Evaluating Assessment Strategies for EFL Teacher Pre-, During-, and Post-COVID-۱۹: Teachers’ Reflections on Challenges and Opportunities

The COVID-۱۹ pandemic has transformed education globally in an unprecedented way; therefore, it has become critical to reexamine how we assess students, particularly when it comes to the teaching of languages. The current study examines the pre-COVID-۱۹ situation, during COVID-۱۹, and post-COVID-۱۹, and the change in assessment by the Iranian EFL teachers. The current state of research is minimal as to the assessment practice in postsecondary education; therefore, it resorts to a qualitative, phenomenological design in order to study what has been practiced. The ۲۵ experienced teachers provided data using semi-structured interviews and open-ended questionnaires. Thematic analysis demonstrated that the pre-pandemic evaluation was mostly summative-based. The postgraduate courses, on the contrary, permitted a more formative and research-oriented approach. Initially, the pandemic forced the teachers to revise the traditional use of tests, but with time, they began relying on blended models to address issues such as dishonesty, lack of technology, and students who were not interested in school. Following the pandemic, blended and formative techniques were still applied by teachers, yet evaluating how to maintain innovation and equity in assessment was of their concern as well. Respondents reported that they are better equipped with information on the use of technology and developing new methods of teaching it; however, they experienced trouble with the validity of assessments and the condition of the infrastructure. As indicated by the findings, we require the concept of language assessment literacy, equitable online infrastructure, and continuous professional growth to foster assessing the subjects through a learner-centered approach.

کلیدواژه ها:

Assessment Literacy ، COVID-۱۹ ، EFL Teachers ، Formative Assessment ، Summative Assessment