Mehmet Takkaç

Öz

Please fill up the following information accurately. (Please use Times New Roman, 12 pt.
Understanding language assessment literacy: Developing language assessments
Language assessment literacy has become a critical competence for a language teacher to have. Accordingly, there are many studies in the literature which have researched different aspects of language assessment literacy (i.e., language assessment training, professional development and language assessment literacy levels of language teachers). However, they have not investigated how language teachers develop appropriate language assessment according to instructional purposes. Therefore, this study has aimed to reveal the development of language assessment by language teachers. The study was designed as a qualitative study and was carried out with eight participants working in a Turkish foundation university as English language instructors. Think-aloud protocols were used to collect data and the collected data were content-analyzed. The results of the study have indicated that developing language assessments has a critical, student- and course book-centered structure which helps to make exams valid in terms of content and construct validity. This structure also helps to have positive washback effects on students. Its limitations were explained and suggestions for further studies were made.
Information about Author(s)*
Author 1
Author (Last name, First name)	Yastıbaş, Ahmet Erdost
Affiliated institution (University)	Ankara
Country	Turkey
Email address	[e-mail]
Department & Rank
Corresponding author (Yes/No) Write only one corresponding author.	Yes
Author 2
Author (Last name, First name)	Takkaç, Mehmet
Affiliated institution (University)	Atatürk University
Country	Turkey
Email address	[e-mail]
Department & Rank	Department of English Language Teaching
Corresponding author (Yes/No)
Author 3
Author (Last name, First name)
Affiliated institution (University)
Country
Email address
Department & Rank
Corresponding author (Yes/No)
Author 4
Author (Last name, First name)
Affiliated institution (University)
Country
Email address
Department & Rank
Corresponding author (Yes/No)

Anahtar Kelimeler

Language assessment literacy; developing language assessment

Kaynakça

• American Federation of Teachers, National Council on Measurement in Education, & National Education Association. (1990). Standards for teacher competence in educational assessment of students. Retrieved from http://buros.org/standards-teacher-competence-educational-assessment-students
• Bailey, K. M. & Brown, J. D. (1996). Language testing courses: What are they? In A. Cumming & R. Berwick (Eds.), Validation in language testing (pp. 236-256). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
• Brindley, G. (2008). Educational reform and language testing. In E. Shohamy & N. H. Hornberger (Eds.), Encyclopedia of language and education (2nd ed.) (pp. 365-378). Springer Science+Business Media LLC.
• Broadfoot, P. M. (2005). Dark alleys and blind bends: Testing the language of learning. Language Testing, 22(2), 123-141. doi: 10.1191/0265532205lt302oa
• Brown, H. D. (2004). Language assessment: Principles and classroom practices. Turkey: Pearson Education Inc.
• Brown, J. D. & Bailey, K. M. (2008). Language testing courses: What are they in 2007? Language Testing, 25(3), 349-383. doi: 10.1177/0265532208090157
• Büyükkarcı, K. (2014). Assessment beliefs and practices of language teachers in primary education. International Journal of Instruction, 7(1), 107-120.
• Büyükkarcı, K. (2016). Identifying the areas for English language teacher development: A study of assessment literacy. Pegem Eğitim ve Öğretim Dergisi, 6(3), 333-346.
• Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, California, the United States of America: Sage Publications.
• Davison, C. (2004). The contradictory culture of teacher-based assessment: ESL teacher assessment practices in Australian and Hong Kong secondary schools. Language Testing, 21(3), 305-334. doi: 10.1191/0265532204lt286oa
• Dörnyei, Z. (2011). Research methods in applied linguistics. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
• Fonteyn, M. E., Kuipers, B., & Grobe, S. J. (1993). A description of think aloud method and protocol analysis. Qualitative Health Research, 3(4), 430-441.
• Han, T. & Kaya, H. İ. (2014). Turkish EFL teachers’ assessment preferences and practices in the context of constructivist instruction. Journal of Studies in Education, 4(1), 77-93.
• Hasselgreen, A., Carlsen, C., & Helness, H. (2004). European survey of language testing and assessment needs. Report: Part one – general findings. Retrieved from http://www.ealta.eu.org/documents/resources/survey-report-pt1.pdf
• Hatipoğlu, Ç. (2010, Winter). Summative evaluation of an English language testing and evaluation course for future English language teachers in Turkey. ELTED, 13, 40-51.
• Hatipoğlu, Ç. (2015, May). Diversity in language testing and assessment literacy of language teachers in Turkey. Paper presented at the 3rd ULEAD Congress, International Congress on Applied Linguistics: Current Issues in Applied Linguistics, Çanakkale, Turkey.
• Hatipoğlu, Ç. & Erçetin, G. (2016). Türkiye’de yabancı dilde ölçme ve değerlendirme eğitiminin geçmişi ve bugünü. In S. Akcan & Y. Bayyurt (Eds), 3. ulusal yabancı dil eğitimi kurultayı: Türkiye’deki yabancı dil eğitimi üzerine görüş ve düşünceler 23-24 Ekim 2014, konferanstan seçkiler (pp. 72-89). İstanbul, Turkey: Boğaziçi University.
• Inbar-Lourie, O. (2008a). Constructing a language assessment knowledge base: A focus on language assessment courses. Language Testing, 25(3), 385-402. doi: 10.1177/0265532208090158
• Inbar-Lourie, O. (2008b). Language assessment culture. In E. Shohamy & N. H. Hornberger (Eds.), Encyclopedia of language and education (2nd ed.) (pp. 285-299). Springer Science+Business Media LLC.
• Inbar-Lourie, O. (2013). Language assessment literacy. In C. A. Chapelle (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics (pp. 1-8). Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
• Jeong, H. (2013). Defining assessment literacy: Is it different for language testers and non-language testers? Language Testing, 30(3), 345-362.
• Jin, Y. (2010). The place of language testing and assessment in the preparation of foreign language teachers in China. Language Testing, 27(4), 555-584. doi: 10.1177/0265532209351431
• Kiomrs, R., Abdolmehdi, R., & Naser, R. (2011). On the interaction of test washback and teacher assessment literacy: The case of Iranian EFL secondary school teachers. English Language Testing, 4(1), 156-161.
• Köksal, D. (2004). Assessing teachers’ testing skills in ELT and enhancing their professional development through distance learning on the net. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education-TOJDE, 5(1).
• Lam, R. (2015). Language assessment training in Hong Kong: Implications for language assessment literacy. Language Testing, 32(2), 169-197. doi: 10.1177/0265532214554321
• Leaph, K., Channy, M., & Chan, N. K. (2015). Cambodian ELT university practitioners’ use of standardized tests for practice and assessment. Language Education in Asia, 6(1), 4-16.
• Lincoln, Y. S. & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
• Mahapatra, S. K. (2016). Tracking the development of teachers’ language assessment literacy: A case study. In G. Pickering & P. Gunashekar (Eds.), Ensuring quality in English language teacher education (pp. 106-114). New Delhi, India: British Council.
• Malone, M. E. (2008). Training in language assessment. In E. Shohamy & N. H. Hornberger (Eds.), Encyclopedia of language and education (2nd ed.) (pp. 225-239). Springer Science+Business Media LLC.
• Malone, M. E. (2013). The essentials of assessment literacy: Contrasts between testers and users. Language Testing, 30(3), 329-344. doi: 10.1177/0265532213480129
• Mede, E. & Atay, D. (2017). English language teachers’ assessment literacy: The Turkish context. Ankara Üniversitesi TÖMER Dil Dergisi, 168(1), 43-60.
• Montee, M., Bach, A., Donovan, A., & Thompson, L. (2013, Spring). LCTL teachers’ assessment knowledge and practices: An exploratory study. Journal of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages, 14, 1-32.
• Munoz, A. P., Palacio, M., & Escobar, L. (2012). Teachers’ beliefs about assessment in an EFL context in Colombia. PROFILE, 14(1), 143-158.
• Nier, V. C., Donovan, A. E., & Malone, M. E. (2013). Promoting assessment literacy for language instructors through an online course. Retrieved from http://www.cal.org/ecolt/pdfs/AB_Poster_10-21-2013_FINAL.pdf
• O’Loughlin, K. (2013). Developing the assessment literacy of university proficiency test users. Language Testing, 30(3), 363-380. doi: 10.1177/0265532213480336
• Öz, H. (2014). Turkish teachers’ practices for assessment for learning in the English as a foreign language classroom. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 5(4), 775-785.
• Öz, S. & Atay, D. (2017). Turkish EFL instructors’in-class language assessment literacy: Perceptions and practices. ELT Research Journal, 6(1), 25-44.
• Rea-Dickins, P. (2004). Understanding teachers as agents of assessment. Language Testing, 21(3), 249-258.
• Rea-Dickins, P. (2008). Classroom-based language assessment. In E. Shohamy & N. H. Hornberger (Eds.), Encyclopedia of language and education (2nd ed.) (pp. 257-271). Springer Science+Business Media LLC.
• Riestenberg, K., Silvio, F. D., Donovan, A., & Malone, M. E. (2010, Fall). Development of a computer-based workshop to foster language assessment literacy. Journal of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages, 9, 21-42.
• Rogers, W. T., Cheng, L., & Hu, H. (2007). ESL/EFL instructors’ beliefs about assessment and evaluation. Canadian and International Education/Education canadienne at interntionale, 36(1), 39-61.
• Rogier, D. (2014). Assessment literacy: Building a base for better teaching and learning. English Teaching Forum, 3, 2-13.
• Şahin, S. (2015, May). Language testing and assessment (LTA) literacy of high school English language teachers in Turkey. Paper presented at the 3rd ULEAD Congress, International Congress on Applied Linguistics: Current Issues in Applied Linguistics, Çanakkale, Turkey.
• Sarıçoban, A. (2011). A study on the English language teachers’ preparation of tests. Hacettepe Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 41, 398-410.
• Scarino, A. (2013). Language assessment literacy as self-awareness: Understanding the role of interpretation in assessment and in teacher learning. Language Testing, 30(3), 309-327. doi: 10.1177/0265532213480128
• Talib, R., Kamsah, M. Z., Ghafar, M. N. A., Zakaria, M. A. Z. M., & Naim, H. A. (2013). T-assess: Assessment literacy for Malaysian teachers. Paper presented at the International Conference on Assessment for Higher Education Across Domains and Skills, Kuala Lumpur.
• Tulgar, A. T. (2017). Selfie@ssessment as an alternative form of self-assessment at undergraduate level in higher education. Journal of Language and Linguistics Studies, 13(1), 321-335.
• Vogt, K., Guerin, E., Sahinkarakas, S., Pavlou, P., Tsagari, D., & Afiri, Q. (2008). Assessment literacy of foreign language teachers in Europe – current trends and future perspectives. Paper presented at the 5th EALTA Conference, Athens, Greece.
• Walters, F. S. (2010). Cultivating assessment literacy: Standards evaluation through language-test specification reverse engineering. Language Assessment Quarterly, 7(4), 317-342. doi: 10.1080/15434303.2010.516042
• Xu, Y. & Brown, G. T. L. (2017). University English teacher assessment literacy: A survey-test report from China. Papers in Language Testing and Assessment, 6(1), 133-158.
• Yıldırım, A. & Şimşek, H. (2013). Sosyal bilimlerde nitel araştırma yöntemleri (9th ed.). Ankara: Seçkin Yayıncılık.