"This volume addresses an important and perennial problem in all of educationhow teachers and students perceive, respond to, and make use (or not) of assessment. Assessment literacy is universal in that all systems and levels implement assessment to evaluate instruction, learning, or curriculum and, just as frequently, to inform improved teaching and learning; so language education, not just 2nd language, researchers will find the book useful.
Language assessment literacy is more complex in that language is not just an end but a tool by which all teaching and learning takes place. Being adept at using assessments to improve instruction and learning of languages is seemingly a neglected aspect of assessment in the world of language teaching, which apparently treats the summative test or exam as the norm for assessment.
The chapters in this volume help move language assessment more into multi-faceted data collection about competencies for the sake of improving the quality of learning and teaching. Its nice to see language assessment research catching up with the world of classroom assessment theory and practice. The volume provides access to research and thinking about the topic from some relatively under-represented perspectives, including Turkey, Tunisia, Oman, Ukraine, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Japan; as well as Europe and the UK."
Prof. Gavin T L Brown, Associate Dean Postgraduate Research (ADPG),Director Quantitative Data Analysis and Research Unit, Faculty of Education & Social Work, The University of Auckland.
Language assessment literacy (LAL) is a critical topic in the field of language testing and assessment; see, for example, the recently established (April of 2019) Language Assessment Literacy Special Interest Group (LALSIG) within the International Language Testing Association. Perspectives on Language Assessment Literacy comprises chapters by authors from traditionally less represented regions of the world areas and thus represents an important contribution to the field. The volume also helps advance the scholarship of LAL. Authors pay special attention to how language assessment theory and practice can better synergize with teaching to improve students language learning and to better document students learning outcomes.
Micheline Chalhoub-Deville, Ph.D., Professor, Educational Research Methodology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro