Exploring Writing Assessment Literacy and Classroom Practices of Thai University Instructors

Abstract

This study aims to explore Thai university writing instructors’ knowledge of writing assessment and their perceptions of different assessment practices. Having a good understanding of assessment principles is important because it helps teachers choose and develop appropriate assessment tools to measure students’ abilities. Two major research questions are how much Thai university instructors know about writing assessment and whether they received any formal training in writing assessment before they started teaching. Fifty-two participants from ten large universities in Thailand participated in an online survey, and 21 of them participated in in-depth interviews. Findings from the survey show that the majority of participants reported having received some formal training in writing assessment, but 30% reported no formal training. More than half of them expressed frustration when having to develop assessment tasks to assess their students’ achievements. Moreover, answers given in the online survey did not correspond with neither actual classroom practices nor background knowledge of assessment. It is hoped that the results of this study will motivate Thai university instructors to reflect on their assessment practices because, ultimately, the aim of this research is to provide suggestions that may help TESOL programs better prepare their graduate students for future teaching responsibilities.