Co-constructing the assessment criteria for EFL writing by instructors and students: A participative approach to constructively aligning the CEFR, curricula, teaching and learning

Abstract

The current assessment in language classrooms prevailingly utilizes the criteria provided by instructors, regarding learners as passive recipients of assessment. The current study drew upon sustainable assessment and the community of practice to highlight the importance of involving learners in co-constructing the assessment criteria and argued that using the criteria provided by instructors could lead to discrepancy between assessment, teaching, and learning. It adopted a participatory approach and investigated how to involve learners in co-constructing the assessment criteria with instructors in tertiary English writing instruction in China, based on the European Language Profile (ELP), an evolved version of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Two writing instructors and 146 tertiary students played different, yet interactive roles in adapting the assessment criteria in the local context. Instructors drafted the criteria in line with curricula, teaching, learning and learners. Learners utilized the draft criteria in a training session and suggested possible modifications to the criteria in a survey. Suggestions were used to revise the descriptors alongside teachers’ reflections via reflective logs. A follow-up survey explored students’ perceptions of the feasibility and usefulness of the modified descriptors to investigate the effectiveness of co-constructing the assessment criteria for learning and reveal further improvement if necessary. Vigilant decision-making processes were thickly described regarding how assessment descriptors were selected, arranged, and modified to constructively align them with curricula, teaching, and learning. Statistical and thematic analyses were conducted to examine the accessibility, feasibility, and usefulness of the assessment descriptors prior to and after the modifications. Results substantiated the effectiveness and thus the importance of co-constructing assessment criteria for enhancing the quality of assessment criteria and developing learners’ cognitive and metacognitive knowledge of writing and assessment. Implications for language tutors regarding co-constructing assessment criteria in local contexts were deliberated on at the end of the article.

The Application of Language Proficiency Scales in Education Context: A Systematic Literature Review

“…As CEFR promoted an action-oriented approach in language teaching, it changed teachers’ concepts from grammar-oriented learning to authentic-task-based learning, input-focused to out-put-focused teaching (Poonpon et al, 2022; Rehner et al, 2021). It also gave birth to the student-centered concept, emphasising the collaborative learning process of teachers and students (Zhao & Zhao, 2023).…”

“…It shed light on important trends in developing English Philology students’ foreign language competency in Lithuania. Zhao and Zhao (2023) explained how teachers and students in China co-constructed writing assessment criteria based on CEFR. The findings supported the efficacy and significance of developing these criteria for improving learners’ cognitive and metacognitive knowledge of writing and assessing.…”

“…Xiong and Liu (2020) explored using rubrics and contents adapted from CSE in assessing and improving English proficiency in open universities. The study of Zhao and Zhao (2023) demonstrated that the collaborative process improved the feasibility and usefulness of the CEFR descriptors and developed students' cognitive and metacognitive knowledge and skills for setting up assessment criteria. These studies proved the effectiveness of LPS as a tool in improving learning outcomes and activating learning interests.…”

Evaluating Teachers’ Assessment Literacy in Enacting Cefr-Aligned Classroom-Based Assessment in Malaysian Secondary Schools ESL Classroom

“…According to Holzknecht et al (2018), instead of using general classifications like "beginners," "intermediate," or "advanced" in the former KSSM assessment system, this proficiency scale offers a more accurate and dependable manner of gauging the students' mastery level in language learning. The new CEFR-aligned CBA emphasizes the peer and self-assessment to develop the independent language learner (Zhao & Zhao, 2020). Teachers are responsible to guide the students to self-assess themselves by being responsible of their own language learning process.…”

Different dimensions of teacher and peer assessment of EFL learners’ writing: descriptive and narrative genres in focus

“…Classroom assessment has been known as an immediate means to attest student learning and progress (Zhao & Liao, 2021). Over the last decades, a paradigm shift was seen in teaching practitioners' tendency, from using assessment to grant credits and grades to students (Liu & Huang, 2020) to a more integrated endeavor of investment on students optimized learning (Zhao & Zhao, 2020). Classroom writing assessment in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts, however, is still dominated by language teachers' use of writing tasks to make summative judgments about student performance (Wang, Lee, & Park, 2020).…”