Designing an online language assessment training course for improving language assessment literacy of secondary school EFL in-service teachers in Mersin

Changes in education policies and movements in many countries have led to a high demand for a high level of assessment literacy. In order to prepare individuals to thrive in the 21st century, it is crucial to develop 21st century thinking skills, such as complex thinking, elaborated communication, collaboration, and problem-solving in authentic contexts. Quality education, instrumental for fostering these skills, relies on effective assessment. The purpose of this study is to assess language teachers' levels of assessment literacy knowledge and develop their skills through an in-service assessment workshop lasting six weeks. Prior to designing the workshop, the Professional Knowledge of Assessment Questionnaire (PKAQ), originally developed by Fulcher (2012); adopted by Farhady & Tavassoli (2018), was adapted to understand the language assessment needs of the participants. Two pilot studies were conducted. Following the results of the PKAQ, a focus group interview was conducted to gain a deeper understanding of the participants' assessment literacy needs. In addition to the results of the needs analysis and the findings of the interview, The researcher also examined the content pages of language assessment books used by instructors and professors working at education faculties and General Competence Indicators regarding Assessment suggested by MoNe were examined to develop a strong base for the workshop content. The workshop schedule was set. Participants took the Professional Knowledge of Assessment Test (PKAT) (Farhady, 2016) to understand their current level of assessment literacy before attending the workshop. PKAT was applied twice as pre- and post-tests of the study. After three weeks, halfway through the planned workshop duration, participants were invited to a face to face meeting to evaluate the workshop and gain deeper understanding about their actual experiences with the workshop. Participants were also sent three-question online form to evaluate the workshop individually so far. Considering the results of the meeting and the answers given to the online forms, necessary changes were made. Finally, the participants were given PKAT as post-test. The results of the study suggest that the participating teachers had varying levels of understanding and knowledge regarding language assessment concepts, and that they had a clear need for professional development in this area. The workshop was found to have a positive impact on their language assessment literacy levels, with the teachers reporting increased confidence and competence in designing and administering assessments, as well as analyzing and interpreting assessment data. Keywords: Assessment Literacy, Language Assessment Literacy