Target Assessment Needs of Iranian EFL Teachers: A Language Assessment Literacy perspective

Some researchers have conducted studies on different aspects of assessment. One of the assessment issues which have recently gained traction relates to assessment needs of language teachers. Given the importance of assessment needs in language education, this study identified the target assessment needs of Iranian EFL teachers. For the purposes of the present study, a 50-item questionnaire was constructed and administered to 258 EFL teachers. Apart from the questionnaire, a follow-up, semi-structured interview was also used to seek their opinions on assessment needs. To analyze the data quantitatively, SPSS (version 21) was used. Results showed that target assessment needs were different in the degree of importance. Using exploratory factor analysis, five main factors underlying the assessment needs of Iranian EFL teachers were revealed: interface between teaching and testing, testing statistical knowledge, increasing assessment knowledge, testing language skills and components, and test construction. Results of qualitative analyses confirmed those of quantitative findings, putting primary emphasis on the different assessment needs they expressed. These findings suggest that identification of assessment needs may help language teachers to be more assessment literate. The findings of this study may carry some implications for language teachers, research and pedagogy.