Characterizing Teachers’ Language Assessment Literacy to Design an Online Assessment Course
La literacidad en evaluación de docentes de idiomas para el diseño de un curso de evaluación en línea
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15446/profile.v28n2.124263Keywords:
Curriculum, Evaluation, Foreign language instruction, Professional development, Teacher education (en)Formación docente, Desarrollo profesional, Enseñanza de una lengua extranjera, Evaluación, Programa de estudios (es)
This article presents a qualitative case study that characterizes the language assessment literacy (LAL) of five Colombian English-language teachers to inform the design of a context-sensitive LAL course. We analyzed data from questionnaires, interviews, and institutional documents. Findings revealed that teachers’ assessment practices were partially influenced by the communicative approach. On the other hand, teachers’ challenges in assessment include assessing irrelevant criteria and the impact of administrative factors (e.g., national policies), which cause misalignments in assessment. This study emphasizes the need for an LAL course that addresses the design of communicative assessment tasks and methods and that aligns language assessment practices with institutional requirements.
Este artículo reporta un estudio de caso cualitativo que caracterizó la literacidad en evaluación de lenguas (LEL) de cinco profesores de inglés colombianos, con el fin de diseñar un curso de LEL contextualizado. Analizamos datos de cuestionarios, entrevistas y documentos institucionales. Los hallazgos revelaron que las prácticas docentes de evaluación se ven influenciadas por el enfoque comunicativo. Por otro lado, existen retos como evaluar criterios irrelevantes para la competencia comunicativa y el impacto de factores administrativos (p. ej., políticas nacionales), lo que puede generar incoherencias en la evaluación. Nuestro estudio enfatiza el diseño de un curso de evaluación de lenguas que incluya tareas y métodos comunicativos e integre los requisitos institucionales.
References
Arias, C. I., Maturana, L. M., & Restrepo, M. I. (2012). Evaluación de los aprendizajes en lenguas extranjeras: hacia prácticas justas y democráticas. Lenguaje, 40(1), 99–126. https://doi.org/10.25100/lenguaje.v40i1.4945
Baker, B. (2021, July 2). Unpacking the concept of language assessment literacy for all key stakeholders [Conference session]. New Directions in English Language Assessment Conference, Bogotá, Colombia.
Baker, B. (2024). Introduction. In B. Baker & L. Taylor (Eds.), Language assessment literacy and competence volume 2: Case studies from around the world (pp. 1–7). Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
Baker, B. A., & Riches, C. (2018). The development of EFL examinations in Haiti: Collaboration and language assessment literacy development. Language Testing, 35(4), 557-581. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532217716732
Baker, B., & Taylor, L. (Eds.). (2024). Language assessment literacy and competence volume 2: Case studies from around the world. Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
Berry, V., Sheehan, S., & Munro, S. (2019). What does language assessment literacy mean to teachers? ELT Journal, 73(2), 113–123. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccy055
Bøhn, H., & Tsagari, D. (2021). Teacher educators’ conceptions of language assessment literacy in Norway. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 12(2), 222–233. https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.1202.02
Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Cui, Y., Liu, Y., Yu, H., & Gao, Y. (2022). Developing English teachers’ language assessment literacy in an EAP reform context through test design: A case study. System, 109, 102866. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2022.102866
Davies, A. (2008). Textbook trends in teaching language testing. Language Testing, 25(3), 327–347. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532208090156
Díaz Larenas, C., Alarcón Hernández, P., & Ortiz Navarrete, M. (2012). El profesor de inglés: sus creencias sobre la evaluación de la lengua inglesa en los niveles primario, secundario y terciario. Íkala, Revista de Lenguaje y Cultura, 17(1), 15–26. https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.ikala.10039
Egbert, J., & Baker, P. (Eds.). (2019). Using corpus methods to triangulate linguistic analysis. Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315112466
Fulcher, G. (2012). Assessment literacy for the language classroom. Language Assessment Quarterly, 9(2), 113–132. https://doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2011.642041
Fulcher, G. (2015). Re-examining language assessment: A philosophical and social inquiry. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315695518
Fulcher, G. (2020). Operationalizing assessment literacy. In D. Tsagari (Ed.), Language assessment literacy: From theory to practice (pp. 8–28). Cambridge Scholars.
Gan, L., & Lam, R. (2025). Language assessment literacy development of a novice university English teacher in the Chinese context. RELC Journal, 56(2), 346–361. https://doi.org/10.1177/00336882241231304
Giraldo, F. (2024). Language assessment literacy for in-service teachers: Online course planning and implementation. Editorial Universidad de Caldas. https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.13027271
Giraldo, F., & Yan, X. (2023). Planning an online assessment course for English language teachers in Latin America. Profile: Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 25(2), 147–164. https://doi.org/10.15446/profile.v25n2.104703
Giraldo, F., & Yan, X. (2025). Evaluating an online assessment course: Teachers’ voices on their language assessment literacy. Profile: Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 27(1), 97–114. https://doi.org/10.15446/profile.v27n1.113304
Inbar-Lourie, O. (2008). Constructing a language assessment knowledge base: A focus on language assessment courses. Language Testing, 25(3), 385–402. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532208090158
Inbar-Lourie, O. (2017). Language assessment literacy. In E. Shohamy, I. G. Or, & S. May (Eds.), Language testing and assessment: Encyclopedia of language and education (3rd ed., pp. 257–270). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02261-1_19
Inbar-Lourie, O. (2024). ‘A course of our own’: Reflections following a language assessment literacy (LAL) course. In B. Baker & L. Taylor (Eds.), Language assessment literacy and competence volume 1: Research and reflections from the field (pp. 231–238). Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
Kremmel, B., & Harding, L. (2020). Towards a comprehensive, empirical model of language assessment literacy across stakeholder groups: Developing the language assessment literacy survey. Language Assessment Quarterly, 17(1), 100–120. https://doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2019.1674855
Levi, T., & Inbar-Lourie, O. (2020). Assessment literacy or language assessment literacy: Learning from the teachers. Language Assessment Quarterly, 17(2), 168–182. https://doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2019.1692347
López Mendoza, A. A., & Bernal 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.
McNamara, T., & Roever, C. (2006). Language testing: The social dimension. Wiley.
Moraes, I. T., & Furtoso, V. A. B. (2026). Who will teach the teacher educator? Findings and implications of an online workshop for fostering Brazilian teacher educators’ language assessment literacy. In F. Giraldo & X. Yan (Eds.), Fostering language assessment literacy: Materials, methods, and emerging issues (pp. 145–165). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003483915-11
Moraes, I. T., Furtoso, V. A. B., & Giraldo, F. (2025). Developing pre-service teachers’ language assessment literacy: An analysis of classroom tasks. Ilha do Desterro, 77, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-8026.2024.e96898
Randall, J., Poe, M., Slomp, D., & Oliveri, M. E. (2024). Our validity looks like justice. Does yours? Language Testing, 41(1), 203–219. https://doi.org/10.1177/02655322231202947
Restrepo Bolivar, E. M. (2020). Monitoring preservice teachers’ language assessment literacy development through journal writing. Malaysian Journal of ELT Research, 17(1), 38–52.
Scarino, A. (2013). Language assessment literacy as self-awareness: Understanding the role of interpretation in assessment and in teacher learning. Language Testing, 30(3), 309–327. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532213480128
Simons, H. (2012). Case study research in practice. SAGE Publications.
Spiliotopoulos, V., Van Viegen, S., Early, M., & Lam James, C. (2024). Teacher professional learning communities and language assessment reform in western Canada. In B. Baker & L. Taylor (Eds.), Language assessment literacy and competence volume 2: Case studies from around the world (pp. 8–19). Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
Sultana, N. (2019). Language assessment literacy: An uncharted area for the English language teachers in Bangladesh. Language Testing in Asia, 9(1), 2–14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40468-019-0077-8
Taylor, L. (2013). Communicating the theory, practice and principles of language testing to test stakeholders: Some reflections. Language Testing, 30(3), 403–412. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532213480338
Tsagari, D., & Armostis, S. (2025). Contextualizing language assessment literacy: A comparative study of teacher beliefs, practices, and training needs in Norway and Cyprus. Education Sciences, 15(7), 927. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15070927
Villa Larenas, S., & Brunfaut, T. (2023). But who trains the language teacher educator who trains the language teacher? An empirical investigation of Chilean EFL teacher educators’ language assessment literacy. Language Testing, 40(3), 463–492. https://doi.org/10.1177/02655322221134218
Vogt, K., & Tsagari, D. (2014). Assessment literacy of foreign language teachers: Findings of a European study. Language Assessment Quarterly, 11(4), 374–402. https://doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2014.960046
Yan, X., & Fan, J. (2021). “Am I qualified to be a language tester?”: Understanding the development of language assessment literacy across three stakeholder groups. Language Testing, 38(2), 219–246. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532220929924
Yan, X., Zhang, C., & Fan, J. J. (2018). “Assessment knowledge is important, but…”: How contextual and experiential factors mediate assessment practice and training needs of language teachers. System, 74, 158–168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2018.03.003
Yin, R. K. (2014). Case study research: Design and methods (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Zhang, J., Yu, G., & Browne, W. J. (2025). Teachers’ language assessment literacy: Exploring its construct and contextual factors. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 87, 101525. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2025.101525
Dimensions
PlumX
Article abstract page views
Downloads
How to Cite
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Frank Giraldo, Angela Patricia Velásquez-Hoyos, Luis Herney Villegas

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
You are authorized to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format as long as you give appropriate credit to the authors of the articles and to Profile: Issues in Teachers' Professional Development as original source of publication. The use of the material for commercial purposes is not allowed. If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.
Authors retain the intellectual property of their manuscripts with the following restriction: first publication is granted to Profile: Issues in Teachers' Professional Development.






























