Designing, developing and validating the K-12 teachers’ Formative Assessment Literacy Inventory (FALI) in mainland China

Chinese teachers’ formative assessment literacy remains limited within Confucian, high-stakes examination systems. This study reports the development and validation of the Formative Assessment Literacy Inventory (FALI) for K-12 teachers in mainland China. In the pilot study (N = 96), expert panel review and Rasch analysis were conducted to refine item quality, resulting in satisfactory model fit (Infit MNSQ = 0.99; Outfit MNSQ = 1.22). After removing misfitting items, in the main study (N = 309), two rounds of Confirmatory Factor Analysis supported a Conceptual-Practical-Socio-emotional three-dimensional structure, with adequate model fit and satisfactory reliability (CFI = .908; TLI = .881; RMSEA = .067; SRMR = .090). The results indicated that teachers’ formative assessment literacy remained marginally above the 60% passing threshold, suggesting that the socio-emotional dimension may play a potential bridging role between the conceptual and practical dimensions. Overall, the validated FALI offers a reliable and culturally grounded inventory for diagnosing and enhancing teachers’ formative assessment literacy in Confucian K-12 educational contexts.