Exploring teachers’ conceptions of assessment: A quantitative study in a secondary school setting

Authors

  • Shahazwan Mat Yusoff Department of Curriculum and Instructional Technology, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
  • Rafiza Abdul Razak Department of Curriculum and Instructional Technology, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
  • Hai Leng Chin Department of Curriculum and Instructional Technology, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
  • Anwar Farhan Marzaini Faculty of Education, Universiti Teknologi Mara, 25/116, Jalan Pesona Shah Alam Selangor, 42300 Klang, Selangor, Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37134/jrpptte.vol13.2.4.2023

Keywords:

Conceptions of assessment, improvement, irrelevant, school accountability, teacher perceptions

Abstract

This study aims to unveil the conceptions of assessment held by secondary school teachers, which have a significant impact on their classroom assessment practices and students' study habits. The four variables that underpin the conceptions of assessment in this study are improvement, school accountability, student accountability, and irrelevance. The research was conducted in a single district of Selangor, with the participation of 80 secondary school teachers. Descriptive findings reveal that the conception of improvement garnered the highest level of agreement among participants, while school accountability received the lowest level of agreement. Furthermore, a MANOVA analysis was employed to investigate the potential influence of gender and years of teaching experience on participants' perceptions. The analysis demonstrates that neither gender nor years of teaching experience significantly affect participants' conceptions of assessment. This study's outcomes are expected to provide valuable insights to all education stakeholders, particularly those concerned with secondary school assessment practices, regarding teachers' conceptions of assessment.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Ahmad Mahasneh, & Zohair Al-Zou'bi. (2021). Conceptions of assessment: Perceptions of science teachers in Jordan. Journal of Turkish Science Education, 18(3), 389-400. https://rb.gy/e6sog

Anwar Farhan Mohamad Marzaini, & Shahazwan Mat Yusoff. (2022). Assessing CEFR-readiness test in Malaysian ESL classroom: An insight from English language teachers in Pulau Pinang. Asian Journal Of Assessment In Teaching And Learning, 12(1), 1-9. https://rb.gy/8r2mp

Anwar Farhan Mohamad Marzaini, Wan Nurul Elia Haslee Sharil, Kaarthiyainy Supramaniam, & Shazwan Mat Yusoff. (2023). The teachers’ professional development in the implementation of CEFR-aligned classroom based assessment. Asian Journal Of Assessment In Teaching And Learning, 13(1), 1-14. https://rb.gy/0e5f7

Astuti Azis. (2015). Conceptions and practices of assessment: A case of teachers representing improvement conception. Teflin Journal, 26(2), 129-154. https://doi.org/grqtjs

Barnes, N., Fives, H., & Dacey, C. M. (2017). U.S. teachers' conceptions of the purposes of assessment. Teaching and Teacher Education, 65, 107-116. https://doi.org/f98p7d

Berry, R. (2011). Assessment reforms around the world. In R. Berry & B. Adamson (Eds.), Assessment Reform in Education (pp. 89-102). Springer. https://doi.org/bpx24x

Bibi Mahdieh Mirian, & Hutkemri Zulnaidi. (2020). Mathematics teachers’ conceptions of assessment: Gender and academic qualification comparisons. International Journal of Instruction, 13(2), 239-252. https://rb.gy/w4ota

Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (2010). Inside the black box: Raising standards through classroom assessment. Phi Delta Kappan, 92(1), 81-90. https://doi.org/c5qd

Brookhart, S. M., & Bronowicz, D. L. (2003). 'I don't like writing. It makes my fingers hurt': Students talk about their classroom assessments. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 10(2), 221-242. https://doi.org/d5zhdp

Brown, G. T. L. (2002). Teachers’ conceptions of assessment [Doctoral dissertation, University of Auckland]. University of Auckland Research Repository. http://hdl.handle.net/2292/63

Brown, G. T. L. (2004). Teachers' conceptions of assessment: Implications for policy and professional development. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 11(3), 301-318. https://doi.org/fg5wjk

Brown, G. T. L. (2006). Teachers' conceptions of assessment: Validation of an abridged version. Psychological reports, 99(1), 166-170. https://doi.org/bf67hf

Brown, G. T. (2011). Teachers' conceptions of assessment: Comparing primary and secondary teachers in New Zealand. Assessment Matters, 3, 45-70.

Brown, G. T. L., & Hirschfeld, G. H. F. (2008). Students’ conceptions of assessment: Links to outcomes. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 15(1), 3-17. https://doi.org/b4mvnx

Brown, G. T. L., Chaudhry, H., & Dhamija, R. (2015). The impact of an assessment policy upon teachers’ self-reported assessment beliefs and practices: A quasi-experimental study of Indian teachers in private schools. International Journal of Educational Research, 71, 50-64. https://doi.org/ggjhr5

Calveric, S. (2010). Elementary teachers' assessment beliefs and practices [Doctoral dissertation, Virginia Commonwealth University]. VCU Theses and Dissertations Archives. https://doi.org/kd7z

Carpenter, S. K., Witherby, A. E., & Tauber, S. K. (2020). On students’ (mis)judgments of learning and teaching effectiveness. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 9(2), 137-151. https://doi.org/ggmrxq

Daniels, L. M., & Poth, C. A. (2017). Relationships between pre-service teachers’ conceptions of assessment, approaches to instruction, and assessment: An achievement goal theory perspective. Educational Psychology, 37(7), 835-853. https://doi.org/gprm8x

Dayal, H. C., & Lingam, G. I. (2015). Fijian teachers' conceptions of assessment. The Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 40(8), 43-58. https://doi.org/kd72

Elwood, J., & Klenowski, V. (2002). Creating communities of shared practice: The challenges of assessment use in learning and teaching. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 27(3), 243-256. https://doi.org/c7m7h5

Gelfand, M. J., Harrington, J. R., & Jackson, J. C. (2017). The strength of social norms across human groups. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 12(5), 800-809. https://doi.org/ggkt3x

Ingvarson, L. (2001). Developing standards and assessments for accomplished teaching. In C. Cardno & D. Middlewood, Managing teacher appraisal and performance (pp. 178-197). Routledge. https://doi.org/ch4zw6

Knight, P. T. (2002). Summative assessment in higher education: Practices in disarray. Studies in Higher Education, 27(3), 275-286. https://doi.org/b25nb2

Law, K. M. Y., Geng, S., & Li, T. (2019). Student enrollment, motivation and learning performance in a blended learning environment: The mediating effects of social, teaching, and cognitive presence. Computers & Education, 136, 1-12. https://doi.org/gfxsx7

Margot, K. C., & Kettler, T. (2019). Teachers’ perception of STEM integration and education: A systematic literature review. International Journal of STEM Education, 6(2), 1-16. https://doi.org/ggcnd3

Mariam Yousef Abduh. (2021). Full-time online assessment during COVID-19 lockdown: EFL teachers’ perceptions. The Asian EFL Journal, 28(1.1), 26-46. https://rb.gy/xtx5q

Maslina Mohamad Mustafa, & Umi Kalthom Abdul Manaf. (2019). Educators’ conception of student assessment and their practices in an institution of education in MARA. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 9(10), 292-300. https://doi.org/kfbn

McMillan, J. H., Myran, S., & Workman, D. (2002). Elementary teachers' classroom assessment and grading practices. The Journal of Educational Research, 95(4), 203-213. https://doi.org/ffk9gp

Moiinvaziri, M. (2015). University teachers' conception of assessment: A structural equation modeling approach. Journal of Language, Linguistics and Literature, 1(3), 75-85. https://rb.gy/ck276

Monteiro, V., Mata, L., & Santos, N. N. (2021). Assessment conceptions and practices: Perspectives of primary school teachers and students. Frontiers in Education, 6, 1-15. https://doi.org/h7t6

Pastore, S. (2020). How do Italian teacher trainees conceive assessment? International Journal of Instruction, 13(4), 215-230. https://rb.gy/2bi4s

Scriven, M. (1991). Chapter II: Beyond formative and summative evaluation. Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education, 92(6), 19-64. https://doi.org/kfbp

Shahazwan Mat Yusoff, Chin, H. L., Rafiza Abdul Razak, & Anwar Farhan Mohd Marzaini. (2022). Determining conceptions of assessment among in-service secondary school teachers. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 12(12), 686-698. https://doi.org/kfbk

Shahazwan Mat Yusoff, Chin, H. L., Rafiza Abdul Razak, & Anwar Farhan Mohd Marzaini. (2023). Towards successful assessment practice: Examining secondary school teachers' conceptions of assessment. Jurnal Kurikulum & Pengajaran Asia Pasifik, 11(1), 1-7. https://rb.gy/8ybi0

Stiggins, R. (2005). From formative assessment to assessment for learning: A path to success in standards-based schools. Phi Delta Kappan, 87(4), 324-328. https://doi.org/gq6xsd

Unal, A., & Unal, Z. (2019). An examination of K-12 teachers’ assessment beliefs and practices in relation to years of teaching experience. Georgia Educational Researcher, 16(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/kfjf

van der Kleij, F. M. (2019). Comparison of teacher and student perceptions of formative assessment feedback practices and association with individual student characteristics. Teaching and Teacher Education, 85, 175-189. https://doi.org/gpz2bv

Yetkin, R., & Özer, Z. (2020). An investigation into in-service and pre-service English teachers’ conception of assessment. Journal of Theoretical Educational Science, 13(2), 384-396. https://doi.org/kfbq

Yüce, Z. (2015). Pre-service English language teachers` conceptions of assessment and assessment practices [Master's thesis, Çağ University]. Açık Bilim. https://rb.gy/0eeqa

Zimmer, W. K., & Matthews, S. D. (2022). A virtual coaching model of professional development to increase teachers' digital learning competencies. Teaching and Teacher Education, 109, 1-16. https://doi.org/gr59dj

Downloads

Published

2023-09-26

How to Cite

Mat Yusoff, S., Abdul Razak, R., Chin, H. L., & Marzaini, A. F. (2023). Exploring teachers’ conceptions of assessment: A quantitative study in a secondary school setting. Journal of Research, Policy & Practice of Teachers and Teacher Education, 13(2), 59–72. https://doi.org/10.37134/jrpptte.vol13.2.4.2023

Issue

Section

Articles