Investigating EFL instructors’ approaches to classroom-based assessment culture: an explanatory sequential mixed-method approach

Abstract

Based on sociocultural theory and pragmatism philosophical underpinnings, this study explores the classroom assessment practices of tertiary EFL practitioners, focusing on their alignment with contemporary constructivist assessment trends, methods, and approaches, rather than psychometrical assessments. The study extends knowledge on language teachers’ preparedness for implementing classroom assessment literacy. Participants were tertiary EFL instructors from four higher educational institutions in Saudi Arabia. Adopting an explanatory sequential mixed-methods research design, data were collected through self-reported questionnaires, classroom observations, and a review of assessment documents and artifacts. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze quantitative data and thematic analysis qualitative data. The dominance of traditional over alternative assessment methods was demonstrated, indicating gaps in teachers’ classroom assessment literacy. The findings highlight the contradiction, discrepancy, and complexity of the relationship between teachers’ articulated and exercised assessment practices. They provide baseline data for L2 classroom assessment policy, a classroom-based assessment framework, and a guide for teachers’ professional development in language assessment literacy.