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Article published In: Australian Review of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 41:1 (2018) ► pp.4–27

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Understanding Chinese EFL teachers’ conceptions and practices of assessment

Implications for teacher assessment literacy development

 | University of Macau
 | University of Macau
 | Guangzhou University
 | University of Macau
Published online: 12 October 2018
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/aral.17077.gan
Abstract
This paper reports on findings from an ongoing research project exploring Chinese EFL teachers’ conceptions of assessment and their classroom assessment practices, as well as to examine the relationship between these two. The sample for the study consisted of 107 EFL teachers from 18 secondary schools who completed a Chinese version of the Teachers’ Conceptions of Assessment inventory (Brown, G. T. L., Hui, S. K. F., Yu, F. W. M., & Kennedy, K. J. (2011). Teachers’ conceptions of assessment in Chinese contexts: A tripartite model of accountability, improvement, and irrelevance. International Journal of Educational Research, 50(5–6), 307–320. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) and the Classroom Assessment Practices Questionnaire modified from Assessment Practices Inventory (Zhang, Z., & Burry-Stock, J. (2003). Classroom assessment practices and teachers’ self-perceived assessment skills. Applied Measurement in Education, 161, 323–342. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). This study found that Chinese EFL teachers strongly associated assessment as a means of improving students’ EFL learning’ with assessment as a means of cultivating positive moral and personal character contributing to students’ lifelong learning and good citizenship. Results also showed that although there existed some level of alignment of teaching and assessment in the classroom, traditional assessment practices rather than alternative assessment such as student self-assessment were seen by the EFL teachers as contributing to students’ learning and making individual and school accountable, which is potentially a matter of some concern if innovative assessment reform that avoids using mandated external examinations is to be carried out in the Chinese EFL classroom. Implications of the results for Chinese EFL teacher assessment literacy development are also discussed
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Teacher conceptions of assessment
  • 3.Conceptualizing classroom assessment practices
  • 4.Research context
  • 5.Methodology
    • 5.1Research questions
    • 5.2Participants
    • 5.3Instruments
  • 6.Results
    • 6.1Chinese EFL teachers’ conceptions of assessment
    • 6.2Chinese EFL teachers’ assessment practices
    • 6.3Relationships between Chinese EFL teacher assessment conceptions and assessment practices
  • 7.Discussion
  • 8.Conclusion and implications
  • References
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