This is the first of a two-part article that addresses the concept of language assessment literacy-both in terms of understanding as well as in classroom practice-among language schoolteachers in Goa, a state in the western part of India. The study sought to understand the why, what, and how dimensions of language assessment as well as the dimension of social and institutional context in which teachers work. Using a mixed-method approach to understand the complexities of language assessment in practice in different school contexts, data was collected from a survey questionnaire of knowledge and skills/abilities of study participants and through a sample of teacher-made formative assessments. The findings were contradictory as teachers, in general, reported that they could design, develop, and administer classroom tests and assessments in the survey but on further examination of their own teacher-made tests, it was revealed that they were actually not able to carry out such activities.