Assessment literacy is increasingly recognised as a critical component of effective teaching and learning, yet many teachers lack the knowledge and skills required to design, implement, and interpret sound learner assessments. School principals are strategically positioned to address this gap through assessment leadership. This qualitative study explores the role of high school principals in enhancing teachers’ assessment literacy, focusing on professional development, mentoring and coaching practices, principals’ own assessment competence, and the challenges they encounter in strengthening assessment capacity. Guided by an interpretivist paradigm, the study adopted a multiple case study design involving nine high schools in the Frances Baard District of the Northern Cape Province, South Africa. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews with principals and district officials and analysed inductively. The findings reveal that principals support teachers’ assessment literacy through targeted professional development initiatives, mentoring and coaching, collaborative assessment practices, and the use of assessment data to inform teaching and learning. However, principals’ efforts are constrained by limited assessment training, heavy administrative workloads, inadequate external support, and resistance to change among teachers. The study highlights the central role of principals as capacity builders in learner assessment and underscores the need for systematic professional development and support structures to strengthen principals’ assessment literacy. The article contributes to the field of educational leadership by positioning assessment leadership as a core dimension of principalship essential for improving teaching quality and learner achievement.

Authors:
Theressa Madzingesu Zengeya, Sol Plaatje University, South Africa

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Theressa Madzingesu Zengeya, a lecturer and academic coordinator at Sol Plaatje University, specializes in education leadership, teacher training, and technical vocational education, with a strong interest in multidisciplinary research.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Monday Schedule

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