Classroom assessment practices of English language instructors

Abstract

Assessment of students is an essential part of instruction in both teaching and learning. With the recognition of alternative assessment methods, classroom assessment has gained attention focusing on learning of students. However, high-stakes testing turns classroom assessment into teachers’ high stakes decisions, ignoring the development of learners. In the context of language teaching at tertiary level, school of foreign languages serves as a gatekeeper by deciding on whether new students are proficient enough to start their professional education. Therefore, these schools impose a proficiency exam whose impact is relatively high-stakes. Thus, this study aims to have a descriptive investigation of the classroom assessment practices of instructors by considering the purpose, methods, and procedures of assessment and compares the context between state and private universities. Based on the quantitative and qualitative data, the results depicted that uniformity regarding classroom assessment practices of the instructors was observed; however, to what extent this uniformity embraces formative assessment practices needs to be further explored. The study also implies instructors’ need for such training that involves theoretical and practical aspects of classroom assessment at both pre-service and in-service level.