Secondary School Teachers\u27 Lived Experiences of Assessment Literacy: A Phenomenological Inquiry

Teacher knowledge, understanding, and the ability to effectively use student data to make appropriate instructional decisions has been described as assessment literacy and is generally regarded as an essential component to every educator’s pedagogical knowledge. Through the conceptual frameworks of assessment literacy and sociocultural theories, this study employed a phenomenological approach within a case study as the research design. Data collection and analysis were ongoing and simultaneous process, which included a series of three in-depth interviews employing open-ended questions with two participants from one secondary school. In this study, the following research questions were addressed: (a) How do secondary school teachers define assessment literacy? (b) How does assessment literacy live in the classroom? In the life of a teacher? (c) How do secondary school teachers believe their assessment literacy is used for instructional planning? (d) How have secondary teachers continued to develop their assessment literacy? Specifically, to what extent, if any, do secondary school teachers perceive their participation in collaborative, interdisciplinary data teams contributing to their assessment literacy? To ensure the study was trustworthy, member checking was employed, and conflicting evidence was included in the findings. Interpretation of the interview data resulted in three major themes that supported participants’ assessment literacy: (a) Teachers’ Evolving Understandings of Assessment Literacy, (b) Teachers’ Dynamic Social Practices, and (c) Teachers’ Professional Knowledge and Experience. Implications for practice and suggestions for further research were discussed.