Classroom Assessment Research Articles

Teachers’ Perceptions and Practices of Integrating Critical Thinking Skills when Teaching Reading

The aim of this study is to explore teachers’ perceptions and practices of instilling critical thinking skills in reading instruction, to enhance students’ reading comprehension. It also identifies perceived challenges that hinder the practice of critical thinking skills in reading classes. Methodology. The research was carried out at Hawassa University in Ethiopia, using a descriptive survey design and an explanatory mixed-methods approach to collecting data. Forty out of a total of fifty-two English educators and three reading teachers participated in this study. The questions were randomly selected. Texts used in quizzes, mid-term exams and final exams were chosen, to evaluate the texts in which teachers integrated critical thinking skills into classroom reading activities and assessments. Quantitative data was gathered through questionnaires, while qualitative data was obtained through document analysis. Statistical analysis was conducted using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 24, and content analysis was used for the qualitative data. Results. The survey results revealed that teachers had a moderate level of perception with regard to integrating critical thinking skills (m=3.59) and identified student-related challenges (m= 3.76) as significant obstacles to the practice of critical thinking skills. The results of document analysis indicated that the practice of critical thinking skills was infrequent. It can be concluded that teachers' conceptual perception at moderate level was not sufficient to incorporate critical thinking skills into reading instruction in order to enhance students' reading comprehension. Therefore, it is imperative to train teachers in the integration of critical thinking skills in an interactive reading curriculum to motivate and engage students and help them comprehend reading skills in greater depth. Further research is recommended to explore the impact of teachers' perceptions of critical thinking skills on students' reading comprehension.

Boxed In and-and Busting Out

Working with a group of Alberta Grade 1 and 2 teachers we have observed and heard described several of the complexities they face in practicing well amidst multiple and competing dimensions of contemporary literacy instruction. The outcomes-driven machinery of their provincial context, their school district’s system for communicating classroom assessments, and the increasing dominance of synthetic phonics are factors the teachers note as constraining their knowledge, skills, and ways of being/doing, and that of their students. When these material expectations are positioned against other commitments to literacy education and diverse ways of being/becoming literate they both intend a certain future and serve as reminders of literacy education’s philosophical and practical “trouble without end” (Tsing, 2015, p. 2). Conceptualizing instructional contexts and practices as research assemblages, the study in which this paper is based investigates how early elementary teachers work at, with, and within the current conditionings of school-based literacy practices. Drawing on teacher interviews, photographs from within literacy teaching and learning situations (Snaza, 2019), and extended observations with a Grade 1 French Immersion teacher and class, the purpose of this paper is to explore liveable possibilities in reading, writing, and language instruction for the “right now” of literacy education (Kuby et al., 2019). Focusing on examples in which teachers seek “and…and…and…” pedagogies (Deleuze & Guattari, 1987, p. 25) our purpose is not to settle the troubled waters of literacy education but to trace contours of possibility as teachers encounter literacy education’s boxes and boundaries and exceed their confines. We follow teachers’ material and social participation in curricular attentions to affect and cultivations of newness as a practice of care for and curiosity about a shared world in early elementary literacy instruction.

Toward configuring healthier classrooms: developing indoor environmental quality assessment indicators

ABSTRACT Classrooms serve as essential indoor environments for students, as they spend a significant portion of their developmental years within them. This has prompted a critical set of questioning of these indoor environments, presenting the emergence of understanding how they affect health and comfort, as well as the importance of assessing these effects. Currently, one of the most advantageous methods of assessment is the Green building Rating Tools (GBRTs). There is an abundance of rating tools that aid in assessing the performance of many types of buildings’ Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ). However, maintaining a healthy classroom environment (HCE) necessitates the integration of health and comfort aspects alongside any classroom assessment process. Thus, the primary aim of the current research was to identify the definition of HCE attributes. Moreover, the research aims to detect areas that are yet to be considered or need more attention of the current IEQ assessment indicators, regarding promoting and assessing any classroom environmental healthiness. This was done by revisiting and delving into the IEQ-health-comfort relation, and, moreover, analyzing the attributes which verify the healthiness of a classroom environment and indicators which are traditionally employed to assess IEQ within existing rating systems. A comparative analysis methodology was used to identify key indicators, commons and correlations, in order to determine the extent of compatibility and differences. This analysis has resulted in a new list of 60 composite assessment indicators that concentrate on the health and comfort aspects, referred to as HCE indicators, a step toward healthier classrooms.

Systematic observation to measure teaching quality in different contexts: insights from science lessons, physical education lessons, and sports training using the classroom assessment scoring system

Systematic observation to measure teaching quality in different contexts: insights from science lessons, physical education lessons, and sports training using the classroom assessment scoring system

Sustainable artificial intelligence-driven classroom assessment in higher institutions: Lessons from Estonia, China, the USA, and Australia for Nigeria

Sustainable artificial intelligence-driven classroom assessment in higher institutions: Lessons from Estonia, China, the USA, and Australia for Nigeria

Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers' professional development needs in educational contexts: Exploring the challenge of reflective practice.

This study investigated Iranian, English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers' attitudes toward reflective teaching compared with their classroom assessment preferences and up-take of strategy-based instruction. It compared their views in the two key higher education provider contexts of the university and institute. In this cross-sectional correlational study, a total of 90 teachers, half drawn from each university in a major city in Iran, were selected using controlled quota sampling. Data were collected through a four-part survey. Besides gathering demographic data (Part A), the survey drew upon three established instruments that used a Likert Scale format. Part B comprised the Teacher Reflectivity questionnaire, and Part C focused on the Classroom Assessment Preferences Survey Questionnaire for Language Teachers. Also, part D administered the Teachers' Beliefs Inventory for Strategy Instruction. The reliability of this and the CAPSQ-LT was confirmed by the researchers using Cronbach's alpha at 0.842 and 0.951, respectively. A total of 90 questionnaires were distributed, with 72 fully completed (80%) and returned. the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was employed to analyze the data, using the independent sample t-test and ANOVA. Also, Pearson product-moment correlations were used to measure the association between the variables. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered as significant. As shown in findings, a statistically significant and positive correlation was found between the teachers' reflective teaching scores and classroom assessment preference scores (r=0.473, p0=.001). This correlation was moderately high and positive, thus supporting that higher teacher reflective practices reflect a broader application of classroom assessment. The Table also shows that there was no significant correlation between the teachers' attitudes toward reflective teaching and their uptake of strategy-based instruction (r=0.094; p=0.434). Similarly, there was no statistically significant correlation between the teachers' attitudes toward classroom assessment preferences and their beliefs about strategy-based instruction (r=0.038, p=0.752). As shown, no statistically significant difference was observed between the teachers' attitudes toward reflective teaching and their uptake of strategy-based instruction (p<0.05). This study draws attention to the need for teachers in EFL contexts, such as this, to have access to professional development opportunities that deeply engage and guide them to be reflective practitioners who can make the connections between assessment techniques, strategy-based instruction, and students' improved language learning outcomes.

Showing What They Know: How Supervisors Express Their Assessment Literacy

This study examines the assessment literacy of university-based student teaching supervisors in a teacher education program. The first author engaged in an inquiry community with three supervisors from the program. Using the four dimensions of the Approaches to Classroom Assessment Inventory (ACAI) framework, we sought to expose the specific phenomena of supervisors’ articulation of the ACAI dimensions of assessment literacy. We organized our findings around the dimensions: assessment process, assessment product, assessment fairness, and assessment theory. We found that supervisors expressed multiple dimensions of assessment within their inquiry community meeting discussions and interviews and expressed varied knowledge and prioritization of each dimension. We also found that supervisors did not discuss the dimensions of the ACAI in isolation, instead, they illustrated the complex interplay among assessment and other pedagogical constructs. These findings provide an initial contribution to the literature on supervisors’ assessment literacy, which could inform research and practice.

Analysis of the Training Needs for Science Teachers in Classroom Assessment at Secondary Level

The purpose of the study was to explore the perception of Science teachers and school Principals about the training needs of science teachers in classroom assessment practices at the secondary level in two sampled districts of Malakand division. The population of the study comprised the science teachers and principals of two districts Swat and Malakand. The study was descriptive and quantitative. The data were collected by using survey questionnaires and analysed by using appropriate statistics through SPSS version 26. The results indicated that both science teachers and principals were not satisfied with science teachers’ classroom assessment practices and added that they may need intensive training in classroom assessment practices at the secondary level. Therefore, it was recommended that the science teachers should be trained in theory and classroom assessment practices for continuous formative assessment and feedback.

Centering students’ thinking with the rights of the learner to counter deficit narratives in mathematics

ABSTRACT This article explores the implementation of Olga Torres’s Rights of the Learner (Torres’s RotL) framework in a 100-level undergraduate mathematics course, particularly focusing on assessment practices. Torres’s RotL framework offers a means to center students’ voices, mathematical thinking, and humanity in the classroom. The article delves into the five rights outlined by Torres — the right (1) to be confused, (2) claim a mistake, (3) speak, listen and be heard, (4) write, do, and represent what makes sense to you, and (5) the right to feel safe and respected — and discusses their implications for assessment in the mathematics classroom. Drawing from sociopolitical perspectives in mathematics education, the article emphasizes the importance of rehumanizing the classroom environment and addressing power dynamics and identity issues. Through reflection and alignment with Torres’s RotL, various assessment practices are shared related to small group and individual classwork, whole class discussions, weekly homework, asynchronous choice activities, and exams, highlighting how each can honor students’ rights while fostering a supportive, inclusive learning environment.

How Can Crosscutting Concepts Organize Formative Assessments across Science Classrooms? Results of a Video Study

Ambitious approaches to science teaching feature collaborative learning environments and engage students in rich discourse to make sense of their own and their peers’ ideas. Classroom assessment must cohere with and mutually reinforce these kinds of learning experiences. This paper explores how teachers’ enactment of formative assessment tasks can support such an ambitious vision of learning. We draw on video data collected through a year-long investigation to explore the ways that co-designing formative assessments linked to a learning progression for modeling energy in systems could help teachers coordinate classroom practices across high school physics, chemistry, and biology. Our analyses show that while there was some alignment of routines within content areas, students had differential opportunities to share and work on their ideas. Though the tasks were constructed for surfacing students’ ideas, they were not always facilitated to create space for teachers to take up and work with those ideas. This paper suggests the importance of designing and enacting formative assessment tasks to support ambitious reform efforts, as well as ongoing professional learning to support teachers in using those tasks in ways that will center discourse around students’ developing ideas.

The mediating role of goal orientation in the relationship between formative assessment with academic engagement and procrastination in medical students

BackgroundAcademic involvement and academic procrastination are two behavioral variables and are among the challenges of higher education, especially medical education. The purpose of the current research is to investigate the mediating role of goal orientation in the relationship between formative assessment with academic engagement and procrastination in Iranian medical students.MethodsThe present correlational study of path way type, was performed on 388 students of Zanjan University of Medical Sciences in the 2021 selected by a convenient sampling method. Four questionnaires of Goal orientation scale )21-item), the classroom assessment approaches questionnaire (12-item), the Procrastination Assessment Scale– Students (44-item) and the student engagement scale (10-item) were used to collect data. The data were analyzed with SPSS-26 and LISREL-10.2 software.ResultsThe results of the path analysis showed formative assessment have significant direct effect on mastery orientation (β = 0.40), performance-approach (β = 0.14), avoidance orientation (β = -0.28), academic engagement (β = 0.32) and academic procrastination (β = 0.12). Also mastery orientation (β = 0.13), performance-approach (β = 0.12), avoidance orientation (β = -0.25) have a significant direct effect in the variance of academic engagement. As well mastery orientation (β = -0.43), performance-approach (β = -0.15), avoidance orientation (β = 0.30) have a significant direct effect in the variance of academic procrastination. These results confirm the direct hypotheses. Indirect effect of formative assessment to academic engagement (0.21) and academic procrastination (0.27) was significant.ConclusionIt is recommended according to the results practitioners provide the basis for promoting academic engagement and decrease academic procrastination through the application of formative assessment and Improve classroom goal orientation.

Using Evidence from Task-Based Interviews for Development and Validation of Classroom Assessments: Approaches and Applications in Early Grades Mathematics

ABSTRACT This article illustrates and differentiates the unique role cognitive interviews and think-aloud interviews play in developing and validating assessments. Specifically, we describe the use of (a) cognitive interviews to gather empirical evidence to support claims about the intended construct being measured and (b) think-aloud interviews to gather evidence about the problem-solving processes students use while completing tasks assessing the intended construct. We illustrate their use in the context of a classroom assessment of an early mathematics construct – numeric relational reasoning – for kindergarten through Grade 2 students. This assessment is intended to provide teachers with data to guide their instructional decisions. We conducted 64 cognitive interviews with 32 students to collect evidence about students’ understanding of the construct. We conducted 106 think-aloud interviews with 14 students to understand how the prototypical items elicited the intended construct. The task-based interview results iteratively informed assessment development and contributed important sources of validity evidence.

Exploring the Effective Use of Diagnostic Tests in the High School English Classroom to Support Student Learning: An Action Research Study

This action research study investigated the use of diagnostic tests and feedback to support student learning in a 12th grade English classroom. The researcher developed a diagnostic test to assess students’ strengths and weaknesses in foundational language and literacy skills. The test included multiple-choice, short-answer, and essay questions. The researcher then separated students into an experimental group, which received diagnostic feedback, individualized learning plans, and incentives, and a controlled group which proceeded with the regular curriculum. The individualized learning plans were created based on the results of the diagnostic test and were designed to address each student’s specific needs. The incentives included extra credit points, certificates of achievement, and public recognition. Several sources of quantitative and qualitative data were analysed, including pre and post-test scores, student surveys, teacher surveys, and student work samples. The results indicated that the intervention had a significant positive impact on students’ learning, confidence, and test anxiety compared to the controlled group. Implications for the use of diagnostic assessment in the secondary English classroom are discussed.

From challenge to innovation: A grassroots study of teachers’ classroom assessment innovations

AbstractWe are at a critical moment for assessment in schools. Teachers are called to navigate advances in classroom assessment research, top‐down assessment policies, and lingering effects of the COVID‐19 pandemic on teaching and learning. Embedded in this context are also systemic challenges to teachers’ assessment practice. This paper analyses these challenges to characterise the current context for teachers’ assessment work and considers teachers’ innovative responses to these challenges. Data are drawn from 168 qualitative responses to a baseline assessment innovation survey across 10 Canadian provinces and territories as well as 10 other international jurisdictions. Eight themes were identified related to teachers’ assessment challenges and innovations, including: negating innovation, the emotions of assessment, grade obsession and the gradeless spectrum, conflicting orientations towards assessment, the use of ‘assessment talk’, data overload, equitable assessment and actions that make learning and assessment visible. These findings directly support the widespread goal of implementing assessments that effectively and consistently serve student learning. The paper concludes with a discussion on how teachers move from facing assessment challenges to engaging in assessment innovations.

Classroom Assessment Practices of Junior High School Social Studies Teachers in Ghana: The Case of Ga East Municipality

Classroom Assessment Practices of Junior High School Social Studies Teachers in Ghana: The Case of Ga East Municipality

Monitoring the Validity of Formative Assessment: Tools and Methods

The relevance of the study is related to the need to increase the validity of formative assessment in classrooms, which is a factor in improving the quality of education and the development of students. The purpose of the study is to determine the criteria for the validity of formative assessment, which will allow gaps in its implementation in national schools and provide professional support to teachers to improve practice. The research methods used were lesson observation (the analysis of teachers’ approaches to formative assessment of students’ achievements) and a questionnaire, which revealed similarities and differences in the views of teachers and students on the practice of formative assessment. The results showed that the experience of formative assessment of teachers is associated with their knowledge and skills of implementing formative assessment. However, it also became known that the knowledge and views of teachers about formative assessment does not always correspond to their practice. The results of the study will allow us to develop guidelines for the implementation of formative assessment and ensuring its validity, which will contribute to improving the quality of education in schools in Kazakhstan.

Unveiling Classroom Assessment Literacy: Does Teachers’ Self-Directed Development Play Out?

Ideally, teachers’ classroom assessment literacy can be developed through in-service teacher education or assessment training from institutions. Yet in reality, teachers may not gain sufficient assessment training on the job or from institutionalised training programmes. This contextual disadvantage cannot explain teacher inertia in advancing their professional knowledge and their skills in classroom-based assessment. Instead, teachers are encouraged to proactively rely on themselves to enhance their CAL amid their tried-and-tested assessment practices. The current qualitative case study explores how a university English teacher directed herself to develop CAL in her assessment practices over time. Data were collected through narrative frames, interviews with the teacher and her students, classroom observations, and documents. This study shows that self-directed CAL development may be buttressed by the teacher’s prior assessment experiences. The teacher’s self-agency and reflections further empowered her to acquire the assessment knowledge, skills, and experience in improving assessment effectiveness. The implications for enhancing self-directed professional development in assessment are also discussed.

Exploring fundamental engineering course instructors' test usage beliefs and behaviors: A multicase study

AbstractBackgroundTests are commonly and heavily used in fundamental engineering courses (FECs) to assess student learning of concepts. With existing literature presenting mixed benefits and disadvantages of testing to students' motivation to learn and documenting widely alternative assessments, the lack of questioning of heavy and common test usage must be addressed to diversify classroom assessment and promote intentionality in test usage.Purpose/HypothesisThis study begins to address the lack of questioning by exploring and uncovering test usage beliefs and behaviors of seven FEC instructors from two engineering departments in a land‐grant, public, Research 1 universityDesign/MethodGrounded in the Situated Expectancy–Value Theory (SEVT), we conducted a multicase study. Data include two interviews, course syllabi, and sample tests provided by the participants, and public documents from the institution and departments. We conducted a priori and emergent coding and thematic analysis to identify the beliefs and behaviors before developing individual case summaries for cross‐case analysis to identify groupings.ResultsThree test usage groups emerged: enthusiastic, default, and questioning. All test usage groups featured tests heavily in their FECs, resulting in varying alignment between these participants' test usage beliefs and behaviors.ConclusionsOur findings reveal the various factors that can shape FEC instructors' test usage beliefs and behaviors, and the complexity in terms of alignment. This work lays important implications, including laying the foundations for future scholarship on testing in engineering education research and leveraging findings to begin efforts in diversifying assessment approaches and promoting intentional test usage in FECs.

Commentary: Where Does Classroom Assessment Fit in Educational Measurement?

AbstractThis article is a commentary on the Foundational Competencies in Educational Measurement (Ackerman et al., 2024, hereafter the FCs) through the lens of classroom assessment. I focus on the place of classroom assessment in the FCs and in NCME and educational measurement more broadly.

Teachers’ instructional support and students’ peer relationships in the classroom

ABSTRACT The study aimed to investigate the association between teachers’ instructional support and peer relationships among Norwegian students in grades 5–10 (ages 10–15). The mediating role of student engagement was investigated. Furthermore, we investigated the effect of student behaviour on peer relationships and whether these associations were mediated by instructional support. The quality of instructional support was measured using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) observation protocol and student reports. Peer relationships were measured by self-report in the fall and the spring of an academic year. Student’s mental health problems and reactive aggressiveness were measured in the fall. The analyses were conducted within a Multilevel Structural Equation Models (MSEM) framework. The results indicated that peer relationships were stable from fall to spring at both the classroom and student levels. Observed, but not student-reported, instructional support was associated with peer relationships. Furthermore, when reactive aggressiveness and mental health problems were controlled for, students’ perceived instructional support in the fall was associated with peer relationships in the spring. The results emphasise the importance of teachers’ instructional support for the quality of peer relationships and affective and instructional aspects of teaching do not need to compete.