Perceptions and Beliefs of EFL Students Regarding Classroom Assessment at a Colombian University

Abstract

The higher education institution, where the present study is conducted, proposes in its school handbook that a formative and democratic learning assessment approach should prevail in all academic activities. In the English as a Foreign Language TeacherEducation Program at this university, eighty percent of students’ grades come from summative testing, and the teachers are the ones who regularly make the decisions regarding any assessment criteria. That is, the formative and democratic componentsare not present in the process. To delve deeper into these aspects, we have inquired students on their perceptions and beliefs concerning classroom assessment and suggestions to improve the process. A small-scale qualitative research study wasconducted with 49 participants. The data collected through questionnaires, focus-group interviews, and narratives allowed us to organize the findings according to three emerging categories: students’ perceptions of assessment as Assessment of Learning (aol), Assessment for Learning (afl), and suggestions for improving the overall language evaluation process. The different concepts provided by the participants go from believing that classroom evaluation constitutes a procedure to elicit rote reproduction to that of perceiving it as an opportunity to enhance students’ formation. Actions for improving assessmentgo from particular procedural aspects to those related to a more general approach.