Assessment Literacy in ELT: Extending Communicative Teaching through Informed Evaluation

Assessment Literacy, CLT, Communicative Language Teaching, Formative Assessment, Kirkpatrick Model, Professional Development 0 comments

Brushing Clarity into Pedagogy

AI-generated picture by Prof. Jonathan Acuña Solano in October 2025

Introductory Note to the Reader

As someone concerned with helping novice or neophyte English language teachers grow into confident professionals, I continue to identify areas where we can create a truly transformative professional development program—one that genuinely shapes communication-oriented instructors capable of materializing Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) in their classrooms. This involves not only training teachers to design communicative lessons but also scaffolding their growth as reflective practitioners who can evaluate learning meaningfully and formatively.

In this pursuit, Assessment Literacy (AL) becomes an indispensable bridge between instruction and evaluation. By understanding how to assess what truly matters—language use, interaction, and meaning—teachers move beyond mechanical testing toward formative practices that boost student engagement and communicative competence.

I remain committed to following the Kirkpatrick Model for training, as it provides a clear, evidence-based structure for evaluating how teacher learning translates into classroom behavior and student outcomes. Within this framework, assessment literacy represents the next logical step: helping educators not only plan communicative lessons but also measure, reflect upon, and continuously improve them through informed evaluation.

Assessment Literacy in ELT: Extending Communicative Teaching through Informed Evaluation

Abstract

This paper explores Assessment Literacy (AL) as a vital extension of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) and an essential component in the professional development of English language teachers. Building upon the principles of the Kirkpatrick Model, the discussion emphasizes the importance of aligning assessment with communicative outcomes and formative feedback. Assessment literacy enables teachers to integrate evaluation into their instructional design, ensuring that assessment fosters learning rather than merely measuring it. Drawing from key scholars such as Stiggins (1995), Black and Wiliam (1998), Nunan (2004), and Inbar-Lourie (2008), this paper argues that AL is not a technical add-on but a professional competence that sustains communicative pedagogy and promotes reflective practice.

Keywords:

Assessment Literacy, Communicative Language Teaching, CLT, Formative Assessment, Professional Development, Kirkpatrick Model

Resumen

Este artículo explora la competencia evaluativa (Assessment Literacy, AL) como una extensión esencial de la Enseñanza Comunicativa de la Lengua (Communicative Language Teaching, CLT) y como un componente clave en el desarrollo profesional de los docentes de inglés. Basándose en los principios del Modelo de Kirkpatrick, se destaca la importancia de alinear la evaluación con los resultados comunicativos y con la retroalimentación formativa. La AL permite que los docentes integren la evaluación en el diseño de la instrucción, de modo que esta fomente el aprendizaje en lugar de limitarse a medirlo. Con base en autores como Stiggins (1995), Black y Wiliam (1998), Nunan (2004) e Inbar-Lourie (2008), se argumenta que la AL no es una habilidad técnica adicional, sino una competencia profesional que fortalece la pedagogía comunicativa y promueve la reflexión docente.

Resumo

Este artigo examina a literacia avaliativa (Assessment Literacy, AL) como uma extensão essencial do Ensino Comunicativo de Línguas (Communicative Language Teaching, CLT) e como um componente fundamental do desenvolvimento profissional dos professores de inglês. Com base nos princípios do Modelo de Kirkpatrick, o texto enfatiza a importância de alinhar a avaliação com os resultados comunicativos e com o feedback formativo. A AL permite que os docentes integrem a avaliação ao design instrucional, garantindo que ela promova a aprendizagem em vez de apenas medi-la. Apoiado em autores como Stiggins (1995), Black e Wiliam (1998), Nunan (2004) e Inbar-Lourie (2008), argumenta-se que a AL não é uma habilidade técnica adicional, mas uma competência profissional que sustenta a pedagogia comunicativa e fomenta a reflexão docente.

Introduction

In recent years, assessment literacy (also known as AL) has become a central concern in English language teaching (ELT), particularly as communicative language teaching (CLT) helps reshape the ways we teachers design and evaluate student learning and language mastery. To better comprehend Assessment Literacy, it needs to be understood that this concept refers to teachers’ “ability to understand, analyze, and apply assessment principles in ways that enhance student learning” (Stiggins, 1995, p. 240) not from a summative standpoint but from a formative one that boosts linguistic development among students. While communicative lessons emphasize interaction, meaning, and real-world use of language, they require forms of assessment that go beyond discrete-point grammar tests. Developing assessment literacy ensures that teachers can design evaluations aligned with communicative outcomes, bridging the gap between pedagogy and evidence of learning.

Communicative Teaching and Assessment Challenges

One of the persistent challenges in CLT has been the usual misalignment between instructional goals (linked to course outline outcomes and assessment tools (tasks to provide students with feedback through formative assessment). Nunan (2004) highlights that communicative tasks must be evaluated for both accuracy and fluency, yet many teachers still rely on “traditional testing methods that measure isolated forms rather than communicative competence” (p. 112). Without assessment literacy, teachers risk undermining communicative pedagogy by applying outdated forms of testing, emphasizing, e.g., whether B2 learners can effectively use the third conditional without mixing tenses. AL provides conceptual and practical tools for teachers to ensure that assessment reflects what is taught, that scaffolds the learner throughout all the process and that they communicatively practice the grammar, vocabulary, and communication strategies in the classroom.

Defining Teacher Assessment Literacy

Assessment literacy must not be simply considered as a technical skill but as a professional competence nowadays. Inbar-Lourie (2008) has defined AL as “the knowledge base, skills, and principles that enable teachers to integrate assessment into classroom practice in a meaningful way” (p. 389). For ELT, this includes designing performance-based tasks with a communicative aim in their genesis, using rubrics for formative assessment to guide students on the areas they need to strengthen, and providing meaningful feedback that promotes learner autonomy. In this sense, assessment literacy is inseparable from pedagogical content knowledge, as teachers must not only know how to teach communicatively but also how to measure communicative growth among their language learners.

Formative Assessment as a Pedagogical Tool

A key point of assessment literacy is the understanding and use of formative assessment. Black and Wiliam (1998) argue that “formative assessment is at the heart of effective teaching” because it informs instruction and guides learners (p. 140). Within ELT, formative strategies such as peer feedback, self-assessment checklists, and reflective journals allow teachers to capture language development in authentic ways. These tools reflect a shift from assessment of learning to assessment for learning, a distinction that is crucial in communicative classrooms, which will help language instructors abandon non-communicative practices that do not contribute to assist the development of “pragmatic” language mastery among students.

Feedback and Learner Agency

Assessment literacy also equips teachers to give timely and meaningful feedback to learners that fosters their agency and responsibility for their own language learning. According to Hattie and Timperley (2007), effective feedback must answer three questions: Where am I going? How am I going? Where to next? (p. 86). In communicative language teaching (CLT) contexts, this set of questions means moving beyond error correction toward feedback that encourages risk-taking, negotiation of meaning, and learner reflection. Teachers trained in AL can provide feedback that not only addresses language accuracy but also builds learners’ confidence in authentic communication. In the end, we language teachers want to have a cohort of students willing to try out what they are learning in new contexts where similar grammatical structures along with communication strategies are used.

Washback and Classroom Practices

The concept of washback, the influence of assessment on teaching and learning, highlights the importance of teacher assessment literacy. Bailey (1996) notes that “tests and examinations often have powerful influences on both teachers and students, shaping classroom activities and attitudes” (p. 259). These types of summative assessments are not meant to replace communicative and formative tasks; this summative evaluation is important but not central to CLT. Teachers who lack AL are bound to succumb to negative washback by teaching to the written, grammar and vocabulary-oriented tests, while those who are assessment literate can harness positive washback to reinforce communicative pedagogy and communication strategies in real life situations. For instance, task-based formative assessments can drive instruction that is more interactive and learner-centered aiming at helping students toy with the language, discover how it is used, and negotiate meaning in conversation.

Professional Development and Assessment Literacy

Professional development programs (PDPs) must therefore integrate assessment literacy as a core component of teacher training and teacher performance assessment. Scarino (2013) argues that AL requires not only technical expertise but also a “critical, reflective stance toward one’s own practices and assumptions” (p. 312); self-reflection or some kind of reflective journaling can give room to better classroom practices and delivery. For ELT teachers, this reflective dimension ensures that assessment is not a separate or punitive element, but a pedagogical practice aligned with communicative principles aiming at helping students develop the target language. Training teachers to design communicative lessons using frameworks such as the Kirkpatrick Model should naturally extend to equipping them with the skills to evaluate communicative outcomes, not only in in-class, formative assessments but in course summative evaluations.

Conclusion

Assessment literacy is the natural extension of communicative teaching. Without AL, we teachers risk undermining communicative goals by defaulting to traditional testing formats where form is more important than meaning and use. With AL, we language instructors gain the capacity to design assessments that reflect authentic language use, provide meaningful feedback, and create positive washback among our learners. Ultimately, AL empowers us teachers to connect pedagogy and assessment, ensuring that communicative classrooms are not only rich in interaction but also rigorous in evaluation.

📚 References

Bailey, K. M. (1996). Working for washback: A review of the washback concept in language testing. Language Testing, 13(3), 257–279. https://doi.org/10.1177/026553229601300303

Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 5(1), 7–74. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969595980050102

Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81–112. https://doi.org/10.3102/003465430298487

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

Nunan, D. (2004). Task-based language teaching. Cambridge University Press.

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

Stiggins, R. J. (1995). Assessment literacy for the 21st century. Phi Delta Kappan, 77(3), 238–245.

Reflection and Discussion Questions for Teachers

1. In your current practice, how do you ensure that your assessments align with the communicative goals of your lessons?

2. Have you experienced negative washback (tests shaping your teaching in unhelpful ways)? If so, how could assessment literacy help you counteract it?

3. Which formative assessment strategies (e.g., peer feedback, self-assessment, learning journals) have you found most effective in your classrooms? Why?

4. How do you balance accuracy-focused assessment (grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation) with assessments of fluency and communicative competence?

5. Reflect on the feedback you typically provide to learners: does it answer the three guiding questions Hattie & Timperley (2007) suggest (Where am I going? How am I going? Where to next?)?

6. In what ways could you further develop your own assessment literacy through professional development, collaboration, or self-study?