EFL Teachers’ Writing Assessment Literacy, Beliefs, and Training Needs in the Context of Turkey - Article

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Cart

Teachers’ assessment literacy and beliefs shape whether classroom assessment motivates students or weakens their learning, making targeted investigation essential for designing effective teacher training. This quantitative survey study examined 152 EFL teachers in Turkey to assess their writing assessment literacy (WAL) and to identify training needs via a questionnaire. It also analyzed teachers’ beliefs about writing assessment methods, scoring accuracy, and general assessment issues in writing classrooms; despite prior WAL training for 80.9% of teachers, over 90% reported needing training across all investigated WAL areas.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Teachers’ assessment literacy and its impact

Assessment practices and teachers’ competence

Writing assessment training needs for EFL teachers

Prior research on teachers’ WAL

Advances in Language and Literary Studies ISSN: 2203-4714 [www.alls.aiac.org.au](www.alls.aiac.org.au) | EFL Teachers’Writing Assessment Literacy, Beliefs, and Training Needs in the Context of Turkey
Mohammadreza Valizadeh*
Department of Translation and Interpretation (English), Faculty of Humanities, Cappadocia University, Cappadocia, Turkey Corresponding Author: Mohammadreza Valizadeh, [E-mail: mrvalizadeh2015@gmail.com](E-mail: mrvalizadeh2015@gmail.com) | | | --- | --- | | ARTICLE INFO
Article history
Received: September 19, 2019
Accepted: November 11, 2019
Published: December 31, 2019
Volume: 10 Issue: 6
Advance access: December, 2019 Conflicts of interest: None
Funding: None
Key words:
EFL (English as a Foreign Language), Writing Assessment Literacy, Teacher Beliefs,
Teachers’Training Needs, Context of Turkey | ABSTRACT | | | Teachers’ assessment literacy and beliefs contribute to encouraging or undermining students’learning; therefore, investigating such literacy to fulfill the teachers’ training needs is essential. This quantitative survey study investigated the current level of 152 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ writing assessment literacy (WAL) in Turkey and identified their training needs in this area by means of a questionnaire. Further, this research explored the teachers’ beliefs about different writing assessment methods, general assessment issues in writing classrooms and then scoring accuracy in writing assessment. Although 80.9% of the teachers stated that they had already received prior training in WAL, a vast majority of the participants (over 90%) stated they need to receive training in all the investigated WAL areas. The training need areas which stood on the highest six ranks included “Using pre-designed integrated writing tasks”,“Designing integrated writing tasks”,“Giving feedback to students based on information from tests/assessment”,“Designing good writing tasks/tests”,“Using the scoring rubrics”,“Designing the scoring rubrics”,“Using self-assessment”,“Using peer-assessment”, and “Using assessment portfolio”. The detailed findings regarding the teachers’ beliefs in the above-mentioned issues are explained and discussed in the paper. To improve the situation, the shortcomings in the language teacher education programs in Turkey should be addressed. | INTRODUCTION Teachers’assessment literacy has been defined as the teachers’knowledge of how to assess the students’ competence and performance,“how to interpret the results from these assessments, and how to apply these results to improve student learning and program effectiveness.”(Webb, 2002, p. 1) . Moreover, classroom-based assessment for learning utilizes different types of pedagogical techniques including self and peer assessment, providing continuous descriptive feedback, and establishing assessment criteria to promote learning (Deluca & Klinger, 2010) . A highly literate teacher has the theoretical and philosophical knowledge of assessing students’ learning, is skilled at selecting appropriate assessment techniques, designing valid assessment tasks, offering feedback to students’ performances, and evaluating the process of teaching and learning (Boyles, 2006; Deluca & Klinger, 2010) . Recently, Crusan, Plakans, and Gebril (2016) argued that assessment literacy includes not only what and how to assess but also the issues of teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and practices. Additionally, the factors affecting teachers’decisions about what to do in the classroom and how to do it“include teaching context, teachers’ prior language learning experiences, and teacher learning, both as a practitioner anda student.”(Crusan et al., 2016, p. 45) . Such literacy is an essential skill, contributing to encouraging or undermining students’ learning (Crusan et al., 2016; Mede & Atay, 2017; Mertler, 2009; Weigle, 2007; White, 2009) . Teachers’lack of assessment knowledge and skill as well as bad assessme

FAQs

What is the focus of this study on EFL teachers in Turkey?

The study investigates EFL teachers’ writing assessment literacy levels and identifies their training needs in Turkey, also examining teachers’ beliefs about writing assessment methods and general assessment issues.

How was teachers’ writing assessment literacy and training need identified?

A quantitative questionnaire survey was used to measure current WAL levels among 152 EFL teachers and to determine their training needs across investigated WAL areas.

What training areas do teachers report needing most?

Teachers ranked highest training needs include designing and using integrated writing tasks, giving feedback based on test/assessment information, designing good writing tasks/tests, using and designing scoring rubrics, and using self-, peer-assessment and assessment portfolios.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Cart