The Impact of Engagement in Large-Scale Assessment on Teachers' Professional Development: The Emergent Literacy Baseline Assessment Project

Abstract

This paper presents findings of an investigation into the impact of teachers' engagement in the Emergent Literacy Baseline Assessment (ELBA) project upon their professional development. The ELBA project was designed to identify Cypriot students' literacy skills upon entry to primary school. A secondary purpose was to enable pre-primary teachers to assess students using effective and developmentally appropriate methods. Findings support the importance of establishing links between teachers' professional development and assessment reform policy by providing teachers the opportunity to be actively involved in the development, implementation, and evaluation of system-wide assessment initiatives. For the purposes of this study, 132 teachers received training and then they administered the ELBA performance test to their students. Self-assessment questionnaires and a focus-group interview provided data about the perceived impact of ELBA upon teachers' professional development. Arguments in favor of engaging teachers in large-scale tests in order to improve their professional skills in assessment and suggestions for further research are provided.