Chinese university EFL teachers’ beliefs and practices of classroom writing assessment

This study investigates the extent to which university teachers’ beliefs about classroom writing assessment are congruent with their self-perceived practices in English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) contexts, and what factors contribute to belief-practice inconsistencies. Drawing on data from a survey of 136 Chinese university EFL writing teachers and ten teacher interviews, results showed a degree of belief-practice alignment regarding assessment for learning (AfL) practices that make learning explicit, but belief-practice discrepancies were more salient. AfL practices that empower students to take responsibility in writing assessment were perceived to be more important than assessment of learning practices; however, the reverse was found in teachers’ practice. Impacts of micro-level factors including assessment training, teaching experience, student attributes, meso-level school factors, and macro-level assessment culture are discussed, and implications are drawn.