HOTS-based language assessment literacy: Challenges and prospects in English language teaching

Abstract

The issues of inaccurate and invalid language assessment were mainly due to teachers’ lower level of assessment literacy and teachers' inadequate skills to design higher-order thinking skills (henceforth HOTS) based language assessments. Thus, this paper aims to mainly portray teachers’ HOTS-based language assessment literacy in English language teaching (ELT) classrooms after they participated in training on HOTS-based language assessment. A case study was employed, and forty-three ELT teachers from secondary schools voluntarily participated in the current study. Some of them were interviewed, and the test items they constructed were analyzed to examine if their HOTS-based language assessment literacy was reflected in the quality of the test items. The findings showed that ELT teachers who engaged in training gained the basic level of knowledge and comprehension of HOTS-based language assessment. However, their knowledge and comprehension are not parallel with their skills in constructing HOTS-based test items. The paper ends with recommendations for the stakeholders (school principals, educational authorities, and training providers) responsible for designing future training programs to enhance ELT teachers' language assessment literacy.

Fluency in Language Assessment Literacy: A Literature Review

“…Language assessment literacy refers to the essential competencies that enable language teachers to develop and evaluate assessments within the context of language instruction (Sumardi & Guci, 2023). It involves a series of skills and knowledge that allow educators to design and implement effective assessment tools to measure language proficiency and learning outcomes.…”

“…Language assessment literacy (LAL) is a crucial competency for language teachers, enabling them to design and evaluate assessments within the context of language instruction (Sumardi & Guci, 2023). It has been recognized as an essential area for researchers and scholars seeking to enhance the language teaching environment (Sultana, 2019).…”

English language assessment in Indonesian senior high schools: Perceived challenges and prospective solutions

“…Therefore, providing EFL teachers with abundant opportunities to join professional development in assessment to meet their needs is crucial. Systematic and measurable training programs are recommended by Sumardi and Guci (2023) to better equip English language teachers with both theoretical knowledge and the practical application of that knowledge and information. Davies (2008) claims that the training materials on assessment should cover three major dimensions: knowledge, skills, and principles of assessment.…”

“…Therefore, it is essential that preservice teacher education includes instruction in assessment literacy (Hutami & Putro, 2023) and that training for ongoing professional development for in-service teachers should follow this up. This emphasizes the significance of continual, sustainable professional development for teachers that is carried out with sufficient time (Zulaiha & Mulyono, 2020), with required materials (Sumardi & Guci, 2023), and with the specific subject matter, such as developing questions to trigger higher order thinking skills and utilizing technology to support classroom assessment practices (Luthfiyyah et al, 2020).…”

“…Several studies of English language assessment focus on EFL conceptions of assessment and their practices, EFL teachers' assessment literacy (Hutami & Putro, 2023;Luthfiyyah et al, 2020), and teachers' training needs for assessment literacy (Zulaiha & Mulyono, 2020). One study concerns the qualitative analysis of challenges and prospects of assessing higher-order thinking skills in EFL classes after joining professional development (Sumardi & Guci, 2023). Dewi et al (2023) conducted a descriptive qualitative study to explore online writing assessment strategies and teachers' difficulties when administering the assessment.…”