Assessment Literacy: A Catalyst to the Success of School-Based Assessment in Malaysian Schools

Abstract

The Malaysian Education Ministry has proposed to implement the School-Based Assessment (SBA) in public schools in an attempt to have a holistic approach in assessing students achievement and performance. Due to that, this study was conducted with the purpose of identifying the level of teachers’ assessment literacy on 465 secondary school teachers in the state of Johor from three categories: Subject Teacher, Subject Panel and the Examination Secretary. Data collection was done by administering Literacy Assessment Test (LAT) which consists of 45 multiple choice items covering five assessment dimensions - Assessment Concepts (ASC), Measurement Methods (MEM), Testing (TET), Scoring & Grading (SCG) and Statistics and Reporting (STR). Data was analyzed using Quest 2, a program which combines the principles of two measurement theories; Classical Test Theory and Item Response Theory. Findings from the study indicated that 13.33% of teachers are at a high literacy level, 68.82% are at a moderate literacy level and 17.85% at a low literacy level. In addition, the results also identified mean differences on four demographic factors and five assessment dimensions with values between 46.66-50.97. Several implications and recommendations were drawn to enhance teachers professionalism in assessment in order to ensure the smooth-running of the school-based assessment in Malaysian public schools.