Assessment for Learning in Chinese Schools: Failing Social Justice?

• In Event: Examining Assessment for Learning in the Schools

Abstract

An assessment reform was introduced as “Integrated Quality Assessment (IQA)” with the key ideology of “assessment for learning” in China from 2005. The study aims to investigate how IQA is perceived and implemented in Chinese context. Case study method is adopted and data are mainly gathered from the interviews of school leaders, teachers, students and parents from 3 junior secondary schools in China. The study found that there’s a big gap between the intended IQA and implemented IQA, people perceived it as failing justice and equality. The author tries to explain it from historical, cultural and societal factors. The study will add knowledge from other social culture to the western dominant “assessment for learning” discourse.

Author

• Shuang Zhang