Pre-service ESL teachers’ mindsets and their approaches towards assessments

Recent developments in assessment and evaluation practices have primarily focused on improving teachers' assessment literacy and pedagogical techniques. Despite extensive interventions, there is limited empirical research exploring why teachers persist with certain assessment approaches. This paper aims to empirically examine the relationship between preservice ESL teachers’ mindsets toward learning and their assessment approaches across four assessment themes. Using a descriptive quantitative analysis, the study sampled 60 pre-service ESL teachers from a university in Selangor, Malaysia. Results indicated that 48% of respondents had a mixed mindset, 38% had a growth mindset, and 13% had a fixed mindset. Statistically significant relationships were found between the growth mindset and all four assessment themes, demonstrating its influence on assessment approaches. Conversely, a significant relationship was identified between a fixed mindset and one specific assessment approach. Despite a majority having a mixed mindset, their assessment practices aligned more with growth mindset principles. The study highlights that a teacher's ‘mindset’ influences assessment literacy and that ‘assessment mindset’ stems from perceptions of learning intelligence. It contributes to identifying initial assessment mindsets and suggests developing responsive teacher education and mindset interventions to positively shape pre-service ESL teachers’ assessment literacy.