Abstract:
The role played by assessment and evaluation in the ESL
educational context are so vital that they help to measure learning
progress of students and the effect of pedagogical applications. The
attention paid to learner perspectives on assessment has been gaining
recognition in the recent years. The purpose of the study is to identify
the concerns of learner perspectives on ESL assessment practices in
the university sector in Sri Lanka. The study was conducted as a
quantitative survey using a questionnaire administered online via
Google Form to a population of 685 university students of which 461
were from peripheral universities while 224 were from metropolitan
universities. The data analysed through SPSS software revealed that
the areas; modes of testing and online testing were found to record
moderate and low satisfaction by the respondents. Further, students of
peripheral universities had indicated lesser satisfaction compared to
students of the metropolitan universities in all the four areas; effect of
objectives of testing, effect of flexibility of testing, effect of modes of
testing, and effect of online testing. Based on the findings, it is proposed
that learner-friendly assessment practices be implemented in the
national universities in Sri Lanka. Further studies with university -
specific surveys on learner perspectives would be needed for enhanced
understanding and ESL programme development
