Secondary teachers' conceptions of the purpose of assessment and feedback

Teachers’ thinking influences their classroom practices (Clark & Peterson, 1986; Pajares, 1992; Thompson, 1992). In turn, teacher actions significantly impact pupil learning (Muijs, 2006; Muijs & Reynolds, 2005). While a large body of research has already examined teacher conceptions of teaching and learning (Bolhuis & Voeten, 2004; Boulton-Lewis, Smith, McCrindle, Burnett, & Campbell, 2001; Kember, 1997; Kember & Gow, 1994; Kember & Kwan, 2000; Samuelowicz & Bain, 2001; Trigwell, Prosser, & Waterhouse, 1999), comparatively little has focused on teacher conceptions of assessment and feedback, which are important and distinct parts of the teaching and learning cycle. This paper presents results from an empirical study examining how teachers understand these key educational concepts.