Validation of Assessment for Learning Questionnaires for teachers and students.
BACKGROUND
Assessment can be a powerful force in promoting student learning. Still, few measures exist to gauge Assessment for Learning (AFL) in the classroom. Literature on AFL suggests that it encompasses both a monitor to track student progress as well as a scaffold to show or help students recognize in what areas they need to improve.


OBJECTIVE
Based on a review of recent attempts to measure the AFL, we constructed Assessment for Learning Questionnaires for Teachers (TAFL-Q) and for students (SAFL-Q) for evaluating perceptions regarding AFL practices in classrooms using matching items.


METHODS
The total sample included 1,422 students (49% girls, 51% boys) and 237 teachers (43% females, 57% males) in lower vocational secondary education.


METHODS
The 28-item questionnaires were examined by means of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using EQS on one random half of the sample. The CFA was cross-validated on the second half. Measurement invariance tests were conducted to compare the students and teacher versions of the questionnaires.


RESULTS
CFA revealed a stable second-order two-factor structure that was cross-validated: perceived monitoring, and perceived scaffolding subsumed under a common factor: AFL. Tests for measurement invariance showed that the parallel constructs were measured similarly for both students and teachers.


CONCLUSIONS
The TAFL-Q and SAFL-Q capture the construct AFL in two subscales: Monitoring and Scaffolding, and allows for comparisons between teacher and student perceptions. The instruments can be useful tools for teachers and students alike to identify and scrutinize assessment practices in classroom.
Department of Education and Child Studies, Leiden University, The Netherlands.
Ron Jonathan
RJ
Pat-El
Harm
H
Tillema
Mien
M
Segers
Paul
P
Vedder
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005178:Faculty / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D055815:Young Adult