A Comparative Study Of Assessment Literacy Between Novice And Veteran Secondary School EFL Teachers

Assessment is an inseparable part in education,which acts as a bridge between teaching and learning.Whether a teacher has the ability to implement assessment activities appropriately plays a crucial role in improving students' achievements and teachers' teaching ability.Assessment literacy(AL)refers to the knowledge and skills teachers are required to possess in order to conduct assessment activities effectively.It has become a requirement for teachers' professional development.Popham(2004)once pointed out that lacking of AL means professional suicide.However,previous research indicated that the overall level of teachers' AL is still unsatisfying either in the west or in China,although AL is attracting growing interests among educators.Within the theoretical framework consisting of assessment attitude,assessment knowledge,and assessment skills proposed by Zheng Donghui(2009),using both qualitative and quantitative research methods,this study aims to examine secondary school EFL teachers' overall level of AL,as well as the possible significant differences in AL between novice and veteran secondary school EFL teachers.In order to achieve the goal,the secondary school EFL teachers engaged in this study were divided into two groups according to their years of teaching(50 novice teachers,99 veteran teachers).Comparisons were made between the two groups regarding to their AL and each dimension of AL.The 149 participants of this study were English teachers came from eight secondary schools.Related data were collected by using a self-developed AL questionnaire,semi-structured interviews,as well as classroom observations,and then analyzed in EXCEL and SPSS.20.The results showed that the AL of secondary school EFL teachers situated at a middle level.Their assessment attitudes were positive,but their assessment knowledge and skills were inadequate.Then,veteran teachers achieved higher in every dimension of AL compared with novice teachers.No significant differences were found in the overall level of AL,assessment attitude,and basic assessment theory.However,significant differences were found between the two groups in terms of assessment knowledge and skills regarding to classroom assessment and large-scale standardized test.Further analyses on the teachers' background indicated that only teacher education background and assessment experience caused significant differences to secondary school EFL teachers' AL.And all the examined six factors caused no significant difference to the AL between novice and veteran teachers.The findings in this study indicate that it is urgent to further improve the AL of secondary school EFL teachers.Pre-service assessment courses study and in-service assessment training are the two important channels to improve both novice and veteran secondary school EFL teachers' AL.