Chinese university students’ perceptions of assessment tasks and classroom assessment environment

Classroom assessment tasks and environment are central to supporting student learning, yet are under-studied at the tertiary level, especially in China’s test-driven culture. This study explores the relationship between students’ perceptions of assessment tasks and classroom assessment environment, within the university context of teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) in China. A questionnaire was designed and administered, based on Dorman & Knightley’s (2006) Perceptions of Assessment Tasks Inventory (PATI) and Alkharusi’s (2011) scale, in order to measure students’ perceptions of the classroom assessment environment. PATI includes five subscales: congruence with planned learning, authenticity, student consultation, transparency, and diversity. Alkharusi’s scale comprises two subscales: learning-oriented classroom assessment environment and performance-oriented classroom assessment environment. Participants were 620 university students from three universities in China. The factor analysis findings identified the original five-factor PATI, and Alkharusi’s two-factor scales within this Chinese research context. Multiple regression analyses exploring the interrelationship showed that congruence with planned learning, authenticity, student consultation, and transparency significantly predicted the learning-oriented classroom assessment environment, explaining 48 % of the variance. Congruence with planned learning and student consultation negatively, and diversity positively, predicted the performance-oriented classroom assessment environment, explaining 12 % of the variance. The findings highlight the two core values in classroom assessment tasks: congruence with planned learning and student consultation in mediating the classroom environment. This study addresses the research gap in our limited understanding of the relationship between classroom assessment tasks and assessment environment, and aids teachers in structuring their day-to-day classroom assessment practices in support of their students’ learning.