The Development of Assessment Literacy in Chinese Pre-Service Primary Teachers

This quasi-experiment using two classes, each of these 40 participants, examined the effectiveness of a backward-designed training course for improving Chinese pre-service primary teachers' assessment literacy. Framed by the Understanding by Design approach, the 12-week course was taken by those in the treatment group. The average level of assessment literacy among the Chinese pre-service teachers was initially low, with only 42% of the items on the modified Assessment Literacy Inventory correctly answered. ANCOVA results suggest the assessment literacy training course improved pre-service teachers' assessment literacy, F(1,77)=135.911, p<.001, with an adjusted posttest mean difference of 7 points (on a 35-item test; partial eta squared=.64). Implications for teacher training and policy are discussed.