The Impact of Learning-Oriented Assessment on Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners’ Reading Comprehension and Strategy Use: A Mixed-Methods Study

Learner-oriented assessment (LOA) aims to combine assessment and teaching using feedback, self- and peer assessment, and reflective learning. Despite LOA’s well-theorized basis, its specific impacts in real classrooms have remained underexplored. This research used a sequential exploratory mixed-method design to explore the effect of LOA on the Iranian intermediate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ reading comprehension and reading strategy use. The experimental and control groups were drawn from two intact institute classes. In a 10-week intervention that consisted of 20 sessions (two sessions per week), the experimental group participated in rubric-guided self- and peer assessment exercises with formative feedback, while the control group received conventional summative tests. Quantitatively, reading comprehension was found to have significantly increased among the LOA group, and this gain was higher when contrasted to smaller changes in the control group. A one-way MANOVA, with group as the between-subjects factor and time as the within-subjects factor, was also performed on the SORS three subscales, which also yielded a significant group × time interaction, all with large posttest effects in favor of the LOA group on overall, problem-solving, and support strategies. Qualitative data from semi structured interviews corroborated the quantitative findings, highlighting how LOA promoted learners’ autonomy, metacognitive awareness, and collaboration in problem-solving by making links to sociocultural theory. Overall, the results indicate that the LOA could develop students’ reading comprehension and strategy use in EFL classrooms.