Investigating the Perception of K-12 Teachers on their Assessment Literacy and Obstacles Hindering the Implementation of Effective Assessments in Dubai private schools
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Date
2018
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The British University in Dubai (BUiD)
Abstract
Assessing learners’ performance is endemic in learning. Teachers bear the responsibility of assessing their students regularly to confirm that learning has happened. However, many teachers do not use assessment as a tool to improve learning, but only as an evaluation tool to judge students’ achievement. Research shows that assessment should be used to improve the learning experience of learners and the assessment results should be interpreted for this sake. Many teachers are not prepared on how to use assessments effectively in their classrooms. Several previous studies have indicated that teachers have weak assessment skills, either skills for designing and developing assessments or interpreting the results. In the United Arab Emirates UAE there is a big emphasis on the effective teaching and assessment to achieve the 2021 UAE educational vision. This study explores k12 teachers’ perception of their own assessment literacy in the UAE, as well as the obstacles that hinder them from conducting effective assessments for their students. The participants are teachers working in different schools in Dubai, with different years of experience and are distributed between females and males. A mixed design questionnaire was used as a data collection method. The research results indicated that teachers have a high perception about their assessment literacy. Teachers are also using a range of traditional assessment strategies in their classrooms to assess students. However, most of the teachers are using assessment only to evaluate students’ performance instead of improving the learning experience. One of the main obstacles that face teachers with assessment is the large number of students in the classroom and the lack of training.
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Keywords
Assessment, assessment literacy, K-12 teachers, Vision 2021, private schools, Dubai