Shaping the assessors of tomorrow: How practicum experiences develop assessment literacy in secondary education pre-service teachers

This study analyzes the impact of the supervised practicum on the assessment conceptions and practices of pre-service secondary education teachers, using the theoretical rationale of assessment literacy. We conducted a qualitative study with eighteen pre-service physical education teachers in Spain. The results revealed the difficulties and the variety of experiences the participants encountered during the practicum in relation to assessment. Student accountability and improving learning and teaching were the most common assessment conceptions, although the assessment tasks designed by the participants were not entirely formative. In general, the practicum experience reaffirmed their previous ideas on formative assessment. • Participants' experiences with assessment during the practicum were highly heterogeneous. • Student accountability was the dominant assessment conception among participants. • The practicum experience mostly reaffirmed, but did not improve, participants' preferences for formative assessment. • Rubrics and checklists were the most frequently used tools in the assessment tasks designed by the participants.