Assessment for Learning

2. Assessment in Hong Kong

Assessment in Hong Kong 23 2 Assessment in Hong Kong Objectives By the end of this chapter, you should be able to: • understand the historical development of assessment in Hong Kong; • account for the rationale for the assessment reform in Hong Kong and the vision of the Hong Kong SAR government in assessment in relation to education; • link Basic CompetencyAssessment (BCA) and School-basedAssessment (SBA) with assessment reform in Hong Kong; • recognize the challenges of assessment reform; • be familiar with teachers’ roles in assessment and the types of actions for teachers to take in realizing assessment for learning in teaching and learning. For decades, high-stakes examinations have been used to assess students in Hong Kong for decisions about education and jobs. In recent years, there is an awareness that assessment can also be used for helping students learn. This awareness has led to a number of assessment initiatives and plans being proposed and eventually implemented in the education sectors in Hong Kong. It is important for teachers to keep abreast of these initiatives and plans so that they will be able to play a part in the current assessment reform. It is also important for teachers to understand their roles in assessment and the actions to take in connecting assessment with learning. Hong Kong Assessment System As in other parts of the world, Hong Kong has a long history of an exam-driven education system. Modern Western school education was introduced in Hong Kong around the mid-nineteenth century, and a three-step structure (primary, secondary, and tertiary) has been the basic design for the Hong Kong education system. Following similar assessment practices in the Western world, a formal written examination gradually came to shape education in Hong Kong. Since 1914, a number of examination initiatives have been in place (see Table 2.1). 24 Assessment for Learning The year 1914 saw the implementation of the Matriculation and Junior Local Examinations of the University of Hong Kong. In 1937, The Hong Kong School Certificate Examination (HKCE) was established. This examination was taken by pupils in Class 2. Its purpose was to test candidates’ ability to enter general employment, most commonly in business or in the civil service. Those who were considered suitable for an academic career proceeded to Class 1, where they sat the matriculation examination conducted by the University of Hong Kong (Sweeting, 1990: 354). The Hong Kong Examination Authority (the former of Hong Kong Examination and Assessment Authority), founded in 1977, took over the matriculation examinations of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the University of Hong Kong in 1978 and 1979, respectively, renaming the former the Hong Kong Higher Level Examination and the latter the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (Sweeting, 2004: 271). The Hong Kong Higher Level Examination was conducted for the last time in 1992, as a result of all sixth-form students following two-year courses with effect from September 1992. Advanced supplementary level subjects were introduced at the same time. These were examined for the first time in the 1994 Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (HKAL) (HKEAA, n.d.: 1). The latest initiative is to combine the two high-stakes examinations (HKCE and HKAL) into one in 2012 — The Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) — to suit the new structure of six years of secondary schooling. Around 1949, the civil war in China caused many people flee their homes there to live in Hong Kong. Suddenly, Hong Kong saw a fifty percent increase in population, thus putting a lot of pressure on the education system. Because of limited places in secondary schools, the first Joint Primary 6 Exam (JP6E) was introduced for selection purposes. JP6E, a standardized test, consisted of four subjects: Chinese language, English language, mathematics, and general studies. This exam barred most primary school students from receiving further education. Only about twenty percent of the candidates could get a place in the government-funded secondary schools. In 1962, JP6E was replaced by the Secondary School Entrance Exam (SSEE). In this new exam, students needed to sit for only three papers: English language, Chinese language, and mathematics. On the introduction of nine-year compulsory education in 1978, SSEE ceased to exist. The Secondary School PlacementAllocation (SSPA) was used instead. SSPA determined the “band” of ability into which a child was allocated, which in turn determined the length and quality of secondary education that a child received (Sweeting, 2004). Starting from 1981, at the end of the nine-year compulsory...