Student Interpretations of Diagnostic Feedback

Abstract

Diagnostic assessment is increasingly being recognized as a potentially beneficial tool for teaching and learning (Jang, 2012). There have been calls in the research literature for students to receive diagnostic feedback and for researchers to investigate how such feedback is used by students. Therefore, this study examined how students interpreted the Canadian Academic English Language (CAEL) Assessment feedback in one English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course at one Canadian university. Drawing on the Assessment Use Argument proposed by Bachman and Palmer (2010), this study investigated the extent to which CAEL feedback enables students to beneficially adjust their study practices to improve their academic English skills.