Gholam-Reza Abbasian - Assistant Professor of TEFL, Department of English Language and Literature, Imam Ali University, Tehran, Iran
Maryam Khezrinejad - Lecturer in TEFL, Department of English,Islamic Azad University, Islamshahr Branch, Islamshahr, Iran.
Mojtaba Teimourtash - Ph.D. Candidate of TEFL, Department of English,Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran

The increasing demand for lifelong learners and reflective practitioners has re-conceptualized the connection between assessment and learning to the extent that alternative assessment methods (i.e., self-, peer and teacher-assessment, etc.) have emerged. However, their incorporation into various language skills might bring about certain consequences. Among them, the writing skill is often perceived as unique in its nature in terms of both teaching practices and assessment modalities. In a bid to exercise a Learner-Oriented Assessment (LOA) practice, the present study was designed to comparatively implement self-, peer-, and teacher-assessments in a writing course, and explore the experiences and perceptions of the learners towards the three assessment alternatives. Pertinent statistical analyses revealed significant differences among them such that higher proficiency level learners evaluated their writings more realistically, while lower proficiency level overestimated their abilities. Moreover, most of them had positive attitudes towards this novel assessment experience, holding that LOA could scaffold them in gaining a lot and arousing their awareness of their weaknesses and strengths

Assessment Alternatives, Writing, and Learner-Oriented Assessment