EFL Instructors’ Perception of the Implementation of Classroom-Based Assessment (CBA) Principles,Practices, and Challenges South-Western Ethiopia Universities in Focus

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate EFL instructors‟ perceptions of the implementation of classroom-based assessment principles, practices, and challenges in a university context. The study employed a descriptive survey and correlational research design with mixed research approaches. One hundred seven EFL instructors from four universities participated through a comprehensive and accessibility sampling technique. The questionnaire, classroom observations, and semi-structured interviews were used for data collection. The quantitative data were analyzed using inferential and descriptive statistics of frequency, percentage, mean and grand mean. The qualitative data were analyzed thematically. The findings of the quantitative data revealed that the participants had very high positive perception of the implementation of CBA principles and high practice of CBA principles from the planning stage to the recording and dissemination stage. Similarly, instructors‟ perception of the implementation of CBA principles and their actual practice significantly and low positively correlated (r=.198, N= 107, p<.001). However, the qualitative data results revealed that there were misconceptions in the understanding of the CBA principles and practices. The findings of classroom observation showed that most of the CBA principles were not implemented in observed classes. Furthermore, the interview results showed that the instructors‟ implementation of CBA principles was not promising. The findings also indicated that the challenges of the implementation of CBA principles, in the study-targeted universities, were student-related, instructor-related, and institution-related. Therefore, it is recommended that institutional effort should be taken to equip instructors with the current assessment method in general and the CBA in particular.