Research Background

In both international and local research, "assessment of learning" and "assessment for learning" are often seen as competing conceptions of good assessment policy and practice. Our study takes a different view. It aims to construct a synergy between the two. We argue for the significance of using all forms of assessment to promote student learning.

Other Research

The US former president Clinton (1997, pp.4-5) stated that: "Good tests will show us who needs help, what changes in teaching to make, and which schools to improve." Educators generally agree to this philosophy that good assessment should be a positive learning experience for students . The most famous evidence synthesized from over 250 studies suggested there should be a link between assessment and learning (Black & William, 1998). The outcome was a clear and incontrovertible message: initiatives designed to enhance effectiveness of the way assessment is used in the classroom to promote learning can raise pupils’ achievements (ARG, 1999). Although the quality of assessment for learning has improved perceptibly, it is still hard to implement. Forms of assessment in places like US (Wiggins, 1992), Australia (Blackmore, 1988), and United Kingdom (Broadfoot, 1992) serve not only teaching and learning, but also the market and competition that focus on assessment of learning.

In Hong Kong , assessment has been associated with selection (Biggs, 1996b) and has exerted a profound negative backwash effect on teaching and learning (Choi, 1999). An examination dominated education system has led to detrimental effects on creative teaching and learning (EC, 1997). Recent reforms have called for a shift in the nature of assessment. In recent years, the HK government continuously stressed the review of examination systems to take into account of students' performances (Choi, 1999) and thus suggested a change to emphasize a balance of assessments on various learning domains like knowledge, attitude and behaviour, put more emphasis on assessment for learning, reform the admission system of secondary school and public examination assessment mechanism, and use different modes of assessments for more comprehensive understanding of student learning (CDC, 2002 ; EC, 1997 , 2000). It is stressed that the new assessment policy is "formative" and "for learning" (CDC, 2002) . Scholars have similarly advocated for “assessment for learning” (Biggs, 1996c; Clark et al., 1999).

However, past experiences and contextual considerations of Hong Kong show that changing the nature of assessment is not without difficulties. Hong Kong occupies a unique place reflecting both Chinese and Western values. A distinctive Chinese culture has been identified in its society, government bureaucracy and individual values (Lau & Kuan, 1995). In the realm of education, Chinese culture was found to influence education reforms in Hong Kong (Dimmock, 1998). In this specific context, most HK people reflect a view of assessment as an event that occurs at the end of learning, instead of something that influences learning and teaching (IBM, 2003). Biggs (1996 a; 1996 b; 1996 c) explained clearly the dilemmas of the ideal and real situations of assessment in Hong Kong . This could be attributed to the underlying assumptions of assessment functions to educate or to select, the quantitative and qualitative traditions, and the beliefs of teachers and parents about assessment. IBM (2003) summed up the nature of HK assessment by two truisms. One is only what is assessed gets taught, and the other is how assessment is carried out determines the manner of teaching and learning. In other words, Hong Kong students were trained to attend public examinations (Choi, 1999). In fact, the Hong Kong community use public examination results as a measure for revealing education standards (Choi, 1999). Thus, every school emphasizes its public examination results in their Quality Assurance Inspection report, and all primary schools pay much attention to the Basic Competency Assessment results even though it is not related to student place allocation. Besides, the outstanding results of Hong Kong students in various international assessment projects (e.g. PISA , TIMSS) (Gonzales et al., 2004 ; OECD, 2004) have aroused extensive interest in the community (e.g. Law, 2002). The culture of emphasizing assessment of learning is likely to be retained in the near future.

From the past experiences of curriculum reforms in Hong Kong , changing the nature of assessment nature has not been an easy task. Morris et al. (1999) argued that the TOC initiatives in Hong Kong failed eventually as they did not promote an assessment system consistent with school values. Though teachers and school heads were generally supportive of the goals that promote a more formative system of assessment, they operated within a context in which assessment was still primarily used for summative purposes. The government has attempted to change the role of assessment in schools, but not much was changed in the structural frames within which the system of assessment and teachers' belief operated (Morris et al., 2000). In addition, teachers and the society have paid special attention to the reliability, fairness, role, and professional skills of teachers in school-based assessment scheme of public examination (Yung 2001 ; Choi, 1999). From both international and local experiences, reconciling "assessment of learning" and "assessment for learning" is still an unfinished task. Our study aims to fill this gap.

Our Research

Changing assessment culture is an important issue, about which there is very little empirical research. Brady & Kennedy (2001), have presented an analysis of the nature of assessment and discuss a range of different assessment methods and strategies in use in Australian schools. Moreover, a few case studies in the context of a real school are also included in the book. Besides, Bryant et al. (1999) investigated the extent the use of portfolio assessment by the teachers in public schools in Hong Kong . The results urged that the implementation of this assessment approach is needed in the light of the curriculum reform. Klenowski et al. (1999) provided a useful guide for using portfolio in initial teacher education. In the cultural perspective for classroom implementation, it was found that Chinese culture has a role in teachers' belief and its development (Chan & Fok, 2000 ; Chan & Lam, 2003).

We would like to extend this research by providing a new conceptual framework for assessment based on discrepancy analysis. We believe that discrepancy, far from being a negative factor in Hong Kong's assessment context, can be a positive factor.