International Language in Education Conference, Hong Kong, Dec 2004.ppt

International Language in Education Conference, Hong Kong, Dec 2004 Changing cultures, enculturating change: School-based English language assessment in Hong Kong Chris Davison Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong Changing cultures: From a testing to an assessment culture “Assessment is the practice of collecting evidence of student learning in terms of knowledge, skills, values and attitudes through observation of student behaviour when carrying out tasks, tests, examinations, etc”. (Curriculum Development Council, 2000) Changing cultures: From a testing to an assessment culture Assessment practices in Hong Kong until very recently focused on providing data to select students for education or employment (Biggs, 1995). External set and assessed examination results are still used for accountability, but recent adoption of value-added indexes to compare schools. Traditionally main role of assessment in schools (vs. school-based assessment) = exam practice, Primary 1-Secondary 7. Changing cultures: From a testing to an assessment culture Wide perception that teacher feedback to students is often fairly limited, tends to be deficit-oriented, exacerbated by Assumption that motivation = effort, not ability Limited and vague published assessment criteria eg. Form 7 Use of English writing examination uses a scaled double-impression marking scheme divided into content, language and organization, no qualitative criteria (Curriculum Development Council, 1999). Changing cultures: From a testing to an assessment culture Currently major educational reforms underway, with school-based and standards-referenced assessment being introduced as way to improve learning and teaching (Education Commission, 2000; CDC, 2000; HKEAA 2003). Official adoption of UK Assessment Reform Group’s distinction between assessment for learning vs assessment of learning Changing cultures: From a testing to an assessment culture .hk/basicguide/BEGuideeng0821/chapter05.h