Trends and Challenges in Formative Assessment of Reading and Writing: Online EAP Contexts

Introduction

Even though online language learning and assessment practices existed prior to the emergence of COVID-19, it was not until the pandemic that most educators had to undertake the challenge of reshaping instructional tasks within an entirely online format for the first time. Many instructors have been in search of effective tools and methods that could not only simulate the communicative affordances of face-to-face learning but also enhance learners’ language skills. Such an abrupt shift resulted in a need to rethink and transform language assessment to reflect the dynamics of online learning. Even after the recent return to face-to-face learning around the world, many online practices remained part of the instruction. Indeed, Huang et al. (2021) found that instructors had positive perceptions regarding the pedagogical, managerial, assessment, social, and developmental affordances of teaching through an online learning platform. They pointed out its benefits in recording student participation, managing group work, monitoring learners’ progress, and facilitating student communication.

Assessment is a process of data collection through observation to provide feedback and enhance current performance (Brown, 1990). It is of critical importance that English for Academic Purposes (EAP) instructors understand the measurement process, either formatively or summatively, of how many learning objectives are achieved through scaffoldings and active involvement of the instructors and learners (Fernandes et al., 2012; Mubayrik, 2020). Formative assessment is designed to continuously observe students' achievement and progress during the learning process (Martin & Collins, 2011). On the contrary, summative assessment is designed to assess student achievement at the endpoint such as after completing a course (Trumbull & Lash, 2013).

Formative reading assessments in EAP contexts are critical for monitoring and facilitating learners’ vocabulary acquisition and comprehension in English. In face-to-face settings, these assessments may often be in the form of comprehension quizzes, cloze exercises, and vocabulary quizzes. In online settings, formative assessment of reading involves the use of digital tools to evaluate learners’ growth in terms of learning objectives for reading. Digital tools have become the medium for comprehension and vocabulary quizzes. New developments in accessing and processing information have enabled immediate and personalized feedback through such tools. Immediate and automated feedback can guide the instructor towards adjusting their teaching strategies and providing necessary interventions so that students are well-prepared for academic reading tasks in the future. In addition to online quizzes, interactive tools may allow the learners to organize the ideas in the reading texts and discuss their interpretations of them. The interactivity of the formative assessment process may foster collaboration among learners while engaging them with content analysis, critical thinking, and opinion exchange.

According to Graham et al. (2015), formative writing assessments improve the writing proficiency skills of the students by evaluating the impact of the feedback on the students’ writing progress based on particular writing skills and strategies. They added that an effective formative assessment and its feedback are pertinent as it monitors students’ progress and provides information that the students can use to improve their writing skills and guide teachers with their instruction. Li (2021) posited that formative writing assessments allow teachers to identify the effectiveness of their instruction and apply modifications as needed. When assessing students formatively within an e-learning environment teachers do not need to completely reinvent the traditional formative assessments. In fact, many online formative assessment tools would pair well with traditional formative assessments. Without going on board, teachers may embed short quizzes, polls, surveys, and games as part of online formative assessment to check for understanding before moving on to the next lesson.