New Zealand and Louisiana Practicing Teachers' Conceptions of Feedback: Impact of Assessment of Learning Versus Assessment for Learning Policies?

Abstract

Teacher beliefs about feedback matter since they are responsible for its implementation in classrooms. This paper compares the conceptions of feedback of practicing teachers from two very different jurisdictions (Louisiana, USA, n=308; New Zealand, n=518). Responses to a common research inventory were modelled independently but multi-group confirmatory factor analysis produced inadmissible solutions for both models. Joint factor analysis produced a five-factor solution, which was inadmissible for the Louisiana teachers. Inter-correlations around feedback as teacher-grading exceeded 1.00 for Louisiana teachers; whereas, New Zealand teachers had correlations close to zero for this factor. While both groups of teachers endorsed the notion of feedback for improved learning, differences appear related to contrasting assessment policy frameworks (i.e., high-stakes in Louisiana, low-stakes in New Zealand).