Iranian EFL Teacher's Assessment Literacy and Inclination towards the Use of Alternative Assessment

Abstract

Assessment literacy (AL), traditionally defined as a basic understanding of educational assessment and related skills to apply such knowledge to various measures of student achievement is increasingly being recognized as an integral part of teacher professionalism. Such growing interest in AL is due partly to the central role of assessment in student learning (Black & Wiliam, 1998), and to strong evidence that teachers are key agents in educational assessment. This paper is an attempt for investigation into Iranian EFL teacher's assessment literacy and inclination towards the use of alternative assessment. Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusions can be drawn; first, there is a significant positive relationship between EFL teachers’ assessment literacy and the type of alternative forms of assessment they use, that is, if the teachers are more literate in assessment, it is more probable that they utilize alternative forms of assessment. Second, Iranian teachers’ assessment literacy is significantly correlated with their years of experience. It was found that the more experienced the teachers, the more assessment literate they are. This could plausibly be justified by the premise that as the teachers gain more practice they become more familiar with the assessment approaches. Third, regarding assessment literacy, M.A. and Ph.D. teachers are significantly different from teachers with B.A. and lower degrees; i.e. the teachers with higher degrees had a higher level of assessment literacy.