| The reform based on curriculum standards has put forward higher requirements for English teachers’ assessment literacy.Teachers need to deal with the relationship between teaching,learning and assessment,so as to achieve the purpose of“assessment for teaching” and “assessment for learning”.At present,the domestic research on English teachers’ assessment literacy pays more attention to the group of teachers in colleges and universities,we do not know much about the current situation of English teachers’ assessment literacy in primary and secondary schools.However,assessment literacy has a very important impact on teachers’ teaching quality,professional development and students’ learning effect,therefore,it is necessary to investigate the situation of secondary school English teachers’ assessment literacy.Based on Zhao Xuejing’s(2014)umbrella framework for teachers’ teaching assessment literacy,this study uses questionnaire survey and interview methods to conduct a survey research on 163 teachers and 168 students in an eastern province in China.Firstly,this research investigates the overall level of teachers’ assessment literacy,as well as teachers’ problems and deficiencies in the four dimensions of assessment awareness,assessment knowledge,assessment skills,and assessment attitude.Secondly,we triangulate the results of student questionnaires,teacher questionnaires and teacher interviews to investigate teachers’ and students’ perceptions of assessment feedback forms and assessment methods types,so as to reveal the characteristics of teachers’ assessment practices.Thirdly,this research classifies the internal and external factors that affect the assessment literacy of English teachers in secondary schools,and compares the degree of influence of different factors on teachers’ assessment literacy.This study found that:(1)Secondary school English teachers’ assessment literacy level is relatively high,but teachers attach the most importance to assessment skills and ignore assessment awareness the most;(2)Teachers prefer to give descriptive and affirmative feedback;they are able to use various assessment methods,but they seldom use alternative assessment methods,and there is a lack of active participation of students in the assessment process;(3)The four external influencing factors of “social factor”,“school factor”,“third-party assessment participants factor”and “parents factor” all have a significant impact on teachers’ assessment literacy;among them,the secondary schools’ support for cultivating teachers’ assessment ability is not enough,which has a greater impact on assessment literacy;the two internal influencing factors of “pre-service learning experience” and “in-service learning experience” also have a significant impact on teachers’ assessment literacy;the effect of in-service learning experience is more obvious than that of pre-service learning experience;participating in educational assessment courses and educational internships are important ways for teachers to improve their assessment literacy in the pre-service stage,while the way of autonomous learning is preferred after they becoming teachers.Finally,we put forward corresponding suggestions for educational administration departments,colleges and universities,secondary schools,and individual teachers from the macro,meso,and micro levels.First of all,the education administration departments should incorporate assessment literacy into the teacher qualification access system and the in-service evaluation system.Colleges and universities offering English language teaching major should improve the pre-service training plan,offer systematic educational assessment courses,and arrange for students to participate in educational internships.Secondary,secondary schools should release the power of assessment to teachers properly,increase teaching research activities with the theme of assessment,and improve teacher evaluation systems.Thirdly,teachers should take initiative to construct their self-identity of assessors,and improve their assessment literacy in assessment practice. |
