Abstract
This study explores foundation phase teachers’ assessment literacy, and their understanding and use of formative and summative assessment. Using questionnaires, observations and interviews, data were obtained from Grade 1, 2 and 3 teachers from a school each in quintile 2, 3 and 5. Teachers from all three schools demonstrated equally low levels of assessment literacy. While understanding of summative assessment was noticeably higher, all teachers demonstrated very poor understanding of formative assessment. Notwithstanding the small sample size, the study highlights the need for professional development programmes to focus on enhancing teachers’ assessment literacy. It also calls for additional research on a conceptualisation of assessment literacy that is relevant to South African teachers, and for determining the impact of concepts and practices advocated in the national assessment and curriculum policies on teachers’ use of assessment to address the learning needs of all learners across schools in the different quintile categories.
Highlights
Assessment comprises an integral part of teachers’ classroom practices, and its effective use has the potential to significantly improve learning and learner performance (Black & Wiliam 1998)
The authors adapted the Classroom Assessment Literacy Inventory, which was based on the Standards for Teacher Competence in Educational Assessment of Students (AFT, National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) & National Education Association (NEA) 1990), to the Thai context, and reported assessment literacy levels using three performance levels, which they defined as ‘Poor’; ‘Fair’ (60%-79%); and ‘Good’ (80% and higher)
The implications for practice are that most of the teachers demonstrated partial understanding regarding the use of summative assessment to identify learning gaps, and demonstrated limited knowledge in terms of being able to act on this information in order to address these gaps
Summary
Assessment comprises an integral part of teachers’ classroom practices, and its effective use has the potential to significantly improve learning and learner performance (Black & Wiliam 1998) If they are to successfully address the diverse learning needs of all children, teachers must be sufficiently knowledgeable and competent to use assessment for both summative and formative purposes. Most teachers have limited knowledge and expertise in this area, and lack appropriate guidance and support on how to effectively use assessment for addressing the learning needs of all children (Kanjee & Croft 2012; Pryor & Lubisi 2002; RSA DoE 2000; RSA DBE 2009; Vandeyar & Killen 2007). In their review of assessment and learning in developing nations, Sayed, Kanjee and Rao (2014) note that there are large gaps in our knowledge of assessment practices during the early years, and argue that more research is required about how often teachers should assess and monitor children’s learning, the types of formal and informal assessments of learning that are being used by teachers, the reliability and validity of the assessment instruments used, and the impact of the different forms of assessment on early learning
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