Teacher education plays a significant role in developing assessment culture and practices as well as teachers' assessment literacy (e.g. Xu & Brown, 2016; Atjonen et al. 2019). Assessment literacy (AL) consists of e.g.  individual’s and community’s awareness of the values and principles related to assessment, as well as information related to the purpose of assessment, assessment targets, strategies and assessment practices (e.g. Atjonen, 2017; Xu & Brown, 2016). It is based on an understanding of learning processes and environments, an understanding of the impact of the individual and the community on them, an understanding of the goals set for learning processes and the monitoring of their realization throughout the entire learning process (e.g. Atjonen, 2017). When considering assessment as support of learning and its importance for learning is recognized, there is a need for teachers to deepen their understanding of the purpose of assessment and implementation of it i.e. to be assessment literate (DeLuca & Braund, 2019).

AL can be viewed as both a teacher's and a learner's competence. Learners' AL is reflected, among other things, in the skills of receiving and utilizing feedback and in the learner's activity in developing their own competence (Atjonen et al., 2019). Assessment should therefore be an interactive process in which the teacher guides and supports not only learning but also the development of the learner's assessment skills, ie his or her learning skills. Teacher education can prepare teacher students for their future work by focusing on assessment that, on the one hand, develops their assessment skills as a student, such as self-assessment skills, and, on the other hand, provides the ability to plan, implement and develop assessment as a teacher. (Boud et al., 2013; Kearney & Perkins, 2014). Teacher education plays an important role in building the foundations for teacher’s AL and as a basis for continuous development throughout a teacher's career (DeLuca & Braund, 2019). 

The shaping of teachers’ AL is comprehensively described using the TALiP framework (Teacher Assessment Literacy in Practice, Xu & Brown, 2016). According to the framework, a teacher's AL can be thought of as a complex identity work in which the teacher builds their assessment concepts on the basis of diverse assessment information and pedagogical content information, which in turn is influenced by e.g. curricula. Teachers’ perceptions of assessment are shaped by the influence of the teacher's perception of learning as well as the cognitive dimension and the affective dimension. Assessment concepts are structured as assessment practices and are influenced by, for example, macro-cultural socio-cultural conditions related to the school system and, at the micro-level, for example, the traditions and customs of the school or work community. According to the framework, teachers ’own assessment practices are ultimately the result of a number of compromises that the teacher has to make with his or her own knowledge, perceptions, beliefs, and external pressures. The teacher’s assessment identity is built through the teacher’s experiences, learning attitude and reflection, and inclusion and interaction. At its best, it develops throughout teacher’s professional career. (Xu & Brown, 2016; DeLuca & Braund, 2019) 

In this study, we explore how assessment literacy (AL) of teacher students is constructed through self- and group-assessments and self- and group-reflections. The research questions are

RQ1: What kind of challenges and opportunities teacher students reason for when reflecting on their development of assessment literacy?

RQ2: What do teacher students consider most significant impact on in developing their assessment literacy?

The data was collected in the context of an experimental research-based holistic learning unit as part of the master's studies in special education teacher training and in elementary school teacher training. The learning unit lasted 8 weeks and it consisted of intensive teaching period at university, independent and group learning tasks, and a five-week training period in school context, where teacher students (N=18) were working together in multi-professional teams. Teams can be called multi-professional because, in Finland, elementary school teacher students and special education teacher students study in separate master's programmes and have different eligibility criteria in Finnish educational legislation. The data consists of elementary school teacher students' and special education teacher students' self-reflections and self-assessments during the learning process in the learning unit and teacher-student teams’ interview data and group reflections collected at the end of the learning unit. In this presentation, we examine teacher students' reflections on their assessment literacy based on theory-informed and data-driven content analysis. The data was analyzed using qualitative data-driven and theory-informed content analysis (Vaismoradi et al., 2016). The data were thematised to capture both explicit and underlying reflections on assessment literacy and its development, and also reflections on assessment and evaluation in general. The data analysis consists of three interactive sub processes: generating initial codes based on the qualitative content analysis, reviewing themes, and naming the main categories. The analysis can be also characterized theory-informed because part of the data consisted of reflections, in which students were asked to reflect on their own assessment literacy by mirroring it to the TALiP framework (Xu & Brown, 2016).

The preliminary findings indicate that teacher students reason for the necessity for continuous reflection and they are readiness to reflect on and develop their assessment literacy from multiple angles in future as well. They are aware of the multidimensionality, importance and challenges of assessment in guiding learning and in instructional support (see Hamre et al., 2007). The students highlighted as challenges, for example, the lack of experience and insufficient preparation during teacher education programme, the comprehensive challenge of the teacher's work and pedagogical expertise, and especially the influence of their own beliefs and experiences when considering assessment. On the other hand, the students' reflections revealed a belief in and favor of development and a desire to constantly develop assessment literacy both individually and in collaboration in school communities. They strongly emphasized the importance of reflection in building their own competence and identifying development needs, as well as in developing their understanding and knowledge base of assessment. Teacher students consider holistic and participatory ways of learning about assessment (as was done in the learning unit), their own active knowledge building, and continuous reflection and questioning of their own beliefs to be the most significant for developing their assessment literacy. On the basis of the results, it may be concluded that teacher education should offer to teacher students opportunities to build their assessment literacy consciously throughout their studies and provide comprehensive support for its development in authentic environments. In our presentation, we will also discuss how assessment literacy could be more closely bridged with teacher students’ learning processes and professional development and what kinds of pedagogical practices would be relevant for developing assessment literacy in teacher education. - Most of the data will be analyzed in spring 2023 and the results will be discussed based on that.

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