This study addresses the need to reform grammar assessment within the traditional framework of Korean language education. Despite growing calls for improvement, current assessments primarily offer quantified results of learners' performance without fa...
This study addresses the need to reform grammar assessment within the traditional framework of Korean language education. Despite growing calls for improvement, current assessments primarily offer quantified results of learners' performance without facilitating meaningful learning or growth. Grounded in this awareness, the study argues that "assessment as learning"—a concept that has remained largely at the level of curriculum design—should be actively applied to grammar assessment in Korean language education.
While the necessity of "assessment as learning" is widely acknowledged, there is a lack of concrete models for its implementation, especially in grammar instruction. Focusing on grammar assessment in summative contexts, this study seeks to propose a concrete model for "grammar assessment as learning." It emphasizes the idea that the act of solving grammar assessment items should itself be a meaningful learning experience for students. To that end, the study examines how learners engage with grammar assessment items and analyzes their learning behaviors during this process. Based on these observations, it aims to construct an analytical framework that outlines the nature of learning that can emerge in grammar assessment contexts and provides pedagogical implications for item design.
In Chapter II, the study clarifies the concept and significance of "assessment as learning" and applies it to the domain of grammar education. Grammar assessment in summative contexts—such as school-based internal assessments, the national College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), and the National Assessment of Educational Achievement—has evolved toward more complex item formats designed to foster students’ inquiry-based grammar skills. Given that the act of solving grammar assessment items can be regarded as a form of learning, the study proposes a deductive analytical framework based on the structure of "grammar inquiry competence." This framework categorizes learning into two interrelated levels: the process level (exploration–analysis–solution) and the outcome level (knowledge and attitudes). Additionally, three item-related variables that may affect learning are identified, resulting in six types of assessment item conditions.
Chapter III analyzes how learners solve grammar assessment items, focusing on the cognitive behaviors and thinking processes that emerge. Through learner narrative analysis, the study reveals that students cyclically experience the stages of exploration, analysis, and solution, each associated with distinct cognitive strategies. It also explores how these learning patterns vary according to the item variables and the specific grammar elements being assessed.
Chapter IV proposes a refined analytical framework for interpreting the learning patterns observed in both the process and outcome levels. Furthermore, it categorizes learning patterns into two dimensions—"learning to be reinforced" and "learning to be managed"—in order to discuss implications for grammar assessment design that can support meaningful student learning. Based on these findings, the study offers suggestions for constructing grammar assessment items that promote deeper learning.
Ultimately, this study argues for an expanded role of assessment—not merely as a tool for quantifying learner performance, but as a meaningful learning experience in itself. It provides theoretical and practical insights into how grammar assessment, when approached from the perspective of assessment as learning, can be reinterpreted and structured as part of the learning process.