Practices and challenges in implementing alternative assessment in communicative English skills course: the case of three Ethiopian universities

Abstract

Prompted by increased concern about the quality of assessment, the present study investigated the practices and challenges in implementing an alternative assessment in a communicative English skills course at three Ethiopian Universities. The study mainly focused on the components of alternative assessment the instructors used, the reaction of the students towards the alternative assessment, alignment between the teaching objectives and assessment strategies, the challenges of alternative assessment implementation, and strategies to overcome the challenges in the course. To this end, 128 instructors and 230 students participated in the study based on the comprehensive and stratified sampling techniques respectively. Based on pragmatism research philosophy, a mixed research approach was employed. In the view of convergent parallel mixed research design, both quantitative and qualitative data were obtained from both primary and secondary sources through questionnaire, classroom observation and focused group discussion. Descriptive and inferential data analysis methods were employed to address the objectives of the study. Similarly, instructional and assessment document analysis was also made to determine the alignment between the instructional and assessment materials. The overall results of the study revealed that the instructors assessed 70% of the teaching module of the course using instructor-based traditional assessment approach. Congruently, 90% of the students were also more enthusiastic to participate in traditional assessment than in alternative assessment methods. The alignment between the instructors’ assessment items and the intended learning outcomes of the course was (c = 0.1291) very low where the mismatch between the objectives of the course and the assessment method is a function of the constraints of instructional materials and poor classroom conditions, wrong perceptions of instructors and students, the instructor- and student-related factors, the multifaceted objectives of the course, and the demanding nature of alternative assessment in descending order. The prescriptions for the cure also lie in the employment of constructive alignment strategies, bringing about improvements in education policy and curriculum development, instructors’ education and training, instructional supply and in instructors’ salary and workloads.