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Assessment for/as Learning in Hong Kong English Language Classrooms: A Review
Abstract
Multiple conceptualizations of the interrelation between assessment and learning yield three notions of assessment: assessment of learning, assessment for learning, and assessment as learning. This paper aims at uncovering roles and obstacles of assessment for learning and assessment as learning in English language classrooms in Hong Kong. Grounded upon the theory of constructivism and the notion of learner autonomy, assessment for learning and assessment as learning play vital roles in supporting students’ learning and nurturing autonomous learners in English language classrooms in Hong Kong, respectively. In particular, assessment for learning provides students with achievement targets prior to assessments, communicates assessment results with students by means of descriptive feedback, and guides teachers’ future lesson planning whilst assessment as learning equips students with abilities to set personal learning goals, monitor their own learning process, and conduct self-assessment in the course of learning. For all their desirability and perceived pedagogical efficacy, seldom are these two assessment practices operationalized in the implemented curriculum in English language classrooms, where assessment of learning prevails; such actualities can largely be attributable to local teachers’ lack of motivation to modify their existing assessment practices out of their conservative conceptualization of assessments, low metacognitive awareness as well as level of English proficiency of local students, and large class sizes in local classrooms, which are construed as local contextual factors hindering implementation of the two assessment practices. The aforementioned obstacles ought to be overcome so that the two assessment practices can be promoted and implemented in local English classrooms in distinct year levels for the sake of students’ language learning.
... Hence, Rourke (2013) maintains that, in AaL, the goal is more about learner-centred education that is promoted through engaged active learning than assessment-driven curriculum. Generally, AaL possesses all the attributes of AfL (Deeley, 2018;Ng, 2018). ...
... Progressively, Ibarra-Sáiz et al. (2020) noted that Assessment as Learning and empowerment demonstrate the collaborative nature of assessment through student participation in decision-making at every stage of the assessment process. Moreover, the successful implementation of AaL is dependent upon students' metacognition and motivation (Ng, 2018). Conversely, Wanner et al. (2024) argue that flexible teachers are 'empowering teachers'. ...
... Based on the results of this study, teachers or lecturers need to take on active roles as facilitators as AaL does not mean that students learn completely on their own with no support or guidance or assistance from anyone else (Ng, 2018). Moreover, studies reveal that AaL in Higher Education calls for more professional development on the side of university teachers or lecturers. ...
Assessment in higher education has been dominated by traditional practices that mainly focus on grades for student progression. However, there has been some transformation in assessment due to the advancement in education. Generally, assessment is viewed as central to student learning and experience. Assessment as learning, is not just an addition to learning and teaching, but it presents an opportunity through which students’ involvement in assessment could manifest as part of learning: assessment is learning-oriented. Assessment as Learning in Higher Education is about student empowerment; hence, students take ownership of their own learning process. Furthermore, assessment as learning promotes constructivism through student engagement and knowledge construction. This bibliometric analysis analysed the trends evident from research on assessment as learning and implementation in Higher Education. Data were retrieved from the Scopus database and analysed using VOSviewer. The thematic analysis approach was also employed. The study reveals that self-assessment is important in promoting student empowerment, which is one of the benefits of assessment as learning. It is important that higher education institutions rethink assessment as learning because this might assist in achieving the 21st-century educational goal of independent learning. The study’s findings confirm that there is a need for constructive alignment of teaching, learning and assessment; hence, assessment as learning becomes more significant. The findings provided an overview of key themes, research gaps and potential areas for future research. The insight that was gained from this bibliometric analysis will be valuable for lecturers, course designers, universities, assessors and researchers seeking to improve assessment in higher education.
... Thus, while AaL shares the main features of AfL, such as explicating learning goals (Stiggins 2014) as well as encouraging peer feedback and individual reflections (Miedijensky and Tal 2016;Gaynor 2020), AaL places greater emphasis on students' active and agentive roles in connecting assessment and learning. When adopting AaL in writing classrooms, teachers need to create a supportive and autonomous environment in which students take responsibilities for their own learning (Brookhart, Moss, and Long 2009;Ng 2018). This requires teachers to play a facilitative role by offering constructive instruction and feedback on both what and how students are learning in the writing process (Clark 2012). ...
Assessment as learning (AaL) aims to develop students’ metacognitive awareness of their learning process, and promote their academic study and self-regulated abilities. The study investigates the benefits and challenges perceived by students regarding the implementation of AaL strategies in a general writing course in a Chinese university. The findings reveal that students benefited from the AaL-oriented instruction in terms of their improved writing efficiency and quality, enhanced assessment and feedback literacy, as well as a growing sense of ownership and resilience as a writer. However, the students encountered some challenges, such as the conflicts between the AaL training and the summative assessment requirement of the curriculum, as well as a lack of sustained teacher support in the assessment tasks. Implications on how to integrate AaL with L2 writing teaching in higher education contexts are discussed.
... However, if the purpose is to impart learning on students, AfL and AaL must be assigned a greater proportion than AoL. It is also suggested by Ng (2018) that AfL and AaL are capable of supporting students' learning and developing autonomous learning. ...
Mastery of English grammar for students in English education departments has a dual purpose, namely to improve their ability to communicate in English fluently and accurately, and to prepare them for becoming English teachers capable of explaining aspects of the English language. Thus, the English grammar course series is expected to equip students with the ability to use the language at the same time as explaining elements of the English language. This investigation aims to improve the learning, learning process, and the results of English grammar courses by integrating the deductive method and holistic assessment approach. This consists of assessment for learning (AfL), assessment as learning (AaL), and assessment of learning (AoL). The study was conducted among 72 fourth-semester students in the English education department at the University of Mataram. Data were collected using various techniques such as tests, observations, portfolios, and documentation, and were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. From the analysis it was concluded that (1) the materials of EG were designed to fulfil the teaching and learning process by integrating the deductive method and the holistic assessment approach, with the proportion of AfL and AaL higher than that of AoL; (2) the integration produced a significant improvement in the TOEFL test (SWE section), with an increase of 63.24 points – from an average 388.84 on the pre-test to 452.01 on the post-test; (3) students responded positively to both the model used and the implementation of the deductive method and holistic assessment. The practical implication of this research is that those teaching grammar in English education need to consider applying holistic assessment in both design and implementation.
... Not only complete procedures for test development but concepts of assessment for/as learning are also absent in the book. Assessment for learning (AfL) and assessment as learning (AaL), as complements of assessment of learning (AoL), play significant roles in supporting students' learning and nurturing autonomous learners respectively; the three are thereby suggested by Ng (2018) to coexist with one another for students' sake. Even though ELP assessments for young learners are claimed by Wolf and Butler (2017b) to be applicable to both AoL and AfL, being standardized, hardly do such assessments embrace the concept of AfL, let alone AaL. ...
Focused on the big ideas of education psychology, this text gives readers a practical understanding of the core concepts in educational psychology and of the research-based strategies needed to facilitate student learning and development.
While generally shorter than competing educational psychology textbooks, Essentials of Educational Psychology still provides a comprehensive overview of theories, research, and educational implications related to learning and cognition, motivation, child and adolescent development, instructional methods, classroom management, and assessment. Each chapter is organized around three to six Big Ideas, and each Big Idea is then divided into several more specific bold-faced principles or recommendations. Widely acclaimed for its conversational writing style, the book provides readers with a clear and easily understood picture of the psychological principles that impact teaching and learning.
The book outlines the major areas of listening research in an accessible manner and provides language teachers with guidelines to design and develop suitable listening tests for their students.
Cambridge Core - ELT Applied Linguistics - Learning Vocabulary in Another Language - by I. S. P. Nation
In many educational contexts, L2 writing assessment tends to emphasize its summative functions (i.e., assessment of learning - AoL) more than its formative potential (i.e., assessment for - AfL). While the teacher plays a dominant role in AoL, central to AfL is the role of the students, alongside that of the teacher and peers. A student-centred approach to L2 writing assessment involves learners actively in setting goals, monitoring their progress, and deciding how to address the gaps in their learning. Such a focus, also referred to as assessment as learning (AaL), puts students at the centre of classroom assessment. In the L2 writing literature, however, descriptions and explanations about how AaL can be implemented in the writing classroom are scant. This article attempts to provide a clear understanding of AaL and how a student-centred approach to classroom assessment can be applied in the L2 writing classroom, thus contributing new knowledge to the existing literature on classroom L2 writing assessment. © 2016 The Canadian Modern Language Review/La Revue canadienne des langues vivantes.
This book reflects current thinking of assessment with a stated focus on assessment for learning (AfL). It informs teachers about the latest developments and provides teachers with important tools for integrating assessment in the classroom. © 2008 by the Hong Kong University Press, HKU. All rights reserved.
Writing is one of the central skills a student must master. Why should they be tested? How should they be tested? What tasks should be used? The answers to these questions are provided by this book, which examines the theory behind the practice of assessing a student's writing abilities.
An authoritative general introduction to cognitive linguistics, this book provides up-to-date coverage of all areas of the field and sets in context recent developments within cognitive semantics and cognitive approaches to grammar.
The main ideas of the book are: • We can increase student achievement by changing our assessment practices • To do this, we need to assess accurately and involve students Why I chose this book: Traditionally, we have thought of assessment as a way to measure student learning. I like that the authors propose a powerful new way to use assessment to improve learning and motivate students. They suggest we use a formative type of assessment called assessment for learning which occurs during learning and has a great deal of student involvement. The book contains concrete instructional strategies to excite educators and breathe new life into their assessment practices. The book, and the CD/DVDs that accompany it, serve as professional development tools to help educators learn these new strategies. I also chose the book because the authors of the book are leading experts on formative assessment. They are better known on the west coast and all instructional leaders should know their work. How the summary is organized The book outlines five practices that are necessary to make sure classroom assessment is accurate and effective. The summary is divided into five sections, each of which discusses one of these five key components of sound assessment practice: The Scoop (In this summary you will learn…) √ How to use assessment to benefit students (I. Clear Purpose, pp. 1-2) How many teachers have given a low grade to a student and been surprised that this doesn't motivate the student to perform better? Instead, learn how formative assessment is a better way to increase student motivation and learning. √ How to create clear learning targets (II. Clear Goals, p. 3) Imagine a student returning home and instead of saying, "We did reading today," being able to say, "I learned to make good inferences. This means I can make a guess that is based on clues from the story." Learn how to clarify learning goals. Imagine a conference led by a student who has found, from looking at her corrected math test, that she has trouble multiplying three-digit numbers. She sets a concrete goal with a plan and a time for a retest. Learn to make communication tools, such as conferences, more effective. √ How to involve students (V. Student Involvement, pp. 9-10) Instead of handing students a "B," imagine students looking at samples of writing and designing their own rubrics to assess writing quality. In this summary, there are 24 activities that can be used to involve students in taking ownership of their learning.
Purpose
This paper aims to analyse the reform syndrome, bottle‐neck effects and their impacts on teachers and school education in the last ten years and highlight the direction of new developments.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper examines educational reforms in Hong Kong in the last decade.
Findings
Echoing the international trends of educational reforms, Hong Kong, as an international city, has initiated a series of educational reforms in the past decades. The experiences of educational reforms in Hong Kong may provide a good case for understanding the dynamics of educational reforms and drawing theoretical and practical implications for research, policy formulation and implementation not only in Hong Kong but also in other international communities.
Originality/value
From the analysis of the reform syndrome, particularly the bottle‐neck effect, there should be seven key aspects for policy‐makers, educators and stakeholders in Hong Kong to address the emergent key issues in educational reforms and work for the further development of their education system in the coming few years.
Process-oriented writing instruction stresses the value of between-draft revision.Yet current literature and traditional pedagogy have provided little guidance for motivating student writers to look beyond surface errors to develop and to refine their communicative intentions. Based on the assumption that this deep-level revision is most productive in terms of writing skills development, this paper suggests that teacher feedback with an inquiring stance engages student writers in negotiation over the emerging meaning of their texts. Sample draft compositions are used to explore the assumptions and implications of this instructional stance to studentwriting. Acknowledging the instructional context framing any assignment, the authors argue that addressing developing writers' communicative purposes through an inquiring stance to early drafts motivates revision and thus creates opportunities for writing skills development. © The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press; all rights reserved.
The idea of grammar as a 'liberating force' comes from a paper by Henry Widdowson (1990) in which grammar is depicted as a resource which liberates the language user from an over-dependency on lexis and context for the expression of meaning. In this paper, I consider the implications for second language teaching of the notion of grammar as a liberating force, and identify three key design features which, I propose, need to be present in any grammar production task in which this notion is given prominence. These are: learner choice over which grammatical structures to use; a process of 'grammaticization' where the learners apply grammar to lexis; and opportunities to make comparisons and notice gaps in their use of grammar. I then discuss, with practical examples, types of grammar task which exhibit these features. These tasks all derive from traditional ELT practice, but have been revitalized to support an approach to teaching grammar which emphasizes its liberating potential. © The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press; all rights reserved.
This article presents a model of formative task-based language assessment implemented in the Chinese language program at the University of Iowa. The model was conceptualized from both empirical evidence, namely previous research done by other team members and me, and assessment theory, namely task-based learning and testing. Our formative performance assessment tests tend to be criterion-referenced and are designed to assess how much of the content of the course or program is being learned, thereby providing links to the course objectives and program goals. Other features of our formative task-based language testing include (a) componential and analytic scoring, (b) skills integration, and (c) derivation from classroom activities. Numerous examples covering various skills are provided.
In this article, I look at two concepts from functional linguistic that are often confused: genre and register. I look at what the concepts mean, how they differ, and how they can be used for the analysis of texts.
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