Assessment literacy perceptions of tertiary level English language professionals

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore the assessment literacy perceptions of English language professionals. This mixed method case study was conducted through surveys and interviews with English language professionals at the English preparatory school of a foundation university in Ankara, Turkey. The survey items were adapted from Kremmel and Harding (2020) with the purpose to explore the perceived assessment literacy levels of English language teachers. The survey was completed by 23 English language teachers, four assessment specialists and seven academic leaders. In addition, 10 teachers, four assessment specialists and seven academic leaders were interviewed to explore the perceived relationship between their assessment literacy and teaching quality. Descriptive statistics were used for quantitative data analysis. The interview data were categorized based on the assessment literacy dimensions specified in Taylor’s framework (2013) and analyzed through thematic content analysis. The results indicated that English language teachers are moderately knowledgeable and slightly skilled in assessment literacy dimensions. The study also concluded that English language professionals establish a meaningful relationship between several dimensions of assessment literacy and their teaching quality. The overall results suggest that English language professionals need to be provided with further training to improve their assessment literacy and to empower assessment for learning.