Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW 1

Literature Review

Luay Askar

California State University Monterey Bay

December 12, 2017

IST511 Writing Workshop

Dr. Sarah Tourtellotte

LITERATURE REVIEW 2

Literature Review

Many of the studies conducted about assessment approach the topic from the learners

perspective, while few articles approach the topic from the teachers perspective. In addition,

studies are mainly directed towards the different types of assessments and specifically towards

Diagnostic Assessment (DA). Review of literature was done to support the proposed DA

familiarization training.

An article by Blood (2011) and another by Dunn & Mulvenon (2009), both talking about

assessment from a different perspective. Diagnostic assessment is a dynamic process used to

assess, evaluate and give feedback to learners. Diagnosis, according to Blood (2011), is a term

familiar in the medical field but in second language acquisition, broadly speaking, diagnosis is

any form of assessment whether formative or summative that yields feedback. According to

Dunn & Mulvenon (2009), Although an assessment may be designed and packaged as a

formative or summative assessment, it is the actual methodology, data analysis, and use of the

results that determine whether an assessment is formative or summative (p.2). Blood also

emphasized on the post-assessment feedback to be ample, detailed and innovative.

The two authors emphasized the importance of the content of the assessment in revealing

more accurate data; Blood questioned whether the tasks used by the teacher to construct

assessment material are appropriate for a formative or a summative assessment, while Dunn &

Mulvenon questioned if the assessment will still be called formative if the teachers use it for

grading.

In conclusion, differentiation between the two forms of assessment (formative and

summative), should not be according to their nomenclature, the main points of differentiation

one should keep in mind are; where is the assessment used, when is it used and how is it used.
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Mentioning that the most important question teachers should keep in their mind is; what they are

going to do with the collected data? Answering this question will give the appropriate

description or name of the assessment.

In a study conducted in Colombia by Mendoza (2009), there was a difference between

teachers perception to and the use of assessment in the classroom and there is a tendency to use

traditional assessment instead of alternative assessment(p.55). These findings are confirmed by

the study of Tsagari (2016) about the assessment orientation of teachers in two Mediterranean

countries, where teachers concentrate on the traditional use of assessment with contents limited

to assessing vocabulary and grammar and lack creativity and higher order thinking. In both

articles, the assessment used by the teachers tends to be more summative than formative. In

addition, both articles recommend that teachers need more training in language assessment

despite the two articles studied teachers in different countries.

A study carried out by Mertler (2003), comparing the in-service teachers with the

preservice teachers (recent graduates) regarding assessment literacy. This article confirms

what Mendoza (2009) and Tsagari (2016) recommend in their studies; that teachers need more

training in regard to assessment. In addition, Mertler mentioned, Previous studies have reported

that teachers feel and actually are unprepared to adequately assess their students(p.22). Also, the

teachers believe that they did not have sufficient training to build up the skills in assessing the

learners (p.22). He compared in this study between the preservice and the in-service teachers in

regard many standards including learnersassessment and found that; in-service teachers scored

higher than preservice. Mertler questioned whether on-the-job (in the classroom) assessment

training is preferred than training during the undergraduate study. This study highlights the
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importance of understanding the concept of assessment, training and experience that will be

gained within classroom implication.

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References

Blood, I. (2011).Diagnostic second language assessment in the classroom. Columbia

University academic commons. Working Papers in TESOL & Applied Linguistics, 11(1),

57-58. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.7916/D8ZG6RTP.

Dunn, K. and Mulvenon, S. (2009). A critical review of research on formative assessment: the

limited scientific evidence of the impact of formative assessment in education. Practical

Assessment Research & Evaluation,14(7). Retrieved from

http://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=14&n=7

Mendoza, A. & Arandia, R. (2009). Language testing in Colombia: a call for more teacher

education and teacher training in language assessment. Profile Issues in Teachers`

Professional Development, 11(2), 55-70. Retrieved from

http://www.scielo.org.co/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1657-

07902009000200005&lng=en&tlng=en.

Mertler, C. (2003). Preservice versus inservice teachers' assessment literacy: Does classroom

experience make a difference?. ERIC. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED482277

Tsagari, D.(2016). Assessment orientations of state primary EFL teachers in two

Mediterranean Countries. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal / CEPS Journal,

6(1), 9-30. Retrieved from https://ojs.cepsj.si/index.php/cepsj/article/view/102