Date of Award

4-20-2026

Thesis Type

PhD

Document Type

Thesis

Divisions

Faculty of Education

Department

Department of Language and Literacy Education

Institution

Universiti Malaya

Abstract

Current educational transformations demand a paradigm shift from exam-oriented assessment to a more holistic Classroom-Based Assessment (CBA). However, the effectiveness of this implementation is limited by the absence of specific and validated instruments to measure CBA literacy within the context of Arabic language education in Malaysia. This gap results in the actual competency levels of teachers in this field being difficult to determine objectively, subsequently complicating the planning of precise professional development. Therefore, this study aims to develop and validate the Arabic Language Teacher’s Classroom Assessment Literacy (ALaTCAL) instrument based on Wilson’s (2005) Four-Building Blocks Model. The instrument encompasses the domains of knowledge, skills and assessment principles, analyzed using the Rasch Measurement Model (RMM). The research methodology involved three systematic phases: (1) the construction of 79 items through literature review and expert interviews, (2) a pilot study (n=52) and (3) final validation through administration to 320 Arabic language teachers across five zones in Malaysia using cluster, simple random and proportionate stratified random sampling. Findings from the RMM analysis confirmed that the ALaTCAL instrument fulfills robust psychometric criteria with high reliability and construct validity, despite the identification of two misfit items. The results indicate that teachers' CBA literacy is at Level 3 (Functional Literacy) based on the model by Pill and Harding (2013). Nevertheless, the person-item map analysis revealed gaps at high and low difficulty levels, necessitating a rebalancing of item distribution to enhance instrumental precision. This study contributes significantly to the theory and practice of language assessment through the production of an empirically validated instrument to strengthen the development of Arabic language education in Malaysia.

Initial

khm

Additional Information

Thesis (PhD) – Faculty of Education, Universiti Malaya, 2026.

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