Classroom assessment is a continual activity for teachers to improve the quality of instruction and motivate students to learn (Brookhart, 1999; Gronlund, 2006). Although there is a great deal of research on teachers’ classroom assessment practices, few empirical research attempts have been made to link these practices to students’ perceptions of classroom assessment environment and motivation defined in terms of achievement goal orientations. This study examined teachers’ assessment practices within the framework of classroom assessment literature and achievement goal theory. More specifically, the purposes of this study were to identify the underlying dimensions of students’ perceptions of classroom assessment environment and achievement goal orientations and to investigate the possible effects of certain student-level and class-level characteristics on perceived classroom assessment environment and achievement goal orientations. The participants were 1,636 ninth grade students and their corresponding 83 science teachers enrolled in public schools within Muscat educational region in Oman during the spring semester 2007. Two questionnaires were developed and used, one for students and one for teachers. The student’s questionnaire focused on students’ perceived classroom assessment environment, achievement goal orientations, and academic self-efficacy. The teacher’s questionnaire focused on teachers’ frequent uses of traditional assessments, alternative assessments, and classroom assessment practices recommended by experts of educational measurement and assessment. Principal components/exploratory factor analyses (PCA/EFA) were conducted to identify the underlying dimensions of students’ perceptions of classroom assessment environment and achievement goal orientations. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analyses were employed to examine the effects of certain student-level and class-level characteristics on students’ perceptions of classroom assessment environment and achievement goal orientations. Results of the PCA/EFA revealed three dimensions of perceived classroom assessment environment: learning-, harsh-, and public-oriented assessment environments; and three dimensions of achievement goal orientations: mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance goals. Results of the HLM showed that class contextual features and teacher’s teaching experience and assessment practices interacted significantly with student characteristics in influencing students’ perceptions of classroom assessment environment and achievement goal orientations. The findings were compared with findings from previous studies related to classroom assessment environment and achievement goal orientations. Recommendations, implications, and suggestions for future research were discussed.

Classroom assessment is a continual activity for teachers to improve the quality of instruction and motivate students to learn (Brookhart, 1999; Gronlund, 2006). Although there is a great deal of research on teachers’ classroom assessment practices, few empirical research attempts have been made to ...