An In-Depth Examination of Writing Assessment Literacy Among University Preparatory Students in Turkish Higher Education

Abstract

As a nascent research domain, there is a scarcity of research studies that examine the levels of assessment literacy, perceptions, beliefs, and practices among students concerning their Student Writing Assessment Literacy (SWAL). To address this research gap, the present study adopts a mixed-methods design, incorporating the Scale of SWAL (Xu et al., 2023) alongside semi-structured interviews. 134 students answered the scale, while an additional twelve students volunteered to participate in the interviews. Student responses from the scale were subjected to analysis through descriptive statistics, revealing a notable correlation between students’ comprehension of assessment objectives and the manifestation of positive attitudes towards learning. Nevertheless, a misalignment was noticed between their theoretical understanding and beliefs and their pragmatic implementation regarding written assignments. Interview data underwent analysis through thematic analysis, elucidating four main themes: (1) feedback valuation, (2) scoring criteria awareness, (3) feedback delivery preferences, and (4) alternative assessment avoidance. Implications emphasise the importance of involving students in the assessment process and advocate for teacher training initiatives to enhance SWAL. Future research could broaden their scope to reach diverse academic levels and integrate grades as a variable. Overall, the present study provides valuable insights into SWAL, shedding light on assessment practices at the tertiary level.