An Investigation of Saudi English-Major Learners’ Perceptions of Formative Assessment Tasks and Their Learning

The effect of standardised and summative assessment on teaching and learning has been explored in various settings. Formative assessment or classroom assessment, however, has not captured considerable attention of washback researchers. The prime goal of the inclusion of formative assessment in the assessment regime of a curriculum is to allow learners to grow as independent learners. This study investigated if learners’ perceptions of formative assessment tools influenced their learning strategies, the scope of what they learned, and the depth of their learning. The results of a survey, distributed among 400 Taif University English-major female learners (TUEMFL) showed that the respondents preferred formative assessment tasks to comprise expected questions in the form of multiple-choice questions. In addition, formative assessment tasks narrowed down the scope of the syllabus the learners studied. However, the participants deemed formative assessment helpful in diagnosing and improving their mistakes. Therefore, it is suggested that the nature formative assessment tasks should synchronise with their course objectives to help learners improve their academic skills. This may mean that the assessment tasks should be more authentic in nature and should have a greater consequential validity replacing the multiple-choice questions which often culminate in surface-level learning.