ELT Teachers’ Language Assessment Literacy: Perceptions and Practices

A critical understanding and implementation of assessment is an essential aspect of any language program. There has
been growing interest in examining teachers’ mastery and application of assessment literacy which addresses the
knowledge and skills teachers need in order to use assessment effectively to evaluate and improve student learning.
The present study was carried out with the aim of examining assessment-related perceptions and practices of Iranian
ELT teachers. Eighteen male (4) and female (14) EFL instructors enjoying various educational status and levels of
experience from different English language institutes in Iran participated in this study. They were divided into three
groups based on their teaching experience (low, mid, high). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with all the
participants on an individual basis. All the interviews were recorded by voice recorder and saved in audio files in
MP3 format. Then, they were transcribed and analyzed through content analysis to discern recurring themes.
Analysis of the responses revealed that teachers across the three groups were familiar with the basic concepts and
terminologies in assessment. Another noteworthy finding is that teaching experience appears to make no significant
difference in the way teachers perceive assessment. Moreover, although the participants in this study were
assessment literate, this literacy was not reflected in their practices. The findings have implications for language
testing profession and also provide suggestions for further research.