A Study of Formative Assessment Literacy in Indonesia: Insight from Pre-Service EFL Teachers

This study examines formative assessment literacy of 100 pre-service teachers’ (PSTs henceforth) of EFL in the context of an Indonesian higher education. Adopting a mixed-method approach, this study used two research instruments, TFALS (Teacher Formative Assessment Literacy Scale) adapted from Yan and Pastore (2022) and semi-structure interviews. While quantitative data gained from the first part of the TFALS were analyzed using IBM SPSS software, qualitative data gained from the second part of the TFALS and interviews were analyzed using NVivo Software. The first finding showed that the PSTs of EFL were found to have a moderate level of formative assessment with different value in each variable; conceptional dimensions (M=3.12, SD=0.54), practical dimensions (M=2.96, SD=0.58), and socio-emotional dimensions (M=2.98, SD=0.57). The second finding revealed five major challenges faced by the PSTs of EFL when implementing formative assessment including issues relating to institutional support, teaching workload, digital literacy, students’ learning motivation, and teachers’ assessment skills and knowledge. Despite some limitation, the current study provides us with pedagogical implications including the necessity of professional trainings to help PSTs of EFL improve their formative assessment literacy.