Classroom Assessment Research Articles

The associations between teachers' lesson-specific emotions and observed teacher-student interactions and student engagement.

Teachers' emotions while teaching are associated to how they teach. Prior research has evidenced such associations mostly based on teacher or student ratings of different teaching behaviours. This study examined the extent to which teachers' self-rated lesson-specific positive and negative emotions are associated with the observed quality of teacher-student interactions in terms of emotional support, classroom organization and instructional support as well as students' behavioural engagement in the same lesson. The participants comprised 84 subject teachers (76.2% female) and 907 students (15-16 years old; 50.1% female) from 26 Finnish lower secondary schools. The data consisted of video-recordings from a total of 282 lessons (M = 3.36 lessons/teacher). The quality of teacher-student interactions and students' behavioural engagement was assessed using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System-Secondary (CLASS-S) observational instrument. Data regarding teachers' positive and negative emotions were collected at the end of each video-recorded lesson using the InSituations Teacher (InSitu-T) Instrument. The collected data were analysed using cross-classified two-level modelling. The findings revealed that teachers' positive and negative emotions were positively and negatively associated, respectively, with the observed quality of teacher-student interactions in terms of emotional support and classroom organization but not instructional support. The results provide evidence of the associations between teachers' emotions and students' observed behavioural engagement. The findings complement the literature by highlighting the importance of observational data, along with teacher and student ratings.

Black university students’ lived connections between classroom assessment and motivation

Black university students’ lived connections between classroom assessment and motivation

Literacy assessment of English teachers: Need analysis for higher education contexts

This paper is aimed to describe what knowledge and skills an English teacher should have to be assessment literate. The paper focuses on the following four basic knowledge areas of assessment literacy. First, English teachers should know what assessment is in general and what classroom assessment is. Second, the teachers should know the purposes of assessment. This knowledge will guide the teachers to create general learning goals, construct clear learning targets, and formulate clear rubrics. Third, the teachers should be aware of various assessment methods in ELT. Last, the teachers should comprehend assessment's positive influences in teaching and learning. To have a positive washback of assessment, the teachers should know how to create effective classroom assessments, how to make constructive feedback, how to support the role of students in assessment, and how to modify instruction based on assessments' results. Assessment literacy is an individual's understanding of the basic concepts and procedures of assessment which will be used as a basis for educational decisions (Popham, 2009). To be assessment literate, a teacher should have the knowledge and skills in relation to basic principles of quality assessment. This essay will discuss four basic knowledge areas of assessment literacy: definition of assessment, purposes of assessment, methods of assessment and keys for creating positive washback of assessment that can improve instruction and students' learning.

Examining Rater Reliability When Using an Analytical Rubric for Oral Presentation Assessments

The assessment of English speaking in EFL environments can be inherently subjective and influenced by various factors beyond linguistic ability, including choice of assessment criteria, and even the rubric type. In classroom assessment, the type of rubric recommended for English speaking tasks is the analytical rubric. Driven by three aims, this study analyzes the scores and comments from two raters on 28 video-recorded Thai engineering students’ oral presentations using a detailed analytical rubric that covers content, delivery, and visuals. First, it investigates rater reliability by comparing raters’ scores using Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and ANOVA. Second, applying generalizability theory (G-theory), the correlations between the scores are examined to understand the relationships between different assessment dimensions and how they contribute to a comprehensive evaluation of speaking proficiency. Third, a thematic analysis is performed on raters’ comments to gain a deeper understanding of raters’ rationale. The findings suggested that a higher number of raters increases the reliability of the ratings, although diminishing returns are observed above a certain threshold. Also, several key themes emerged in relation to the criteria. The study highlights the crucial role of detailed analytical rubrics and cooperation sessions between raters in improving the reliability of oral EFL assessments.

Comparing two psychometric approaches: The case of item analysis for a classroom test in mathematics

Multiple-choice and constructed-response item formats are widely used in Philippine classrooms where tests are primarily summative. Conducting item analysis provides teachers the professional possibility to independently improve their test items while also allowing them to make informed decisions about test improvement and ensure that their assessments provide meaningful scores. Comparisons of item analysis approaches have been extensively used in standardized tests but not so much in small-scale testing such as classroom assessments. Hence, this research reports an empirical study where a summative test for classroom use is analyzed using psychometric techniques from the Classical Test Theory (CTT) and the Item Response Theory (IRT). This study employs an action research design where the primary author being a teaching practitioner-researcher, reports how an item analysis of his teacher-made summative test was conducted to improve the test items. Results from this study show that interpretations of the item parameter estimates from both psychometric approaches, CTT and IRT agree on most of the recommendations for the items. The items where the two approaches provide contrasting recommendations call for a further qualitative evaluation of the flagged items putting the teacher in a judicious position to discern which recommendations to follow regarding the concerned items. In the context of this study, an example of a guiding insight in deciding would be reflecting on the learning objectives measured by the test and the context in which the test was created.

Children’s School Lives – A National Cohort Study of Primary Schooling in Ireland

Abstract: Children’s School Lives (CSL) is a mixed methods national cohort study of primary schooling in Ireland. This study aims to provide information on children’s learning, engagement, and wellbeing, in the context of primary school curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment, with a focus on social equality and inclusion. CSL has an accelerated cohort design involving two age cohorts of children across 269 classrooms in 185 schools, their classroom teachers, school principals, and parents. A subsample of 15 schools were selected as case studies for longitudinal qualitative data collection. Cohort A ( N = 1,675, girls = 49%) was first studied in the first year of primary school at age 4/5 years (2019/2020). Cohort B ( N = 2,113, boys = 49%) was first studied in their fourth year of primary school at age 8/9 years (2018/2019). Cohort A was followed up for 4 years in primary school and Cohort B was followed up for 5 years in primary school. Annual surveys have been administered to both cohorts of children ( N = 3,788) in classrooms by trained teacher-fieldworkers, and approximately 700 parents, 120 classroom teachers, and 180 school principals using online methods. The case study fieldworkers visit schools annually to collect data with children using focus group and individual interviews, and participatory methods including photovoice. Fieldworkers interview case study classroom teachers, principals, parents, and grandparents. Children and teachers are observed in all classrooms using the Observational Research and Classroom Learning Evaluation (ORACLE) systematic tool, and in case study classrooms using the Classroom Assessment Learning System (CLASS).

Policy and practice in L2 classroom assessment: policy implementation at a state high school in Türkiye

ABSTRACT This study investigates how the explicit policies set for assessing English achievement in the instructional policy documents come to life at a particular program of a state high school. Junior-year students and their English-as-a-foreign-language teachers were the participants. Data were gathered through field notes, observations, interviews, and documents. Findings suggested a discrepancy between policy and practice in assessing English achievement. Instructional policy documents created at different layers of the policy conveyed a mixture of traditional and performance-based assessment types as the leading features of the intended assessment. However, the field data demonstrated that though principles of intended assessment were achieved to a degree, features of traditional assessment dominated classroom assessment practices. Several contextual factors ranging from teacher beliefs to top-down policy implementation were found influential in the realisation of the policy. The study presents implications for instructional policymaking, language classroom assessment, and in-service training for language teachers.

Using guided constructive play to enhance instructional support in 4-year-old preschool classes

ABSTRACT The objective of this article is to study the effects of guided constructive play on Instructional Support quality in 4-year-old preschool classes in comparison with free constructive play (i.e. without teaching support). We used an experimental research design with pre and posttest and a control group. Fifteen preschool classes of 4-year-old children in Quebec participated in the study. They were assigned to a control group (n = 7) and an experimental group (n = 8), in which teachers participated in an eight-week intervention on guided constructive play. Data were collected using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System Pre-K. The data were analyzed by mixed repeated-measures ANOVAs and paired t-tests. The results show a statistically significant difference between the pre- and posttest Instructional Support scores, as they increased in the guided play condition. These findings underline the importance of teachers’ support during playtime periods in preschool, specially when children play in the block area.

Fairness in language classroom assessment practices: what do EFL teachers underscore?

Studies have confirmed that fair assessment practices in educational contexts affect learners’ motivation, self-regulation, and above all teacher credibility, yet the concept has been subject to educational stakeholders’ diverse outlooks and perspectives. On this basis, this study delves into the high school English as Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ understanding and perceptions of fairness of assessment practices in Iranian educational contexts. Thus, 105 conveniently selected EFL teachers of Junior/Senior high schools took the Classroom Assessment Fairness Scale (CAFS) consisting of 35 Likert scale items that tap into the five dimensions of the concept. The obtained questionnaire data were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistical analyses, the results of which revealed that Iranian English teachers were cognizant of different principles of fairness in classroom assessment, and they were quite conscious of the significance of its different components. Additionally, the findings demonstrated that there was no notable difference in the perceptions of EFL teachers in terms of their teaching context. The findings might have a couple of implications: First, classroom assessment fairness seems to be both an established concept in Iranian EFL contexts, and of the EFL teachers’ concern. Second, teaching contexts seem not to affect the EFL teachers’ conceptions of what constitutes a fair classroom assessment practice.

Exploring Trainee Science Teachers’ Assessment as Learning (AaL) and Assessment for Learning (AfL) Practices in a Teacher Training Program

This exploratory study provided insight into trainee science teachers’ (TST) assessment as learning and assessment for learning practices and their differences and similarities. The participants included secondary school trainee science teachers on an initial teacher training program in a university in England and school mentors supporting them. Data was collected through interviews, lesson observations and focus group. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis with recurrent themes identified and coded to create relationships and links on the differences and similarities in TSTs' classroom assessment practices. The findings included dichotomization of AaL and AfL, assessment as a mastery teaching process, and coordinated collaborative professional development support for the TSTs by the university and the school experience mentors. The result highlighted the issue of assessment competence and literacy and the need to further support TSTs in developing their assessment practices.

Enhancing the accessibility of chemistry assessments for multilingual learners: understanding challenging features in assessment items

Multilingual learners face significant challenges when navigating the linguistic complexities of chemistry assessments. This study, employing the Equitable Framework for Classroom Assessment, identified these specific challenging features in general chemistry assessment items on the topics of limiting reactant and percent yield. Through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with multilingual students, we discovered critical barriers to comprehension: lack of metacognitive support, complex vocabulary and syntax, dense text layout, and extraneous information. These findings emphasize the need to better understand and alleviate these types of linguistic features in assessment items to more accurately measure chemistry knowledge, rather than linguistic proficiency. By addressing these challenges, instructors can design more accessible assessment items for a diverse group of students. The results also offer valuable insights and practical guidance for writing equitable assessment items.

Toward a Reconceptualization of Second Language Classroom Assessment : Praxis and Researcher-Teacher Partnership

Toward a Reconceptualization of Second Language Classroom Assessment : Praxis and Researcher-Teacher Partnership

Savviness of sixth graders: Student perspectives about translanguaging during science formative assessment

AbstractScience classroom assessment often requires multilingual learners to demonstrate ideas using only English‐language resources. These assessments can provide an incomplete picture of students' knowledge and limit subsequent learning opportunities. Increasingly, science teachers are incorporating translanguaging pedagogies in their instructional practices. Less is known about students' perspectives of translanguaging in science. In this manuscript, we employ equity‐as‐access and equity‐as‐transformation lenses to investigate multilingual learners' perspectives about translanguaging as a formative assessment practice. Data came from a larger participatory co‐design design study in a culturally and linguistically diverse middle school in the Mountain West. We qualitatively analyzed 8 focus group interview transcripts with 13 sixth‐grade students from across 4 formative assessment cycles. Analysis was both inductive and deductive. Findings suggest that sixth graders have savvy, nuanced views about translanguaging that bridge equity‐as‐access and equity‐as‐transformation lenses. They saw translanguaging as both supporting their English language development and as an important practice to allow them to focus bilingually on their science ideas without translating everything into English. Additionally, they highlighted tensions associated with welcoming translanguaging in schools with de facto English‐only languaging norms. This study has implications for teachers, assessment designers, and researchers. Findings signal structural/policy changes needed to authentically center translanguaging as an equity‐oriented practice across science assessment systems.

Madrasah Teachers’ Approaches to Classroom Assessment

Since assessment holds a crucial role in the teaching and learning process, it is essential to examine teachers' approaches to assessment in their classrooms to determine whether their methods align with assessment theories and best practices. This study aimed to explore how madrasah teachers approach student assessment in their classrooms, focusing on the purpose of assessment, the assessment process, fairness in assessment, and the principles of measurement theory. The study involved 27 secondary-level madrasah teachers in an Indonesian context to illustrate their assessment knowledge and address the research gap in assessment studies for madrasah teachers. Their classroom assessment approaches were gathered and evaluated using the Approaches to Classroom Assessment Instrument (ACAI). The results indicate that madrasah teachers generally view assessment for learning as the primary purpose of their assessments, focus on the design aspect during the assessment process, adhere to standard principles of assessment fairness, and give equal importance to both validity and reliability in measurement theory. Finally, findings of this study should give valuable contribution to the body of assessment theory and become a reference for the government in improving madrasah teachers’ assessment literacy as well as their skills in assessing students’ learning.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE METHODS OF CREATING LANGUAGE EXAM QUESTIONS USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: A CASE STUDY

This paper explores the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in generating classroom foreign language tests, aiming to identify the challenges and opportunities encountered during item creation. Employing a case study, a qualitative research method, this study used data from a single subject to investigate the process of generating classroom assessment items using an AI system in a real-world setting. The findings highlighted several opportunities and challenges faced by the participant when utilizing AI. Analysis of the feedback revealed three major benefits of using AI: practicality, customization, and efficiency. Conversely, four significant challenges were identified: readability, validity, insufficient data for other languages, and issues of ownership.

Assessing the Guidelines on the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools in Universities: A Survey of the World’s Top 50 Universities

The widespread adoption of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools in higher education has necessitated the development of appropriate and ethical usage guidelines. This study aims to explore and assess publicly available guidelines covering the use of GenAI tools in universities, following a predefined checklist. We searched and downloaded publicly accessible guidelines on the use of GenAI tools from the websites of the top 50 universities globally, according to the 2025 QS university rankings. From the literature on GenAI use guidelines, we created a 24-item checklist, which was then reviewed by a panel of experts. This checklist was used to assess the characteristics of the retrieved university guidelines. Out of the 50 university websites explored, guidelines were publicly accessible on the sites of 41 institutions. All these guidelines allowed for the use of GenAI tools in academic settings provided that specific instructions detailed in the guidelines were followed. These instructions encompassed securing instructor consent before utilization, identifying appropriate and inappropriate instances for deployment, employing suitable strategies in classroom settings and assessment, appropriately integrating results, acknowledging and crediting GenAI tools, and adhering to data privacy and security measures. However, our study found that only a small number of the retrieved guidelines offered instructions on the AI algorithm (understanding how it works), the documentation of prompts and outputs, AI detection tools, and mechanisms for reporting misconduct. Higher education institutions should develop comprehensive guidelines and policies for the responsible use of GenAI tools. These guidelines must be frequently updated to stay in line with the fast-paced evolution of AI technologies and their applications within the academic sphere.

The Predictive Potency of Internet of Things Cybersecurity Technology on Classroom Assessment Practices in Higher Institutions of Learning in Nigeria

The Predictive Potency of Internet of Things Cybersecurity Technology on Classroom Assessment Practices in Higher Institutions of Learning in Nigeria

Problems in the Implementation of Classroom Assessment (PBD) in Malaysian Schools

Problems in the Implementation of Classroom Assessment (PBD) in Malaysian Schools

Every bit of language we accrue throughout life matters-Multilingual education

Monolingual ideologies remain alive in mainstream education, though the amount of evidence pointing to the benefits of multilingualism is increasing. Against this background, this paper aims to explore the importance of multilingual practices in multilingual classrooms, teacher input in enhancing multilingual practices in classrooms and assessment in multilingual classrooms. A systematic review of the literature was done to gather data. The findings revealed that the use of dominant national languages and/or colonial languages does not sufficiently account for the multilingual nature of the learners in the classrooms and their respective communities. Teachers need to allow any references to languages by their learners of which they have only basic knowledge or no knowledge at all. One way is to leave the role of expert to learners with home languages while taking on the role of learners of new languages. Also, in linguistically and culturally diverse classrooms, unintended bias in any assessment aspect can negatively affect learners whose home language is not the language of assessment. The study recommends that policymakers should establish official guidelines on interpreting competence aims for multilingual education, ensuring clarity and consistency across schools. Teachers should adopt collaborative teaching strategies that encourage learners to use their home languages in classroom activities. Partnerships between researchers and educators are essential for evaluating the effectiveness of multilingual pedagogies and refining teaching approaches. Assessment practices should be adapted to reflect learners’ diverse linguistic backgrounds, ensuring fair and valid evaluations of their competencies. Teacher training programmes should include modules on multilingual education, equipping educators with the necessary tools to manage linguistically diverse classrooms.

Classroom observations in elementary schools with Educational Climate Assessment Tool (EduCAT): the concurrent validity with Classroom Assessment Scoring System

The classroom social–emotional climate is critical to students’ wellbeing and learning ability. In practice and research, an assessment instrument with strong validity is invaluable, providing crucial information about the classroom’s social–emotional and learning climate. This allows for a more accurate appreciation of the quality of the learning environment. A valid instrument is helpful and essential in improving the classroom climate in practice and demonstrating intervention outcomes in research. The primary aim was to evaluate the concurrent validity of the Educational Climate Assessment Tool (EduCAT)—a newly developed classroom observation instrument based on a solid theoretical framework and previous empirical research. The concurrent validity testing involved examining pairwise and multivariate canonical correlations between scores from the EduCAT scales (stimulation, improvement, structure, relationship, and influence) and scores from the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS®) administered concurrently in 30 kindergarten to third grade (K-3) classrooms in four schools in Sweden. The pairwise correlation results show that the scores of the two observation instruments have strong and moderate positive correlations, as hypothesized. The canonical correlation identifies which scales in EduCAT correlate more strongly to scales in CLASS®. The results indicate that the observations measured with EduCAT tap similar aspects of classroom climate quality to those measured with CLASS®, thereby confirming the new protocol’s concurrent validity and instilling confidence in its use.