An Investigation into Assessment Preferences of Gulf Arab Students

Abstract

The purposes of this study are to gain insight into Gulf Arab EFL students' preferences when being assessed in their university-level English courses and to investigate if gender and degree of test anxiety have an impact on these preferences. Data were obtained from responses on an adapted form of Birenbaum's (1994) Assessment Preferences Inventory. Results show that the students participating in this study favor assessments with multiplechoice (MCQ) questions as they are viewed as being easier to prepare for, easier to take, and thus will bring in relatively higher scores. Results also indicate that students are very much in favor of choosing how they will be assessed and data report a strong preference for multiple measures, and low stakes assessment. Implications for the classroom are also discussed.