Competence in educational assessment has been recognized as a high priority outcome of teacher education programmes, with both education scholars and assessment associations working to consolidate an understanding of what it takes to be competent in assessment on a global and a European level (e.g., AEA-A, 2013). Understandings of teacher competence in educational assessment have evolved from a collection of specific knowledge elements and skills associated with classroom assessment tasks (e.g. Popham, 2009) towards a dynamic process in which teachers’ assessment practices are situated and negotiated in differing educational settings and cultures (e.g., Willis, Adie & Klenowski, 2013). This latter understanding implies that social and cultural context variables mediate how teachers approach classroom assessment in practice (DeLuca, Coombs, MacGregor, & Rasooli 2019) and also influence the way in which assessment is taught in teacher education programmes. Furthermore, past studies have revealed that student teachers’ approaches to classroom assessment are related to teachers’ mindsets (DeLuca, Coombs & LaPointe-McEwan, 2019) and personal values (Schneider, DeLuca, Pozas & Coombs, 2021).

Assessment cultures and understandings vary widely across countries and jurisdictions (Alarcón & Lawn, 2018), and they are subject to change (IEAN, 2021). Similarly, there is considerable variation between countries in the uptake and impact of large-scale assessments (Volante et al., 2020). There are, however, few systematic comparisons of how prevailing assessment cultures translate into assessment practises, or how these factors shape and influence learning in teacher education programmes cross-culturally (see DeLuca, Schneider, Coombs & Pozas, 2020 for an exception). Researchers have called for additional studies into how teacher candidates learn to assess over the lifespan of their teacher education programme, with consideration for the variety of social and cultural factors that potentially shape their learning (DeLuca, Searle, Carbone, Ge, & LaPointe-McEwan, 2021).

For teacher candidates, learning about assessment is a complex, social endeavour, involving theoretical input, practicum experiences, and reflection of learning contents and experiences with educators or amongst peers. Previous research has noted that teacher candidates learn about different facets of assessment in different way and at different rates (DeLuca et al., 2021). For example, learning about assessment purposes and other assessment knowledge typically occurs early in a programme while views on fairness in assessment have been found to occur at slow pace (DeLuca et al., 2021). In the same vein, rising awareness for the specifics of conceptions of fairness, particularly in classroom assessment and their significance in learning about assessment, has been expressed (Nisbet & Shaw, 2019; Rasooli, Zandi & DeLuca, 2019).

To our knowledge, no longitudinal studies employing a quantitative methodology on teacher candidates’ evolving approaches to classroom assessment have been conducted. In order to shed light on this blind spot and to corroborate findings from qualitative studies, our paper seeks to answer the following research questions:  

1. Which facets of teacher candidates’ competence in assessment evolve along a teacher education programme?
2. Is there convergence in findings on teacher candidates’ evolving competence in educational assessment collected with different methodologies (scenario-based decisions vs. endorsement of rating items)?

A longitudinal survey research design is being used in samples of student teachers enrolled in a teacher education BA/MA programme in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Preliminary data include 190 participants; additional data from another cohort (n=80) is currently being collected. Analysis of the full sample will be presented at the 2022 ECER conference. To assess preference and priorities in approaches to educational assessment, student teachers completed the Approaches to Classroom Assessment Inventory (ACAI; DeLuca, LaPointe-McEwan, & Luhanga, 2016) on two occasions. The first survey (t1) was administered at the end of a compulsory course on educational assessment, typically in the 5th semester of the teacher education programme shortly before obtaining candidates’ Bachelors’ degree. The second survey (t2) was tied to a final exam for obtaining the Master’s degree; mean time interval between t1 and t2 was 4.9 (±1.2) half-year terms. The ACAI includes a scenario section (where candidates are asked for the likelihood with which they would act in a certain way in a given assessment-related situation in school) and a rating items section asking for endorsement of assessment-related statements. Both parts employ different methodologies to determine teacher candidates’ approaches related to four themes of assessment, each embracing three distinct approaches: (a) assessment purposes (assessment of learning/summative, assessment for learning/formative, assessment as learning) (b) assessment processes (design, administration/scoring, communication, (c) approaches to fairness in assessment (standard, equitable, differentiated), and (d) assessment theory (consistent, contextual, balanced). To disentangle the first research question on how facets of assessment competence evolve over time, preliminary analyses on the data available hitherto have been on a manifest level employing dependent t-tests (see ‘expected findings’). Yet, the expected increased sample size of roughly 270 participants will allow to confirm these preliminary findings by more elaborated tools of analysis, such as latent change models, which will be presented in the conference. Analysis strategies may focus on both, single ACAI facets and, on a higher level of aggregation, on its underlying factors “contemporary” vs. “traditional approaches to assessment”, as they were identified in earlier exploratory factor analyses by DeLuca, Schneider et al. (2020). Working on the second research question of convergence in findings across different methodologies, analyses will seek to integrate indicators from both modalities into joint latent modelling of constructs.

Across the ACAI’ s four assessment themes (purposes, processes, fairness and theories), significant trends could be identified in the preliminary analysis. As these trends still have to be confirmed by later analyses based on the expected full sample of about 270 subjects, only robust findings (significant differences between t1 and t2 as identified by dependent t-tests with an effect of d > .20) are reported here. In assessment purposes, scenario-based responses point at a rise of importance attributed to formative assessment while ratings suggest that summative approaches also shifts. There is across-methods evidence for a rise in communicating results in the assessment processes dimension. The most accentuated shifts, consistent across methods, are observed in assessment fairness, expressing a clear trend away from a standard “equal criteria / one size fits all” - approach towards a more equitable and/or differentiated approach. In assessment theory, however, there is no prominent difference over time. Preliminary conclusions include: First, ‘slow’ learning occurs concerning most dimensions of classroom assessment. Post-processing, deep reflection or possibly illustrative models experienced in practicum situations or further coursework may be needed in sustainable learning about assessment. Second, attitudes to fairness in educational assessment are, in particular subject to change over time. The finding that attitudes on enacting ‘fair’ assessment in the classroom particularly require ‘slow’ learning is well in line with earlier qualitative findings (DeLuca et al., 2021). Third, there is some convergence in findings based on different methodologies (i.e., the scenario vs. the rating items part of the ACAI), most visibly so in the fairness theme. Converging results obtained with different approaches of measurement points at the content validity of the constructs in focus.

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