چکیده:
Professionalism requires that language teachers be assessment literate so as to assess students’
performance more effectively. However, assessment literacy (AL) has remained a relatively
unexplored area. Given the centrality of AL in educational settings, in the present study, we identified the factors constituting AL among university instructors and examined the ways English Language Instructors (ELIs) and Content Instructors (CIs) differed on AL. A researcher-made, 50-item questionnaire was constructed and administered to both groups: ELIs (N = 155) and CIs (N = 155). A follow-up interview was conducted to validate the findings. IBM SPSS (version 21) was used to analyse the data quantitatively. Results of exploratory factor analysis showed that AL included three factors: theoretical dimension of testing, test construction and analysis, and statistical knowledge. Further, results revealed statistically significant differences between ELIs and CIs in AL. Qualitative results showed that the differences were primarily related to the amount of training in assessment, methods of evaluation, purpose of assessment, and familiarity with psychometric properties of tests. Building on these findings, we discuss implications for teachers’ professional development.
خلاصه ماشینی:
"Given the centrality of AL in educational settings, in the present study, we identified the factors constituting AL among university instructors and examined the ways English Language Instructors (ELIs) and Content Instructors (CIs) differed on AL.
From Davies’ point of view, LAL can be described as consisting of necessary training regarding appropriate methodologies such as item writing, statistics, test analysis, and software programs for test delivery (skills), relevant background about different models of language learning, language teaching, and language testing (knowledge), and issues such as fairness, impact, ethicality, and professionalism in the field (principles).
Based on his findings, Fulcher offered the following comprehensive and empirically-driven definition of LAL for language teachers as The knowledge, skills and abilities required to design, develop, maintain or evaluate large-scale standardized and/or classroom based tests, familiarity with test processes, and awareness of principles and concepts that guide and underpin practice, including ethics and codes of practice.
The questions were mostly concerned with common test methods, alternative assessment techniques, self-evaluation of the amount of instructors’ knowledge regarding assessment, the training that the instructors had received regarding assessment, their perceived needs for further training, and suggested methods for promoting AL in universities and keeping themselves abreast of the latest developments in testing, modification of their teaching methodology according to feedback received on test results, ethical issues in testing, and the role of modern technology including computers in administering and scoring tests."