English language assessment in the context of policy innovation : a case study of how teachers interpret and manage assessment practices

Abstract

The nature and level of complexity of this expansion are reflected in the first four findings of this study: (1) Teachers reframed their EL specialist roles to broaden students’ learning. Consistent with their reframed roles, they (2) expanded the EL learning and assessment constructs as well as (3) the range of elicitation and judging procedures used to assess the expanded constructs. While these findings on the nature of expansion were not without tension, the greatest tension was evident when (4) teachers addressed the level of complexity of the expansion by reconsidering assessment standards. A fifth finding was that (5) teachers functioned as a school-based EL assessment community to enable the expansion. In short, teachers worked in a conceptual and collaborative way to expand their EL assessment practices in order to enhance their students’ learning. The findings of the study are significant to the growing research field of AfL, and, equally, EL assessment in the following ways: (1) AfL requires a significant reframing of assessment roles for teachers; (2) AfL enables a qualitatively different learning experience for students; (3) AfL is contingent on a supportive policy context; (4) AfL includes school-based approaches; and (5) AfL needs to be considered and implemented in disciplinary terms.