University English preparatory school students' attitudes towards assessment and evaluation instruments

This study aims to investigate the attitudes of English language learners studying at a university preparatory school toward assessment and evaluation instruments. The study's population was A1-level students enrolled in a preparatory class during the fall semester of the 2021-2022 academic year. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected for this study. The quantitative data was gathered through the questionnaire prepared by the researchers. For the qualitative part, a semi-structured interview form with 4 main questions and 3 sub-questions was employed. The quantitative findings revealed that rather than having a mostly one-sided attitude toward testing instruments, students had moderate positive and negative attitudes. In the anxiety items of the questionnaire, there is a significant relationship between gender and student attitudes; however, there is no such relationship in the enjoyment items. In both sections of the questionnaire, the results revealed that an academic major makes a significant difference in students' attitudes. The qualitative findings demonstrated that linguistic challenges and paired tasks are the causes of negative attitudes, and a sense of accomplishment is the cause of positive attitudes for the speaking assessment. Positive attitudes toward quizzes are related to the lower weighting of quizzes and the shorter test scope, negative attitudes toward mid-terms are due to the weighting of them and the bigger scope. Participants have a highly positive attitude toward the writing portfolio, and the most visible reason is receiving feedback from the teacher. Finally, participants have a slightly positive and noticeably negative attitude toward the online components, implying that they generate discontent and boredom.