An exploratory study of language assessment training in Hong Kong: Trends, quality and development

Assessment literacy (AL) is about teachers’ assessment knowledge, skills and principles when conducting internal and external assessments. There has been no shortage of empirical studies investigating how serving teachers perceive, understand, and utilize AL in various educational contexts. Despite this, not much has been done to understand the trends, quality and development of language assessment training catered for preservice English language teachers in non-Anglophone contexts such as Hong Kong. The aims of this project are threefold. First, the study investigated the overall language assessment training landscape in Hong Kong. Second, it examined facilitating and constraining factors that affected the quality of university-based language assessment training in five Hong Kong teacher education institutions. Third, the study evaluated the extent to which the current language assessment training could equip preservice teachers with knowledge and skills when they transitioned into first-year full-time teaching. Data collection included a questionnaire, preservice teachers’ and university instructors’ interviews, classroom observations across two years (final-year practicum and first-year teaching), and documentary analysis of the five local teacher education programmes. An exploratory case study approach was adopted to generate in-depth and illuminating data, which significantly contributed to a comprehensive makeover of content and delivery in language assessment training. Findings reflect that the university-based assessment training remained relevant, but preservice teachers felt that they found peer learning through mentoring, observations, professional dialogues, and standardization procedures more constructive. Recommendations suggest provision of further hands-on opportunities for preservice teachers to create and critique authentic assessment papers both in coursework and in practicum.