A Tale With Two Tails: Doing Formative Assessment Under Chinese and American High-Stakes Testing Contexts

• In Event: Poster Session 8
  In Poster Session: Mathematics, Science, and Accountability

Abstract

This study took a critical perspective to examine the use of formative assessment for learning in two different high-stakes testing contexts, by comparing two collaborative action research projects of facilitating high school chemistry teachers to integrate formative assessment, one in China and the other in the United States. Doing formative assessment through a collaborative action research empowered both teachers and students to improve teaching and learning. The “teaching-to-the-test” pattern, the formative assessment strategies, teachers’ practice and conceptions of formative assessment, and students’ learning experiences were shaped by the two different socio-cultural contexts. This study provides implications for the practice and policies regarding formative assessment, high-stakes testing and teacher’s professional development for both countries and the international science education community.

Authors

• Xinying Yin, California State University - San Bernardino

• Gayle A. Buck, Indiana University