Classroom-based Language Assessment in a Saudi Context: Teachers' practices, beliefs and assessment literacy

Classroom-based language assessment has gained increasing recognition and prominence in the fields of language education and language testing and assessment as a promising process to improve language teaching and learning. Consequently, many educational systems worldwide have reformed their assessment policies and placed an emphasis on this type of assessment as a central and integral part of the learning process. Although Saudi Arabia is one country which has reformed its language education curriculum and in turn its classroom-based assessment policy, little is known about how Saudi language teachers implement these assessment reforms and manage assessment demands, as well as what factors affect their assessment practices and whether they have the necessary capabilities to carry out efficient assessment. This study therefore aims to shed some light on the area of classroom-based language assessment in a Saudi context and to explore the factors that might have an impact on language teachers’ classroom assessment practices. Specifically, it explores Saudi English language teachers’ practices, beliefs and assessment literacy regarding classroom-based assessment in female state schools. A mixed methods approach has been adopted that includes the use of semi-structured interviews, a web-based questionnaire and document analysis. The results of the study indicate that there appear to be gaps and variations in relation to the teachers’ understanding and implementation of formative and summative assessment practices; a tension between how the teachers assess students and the nature of learning in classrooms (i.e., a focus on assessing linguistic forms while teaching a learner-centred, communicatively focused curriculum); a mismatch between the teachers’ beliefs and their assessment practices; and a number of contextual factors which have strongly affected the teachers’ assessment practices. The findings have further implications both for English language teachers’ professional development and research into English language teaching and assessment.