It is a way of organising the school curriculum around fundamental concepts of major knowledge domains. It aims at providing a broad, balanced and coherent curriculum for all students through engaging them in a variety of essential learning experiences. The Hong Kong curriculum has eight KLAs, namely, Chinese Language Education, English Language Education, Mathematics Education, Personal, Social and Humanities Education, Science Education, Technology Education, Arts Education and Physical Education.
HKDSE is the qualification to be awarded to students after completing the three-year senior secondary curriculum (to be implemented in 2009) and subsequently taking the public assessment.
Individuals who are different from each other in terms of maturity, motivation, ability, learning styles, aspirations, interests, aptitudes and socio-economic background.
Public assessment refers to the associated assessment and examination system for the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education.
This refers to the assessment activities that are conducted regularly in school to assess students’ performance in learning. Internal assessment is an inseparable part of the learning and teaching process, and it aims to make learning more effective. With the information that internal assessment provides, teachers will be able to understand students’ progress in learning, provide them with appropriate feedback and make any adjustments to the learning objectives and teaching strategies deemed necessary.
Schools and teachers are encouraged to adapt the central curriculum in developing their school-based curriculum to help their students to achieve the subject targets and overall aims of education. Measures may include readjusting the learning targets, varying the organisation of contents, adding optional studies and adapting learning, teaching and assessment strategies. A school-based curriculum is therefore the outcome of a balance between official recommendations and the autonomy of the schools and teachers.
Learning outcomes refer to what learners should be able to do by the end of a particular stage of learning. Learning outcomes are developed based on the learning targets and objectives of the curriculum for the purpose of evaluating learning effectiveness. Learning outcomes also describe the levels of performance that learners should attain after completing a particular key stage of learning and serve as a tool for promoting learning and teaching.
They are the curriculum outcomes to be assessed in public assessment.
Candidates’ performance in public assessment is reported in terms of levels of performance matched against a set of standards.
Assessments administered in schools as part of the learning and teaching process, with students being assessed by their subject teachers. Marks awarded will count towards students’ public assessment results in local examinations conducted by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority.
A set of written descriptions that describe what the typical candidates performing at a certain level is able to do in public assessment.
The HKALE is normally taken by a student at the end of his/ her two-year sixth-form courses. Advanced Supplementary Level subjects are taught in half the number of periods required for Advanced Level subjects, but they require the same level of intellectual rigour. With the implementation of the New Academic Structure for Senior Secondary Education in 2009, the last HKALE will be held in 2012, but the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority will organise one more HKALE in 2013 for some subjects for Secondary 7 repeaters as private candidates.
Booklet 4 Assessment – An Integral Part of the Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment Cycle
 
This is one of a series of 12 booklets in the Senior Secondary Curriculum Guide.  Its contents are as follows:
Contents
4.1 Purpose of the Booklet
4.2 From Curriculum and Pedagogy to Assessment
  4.2.1 Roles of assessment
  4.2.2 Assessment of learning vs. assessment for learning
  4.2.3 Quality feedback
4.3 Internal Assessment
  4.3.1 Basic principles in designing internal assessments at senior secondary level
  4.3.2 Assessment practices for the senior secondary curriculum
  4.3.3 Developing assessment policy
4.4 Public Assessment
Appendices
References
 
 
4.1 Purpose of the Booklet
 
To provide an assessment framework for the senior secondary (SS) curriculum
To give guidance on how to conduct assessments in schools, including the development of a school’s internal assessment policy
To provide strategies to promote assessment for learning in schools
To help teachers to understand the alignment of public assessment with the school curriculum
To transform the assessment culture and practices in schools
 
 
4.2 From Curriculum and Pedagogy to Assessment
 
4.2.1 Roles of assessment
 
Assessment is an integral part of the curriculum, pedagogy and assessment cycle.  It involves collecting evidence about student learning, interpreting information and making judgements about students’ performance with a view to providing feedback to students, teachers, schools, parents, other stakeholders and to the education system.
 
The roles of assessment for different stakeholders can be summarised as follows:
 
For students to
understand the learning objectives from a different perspective and how well they are progressing towards their objectives;
understand what they need to improve on the next stage of learning; and
understand their strengths and weaknesses in learning and how to take steps to improve and to self-regulate their work.
 
For teachers and schools to
understand the strengths and weaknesses of students in learning;
recognise the effectiveness of learning and teaching practices and make adjustment to their teaching;
monitor the standards and quality of the education they are providing; and
guide students towards appropriate future learning.
 
For parents to
understand the strengths and weaknesses of their children in learning; and
co-operate with schools in guiding students in their future learning.
 
For other stakeholders (including tertiary institutions, government, employers, etc.) to
recognise what standards are being achieved and make judgements as to the quality of education to be provided; and
facilitate the selection of students for particular learning pathways.
 
4.2.2 Assessment of learning vs. assessment for learning
 
The evidence collected in assessments should show clearly both the outcomes of learning (what students have learned and what students have not learned) and the processes of learning (how students learn).
 
The former is related to establishing how well students have achieved, the quality of education being provided, and what standards are being attained, and the assessment involved is often referred to as "assessment of learning". The latter is related to helping students to continuously improve and the assessment involved is referred to as "assessment for learning". Assessment of learning is for reporting and assessing students’ performance and progress against the learning targets and objectives. Assessment for learning is for identifying students’ strengths and weaknesses and providing quality feedback for students, which entails providing timely support and enrichment. Assessment for learning also helps teachers to review learning objectives, lesson plans and teaching strategies.
 
In the context of the SS curriculum, as with other learning stages, it is of utmost importance that schools and teachers put more emphasis on assessment for learning to help students to learn better and to promote life-long learning.  Though assessment of learning has always been of great concern at the SS level, the good intentions of assessment for learning should not be neglected throughout the course of study.
 
In implementing appropriate assessment strategies for the SS curriculum, it is useful to distinguish between two forms of assessment, namely ‘Formative Assessment’ and ‘Summative Assessment’, each of which serves different purposes.
 
Formative assessment is the act of collecting evidence of student learning (e.g. classroom observation, class activities, homework, quizzes) and providing feedback to promote better learning.  Summative assessment is usually carried out at the end of a teaching unit/ school term/ school year in order to sum up what students have learnt (e.g. end-of-unit test/ task).  It is clear that assessment for learning is formative in nature and assessment of learning is summative in nature.
 
Assessment for learning usually takes place in daily teaching and is an essential part of everyday classroom practice. Assessment for learning
is embedded in the process of learning and teaching;
involves sharing learning goals with students;
helps students to know and recognise the targets they are pursuing;
engages students in peer assessment and self-assessment;
provides feedback to help students to identify the next steps to build on success and strengths as well as to correct weaknesses; and
involves both teachers and students in reviewing and reflecting on assessment data (students’ performance and progress).
 
4.2.3 Quality feedback
 
The essence of formative assessment is the provision of quality feedback, based on continual data collection in daily teaching. Quality feedback in formative assessment can be brought about by asking probing questions and through quality classroom interaction and/ or well-designed learning and assessment tasks. On the other hand, summative assessment is usually achieved through pre-designed tasks, reviewing assignments, tests or examinations.Information on performance is usually provided in the form of grades or marks. Performance is either matched against specific learning outcomes or against the performance of others.
 
Providing quality feedback has a positive impact on student achievement. This feedback can be in the form of oral advice or written comments, and may be incorporated in reports or portfolios. Feedback does not mean “praise” or “blame” and it is not the same as “guidance”. It should provide information on students’ performance with regard to the expected learning outcomes and enable students to take action to close any gap between their performance and the outcomes.
 
In providing feedback to students, the following points should be noted:
Feedback is best when it is truly informative in nature, clearly identifying areas of strength and weakness and explicitly pointing out how to improve.
Feedback should be positive and constructive so that it enhances students’ motivation, e.g. highlighting areas where the students have shown improvement and specifying or implying a better way to accomplish what they have not yet achieved.
Feedback should be dynamic and adaptable. It should allow for exchanges of ideas and it should be adaptable to respective learning needs at the point when they are received.

Feedback should be timely. Delay in providing feedback to students diminishes its value for learning. The value of oral feedback in the classroom should be emphasised.
 
  Reflective Questions
  In the context of SS education, is assessment of learning or assessment for learning more valued in your school?  What are the views of teachers and parents?  
  How do your school’s existing assessment policies and practices at the SS level help to inform the appropriateness of your curriculum design as well as your learning and teaching strategies?  
  How does the feedback on performance provided to students in your school help them to improve?  
  How is feedback on student performance provided to parents?  Are there ways to improve communication?  
 
 
4.3 Internal Assessment
 
4.3.1 Basic principles in designing internal assessment at senior secondary level
 
As the ultimate goal of assessment is to improve student learning, schools need to set up their own internal assessment policies to be in line with the curriculum offered and to provide a rich source of assessment data/ information that will provide feedback to improve student learning. Appropriate record-keeping together with systematic analysis of assessment results help to generate evidence-based feedback for school-based curriculum planning. The following points should be noted:
 
Based on the beliefs that every student is unique and possesses the ability to learn, and that we should develop their multiple intelligences and potentials, the Curriculum Development Council (CDC) report Learning to Learn – The Way Forward in Curriculum Development (CDC, 2001) recommended that there should be a change in assessment practices and schools should put more emphasis on “Assessment for Learning” as an integral part of the learning, teaching and assessment cycle.
Assessments should be aligned with student learning. They should make reference to the curriculum aims, objectives and the intended learning outcomes. Good internal assessments should be based on the criteria derived directly from learning objectives/ outcomes.
Each assessment mode/ strategy has its own limitation. A variety of assessment modes/ strategies are needed to truly reflect student performance or progress. For instance, written examinations may not be able to reflect students’ performance in laboratory work, creative work and practical work. An appropriate assessment mode should therefore be adopted to cater for the different learning objectives being assessed.
Students in the same class are usually of different abilities.  Adopting different assessment modes and strategies could help to address different levels of performance and learner diversity as well as to provide equal opportunities for students to demonstrate their achievements.
Students should be provided with ample opportunities to receive timely feedback, usually through dialogue in the classroom, to motivate them and guide their future learning.
Assessment for learning could be used to track student progress over time, build up students’ confidence in themselves and help students to take responsibility for their own learning.  This in turn would lay a foundation for life-long learning.
To enable formative use of information gathered by summative assessments, constructive and timely feedback on students’ performance should be provided along with their results in tests and examinations.
Appropriate assessment formats and methods can help to provide quality feedback to students and a more positive backwash effect on students learning.
 
Schools, in setting up their internal assessment policy, should distinguish formative assessment from continuous assessment. Formative assessment refers to the provision of feedback to improve learning and teaching based on formal or informal assessment of student performance. Continuous assessment refers to the assessment of students’ ongoing work and may involve no provision of feedback. Accumulating results in tests, quizzes or term examinations carried out on a weekly or monthly basis without giving students constructive feedback is neither an effective formative assessment nor a meaningful summative assessment.
 
It is understandable that there is a temptation for teachers to adopt transmission styles of teaching, administer repeated practice tests that focus on the examinable content and train students to answer specific types of questions at the SS level with a view to preparing them for the public examinations.  Nevertheless, teachers should bear in mind that the effective use of assessment for learning can improve students’ achievements which will eventually be reflected in public examinations.
 
Schools should bear in mind that too much drilling will reduce learning and teaching time in class, increase teachers’ workload unnecessarily and put undue pressure on students.  Schools are also advised not to just adopt or replicate public assessment modes in their internal assessment practices.
 
  Reflective Questions
  The following key questions need to be addressed in developing a school assessment policy:
  How are assessment records kept in your school and how are they used in helping teachers to improve their teaching?  
  Is your school’s assessment policy conducive to better student learning?  
  Do your school’s assessment procedures assess students’ learning outcomes effectively and directly?  If not, how would you improve them?  
  Which assessment modes, strategies, instruments, etc. would be most appropriate to demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of students learning?  
  How often should students be assessed to form a useful picture of their learning progress?  
 
A framework for school assessment practices at the SS level is illustrated in Figure 4.1.
 
Figure 4.1 A Framework of School Assessment Practices

(click to enlarge view)
 
4.3.2 Assessment practices for the senior secondary curriculum
 
A range of assessment practices, such as learning and assessment tasks, activities, projects, portfolios and reviewing assignments should be used to promote the attainment of various learning outcomes. These practices help to provide feedback on students’ understanding of concepts, as well as their knowledge and development of their generic and subject-specific skills. Schools may refer to the individual curriculum and assessment (C&A) guides for good practices.
 
Schools should note that for achieving the purposes of assessment for learning, the provision of quality feedback is more important than just assessing students continuously since the most important role of assessment is to identify students’ strengths and weaknesses and to help them to improve and monitor their progress.  It should also be noted that a number of the assessment practices promoted in the C&A guides are not “add-on” or isolated activities.  They are closely integrated with the learning and teaching process.  For example:
In conducting a whole-class discussion on a social issue, a teacher can assess the progress or performance of students when the students respond to the question he or she has raised.  Questioning is one of the key elements in formative assessment as it enables students to grasp what they know and guides them to further develop their understanding.
When a teacher guides students in the conduct of a project, the dialogue between the teacher and the students during an interview is a way to assess student performance.  The dialogue can also serve as feedback to stimulate students’ critical reflection and help them to improve learning.
 
Assessment should not be confined to activities that are conducted only for checking purposes but should include feedback for improvement.
 
Example of Assessments
 
Students are required to write up a report of an experiment.  Apart from being provided with training on writing up laboratory reports, students may also be requested to write essays which emphasise the application of scientific principles or the impact of moral issues on technology.  In order to assess students’ ability to link up the subject knowledge, a Chemistry teacher of School A might ask students to focus on writing up the application of the scientific principles, the influence on the environment of the chemical being studied, or the moral issues associated with the technology involved, instead of making some general remarks about the experiment.  Areas to be considered in assessing the reports include:
content (e.g. application of the scientific principle, relevance of ideas, coverage of the topic);
organisation (e.g. logical development of ideas, connection of ideas);
language use (e.g. appropriateness, fluency, accuracy);
evidence of the use of generic skills (e.g. communication, creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, problem-solving); and
attitudes demonstrated (e.g. keenness to participate in activities).
   
Similarly, an arts teacher in the same school might ask students to create pieces of artwork and discuss among themselves their various initial products.  This would limit the time spent on production and provide opportunities for students to
demonstrate their understanding of the criteria by which their learning is assessed and enable them to assess their own and others’ work;
develop a positive view of others’ efforts and attainments; and
demonstrate how they are actively involved in improving their work.
 
To a certain extent, internal assessment practices at the SS level should align with the practices at the junior secondary level. Students should be given the opportunities to improve their skills in moving from the junior secondary level to the SS level. When charged with tasks of similar nature but different levels of difficulty, students may demonstrate their development in the relevant skills.
 
 
  Reflective Questions
  How do the following activities conducted in your school help to cultivate / improve the assessment culture?  
    Open Book Tests  
    Discussion, Debate and Role-plays  
    Field Work  
    Group Work  
    Projects  
  What are the assessment practices you would use for internal assessment? Do you use different practices for SS classes and junior secondary classes?  
 
4.3.3 Developing assessment policy
 
To synergise efforts and to avoid duplicate or even contradictory endeavours, each school should develop a school assessment policy.  In doing so, the staff should:
 
discuss and agree on how to balance assessment for learning and assessment of learning;
discuss and agree on how to balance the promotion of common assessment practices with student-centred or class-based variations;
set out the aims of assessment in accordance with the whole-school curriculum plan;
make reference to third-party information such as the Territory-wide Assessment in Chinese Language, English Language and Mathematics to confirm some of the focuses of learning, teaching and assessment, if necessary;
agree on appropriate assessment criteria by and across levels/ Key Learning Areas/ subjects, etc.;
agree on how evidence of student learning should be collected; and
agree on how assessment results should be recorded and kept, and how feedback is to be provided to improve student learning.
 
The school assessment policy should ensure that all students are given the opportunities to have their full range of learning assessed without being given an undue workload.
 
Based on the assessment policy, schools should then develop their annual assessment plans that enable teachers to
 
transform ideas into actions;
identify gaps and reflect on their daily assessment practices, e.g. whether feedback is used to adjust teaching plans and whether assessment for learning has been highlighted; and
check whether the aims of assessment have been fulfilled and whether the purpose of assessment is clear to all students.
 
Schools should conduct regular reviews of the assessment policy and its implementation so that assessment is always providing useful and timely feedback to the curriculum as well as the learning and teaching processes.
 
Example of a School Assessment Policy
 
The following table shows the policy and directives adopted by a school to help to promote assessment for learning.
Domains Aspects What teachers should do Responsible officer(s)
Assessment Planning and Implementation
System-level directives
Assist in formulating a whole-school assessment policy according to the curriculum goals and adopting formative and summative assessments
Explain the assessment policy to students and parents and enhance learning and teaching based on the assessment results
Conduct timely, holistic and concrete reviews of assessment policy and systems to identify what is effective and what is inadequate as well as to ensure early follow-up
Review constantly the various assessment modes and align them with current curriculum objectives
P, VPs and
Co-ordinators

P, Co-ordinators and T

VPs and
Co-ordinators


Co-ordinators
Assessment practices
Design suitable methods of assessment that truly reflect students' performance in terms of knowledge, skills, attitudes and efforts made
Ensure that the scope, format and difficulty level of assessment suit the abilities and needs of students
Provide students with the opportunities for reflection through peer assessment and self-assessment
Adopt different modes of assessment flexibly to cater for learner diversity
Co-ordinators & T


Co-ordinators & T

T

T
Grading, marking and giving feedback
Identify students' strengths and weaknesses
Provide students with direction for improvement
Give timely and useful feedback to help students to improve their learning
T
T
T
Use of Assessment Information
Managing assessment information
Record the information obtained from assessment systematically so that both the school and teachers can keep track of students’ learning progress and use it to plan their teaching
Co-ordinators and T
Using assessment information
Use assessment information to diagnose and evaluate the effectiveness of learning and teaching
Use assessment results to develop programmes that improve student learning
Help students to understand their learning progresses and set future learning targets for themselves
Inform parents of their children's learning progress through a variety of means
Co-ordinators & T

Co-ordinators

T

T
Note: P for principal, VP for Vice-principals, Co-ordinators for KLA Co-ordinators and T for Teachers
 
Example of an Assessment Plan
 
In line with the C&A framework of the subject of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), a school develops the following assessment plan for its S4 students.  The school adopted the suggestions prescribed in “Case 3 – ICT Curriculum Planning in GHI Secondary School” in Section 3.2 of the ICT C&A Guide.
 
Assessment Objectives and Assessment Plan
 
The assessment objectives are grouped under three categories (A), (B) and (C) to show that Knowledge and Understanding, Skills, Values and Attitudes are essential.
 
(A) Students should show a basic understanding of concepts related to:
information systems and processes in real-life contexts;
the difference between information and data;
how data are organised and represented inside a computer;
the hardware, software and Internet service provider involved in accessing the Internet;
the personal, social and commercial activities that are available on the Internet; and
the technologies involved in transmitting and displaying multimedia elements on the Internet.
   
(B) Students should be able to:
use office automation software in an integrated manner;
process and present different types of information appropriately;
connect to the Internet and participate in various Internet activities such as searching for information, sharing opinions, and exchanging messages and files; and
design and construct simple web pages for intended audiences.
 
(C) Students should be able to:
appreciate how advances in information and communication technologies foster the development of the Information Age and its impact on society; and
value and appraise the significance of the development of the Internet for various activities in society.
 
A range of assessment practices are used to assess comprehensively the achievement of different learning objectives, which include written tests, practical tasks, oral questioning.  A project integrating different learning objectives is also included as an important component of assessment.  The implementation details of assessment tasks, including frequency, duration, format and weighting of each component should be discussed and agreed among teachers.  A summary of the assessment plan is as follows:
 
Area
Component
Examples of Learning Outcome
(A)
Mid-year written examination
Understand how data are organised and represented inside a computer
Final written examination
Compare common methods for Internet access in terms of speed, cost, security and availability
Online quizzes (self-assessed)
Describe how errors can be detected and prevented by using validation and parity checking
Project work - written report
Identify benefits and limitations of various Internet activities
(B)
Oral questioning
Discuss the common services available in a networked environment
Practical tasks -
Teachers’ observation
Convert multimedia elements into digital format
Convert them into different file formats
Project work - website, presentation slides
Use a software suite in an integrated and effective manner
Design and construct web pages for an intended audience
(C)
Project work - oral presentation
Value the significance of the development of the Internet for various activities in society
Oral questioning
Appreciate technology advancement as a change agent for the betterment of humanity
Students’ self-reflection
Appreciate how advances in information and communication technologies foster the emergence and development of the information age and to recognise its impact on our society
 
Quizzes, oral questioning and practical tasks are arranged periodically to enable a rich source of data that provides feedback on learning in a formative manner.  Such feedback helps students to sustain their momentum in learning and to identify their strengths and weaknesses.  This also enriches students’ ICT learning portfolios.
 
 
  Reflective Questions
  What is your school’s assessment policy?  
  What are the strengths and weaknesses of your school’s assessment policy and practices?  
  How would you change the school’s assessment policy and practices in order to cater better for learning in the New Academic Structure and specific SS subjects?  
  How are the assessment activities different at the SS level, when compared with the junior secondary level, in particular in stretching the potential of the students in your school?  
 
 
4.4 Public Assessment
 
A range of strategies has been adopted to align public assessment with the school curriculum and to promote reform in the assessment culture. The Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) will make use of standards-referenced reporting (SRR) to report students’ performance. School-based Assessment (SBA) will also be adopted. As regards SRR, students’ levels of performance will be reported with reference to a set of standards as defined for a given subject.  SRR relates to the way in which results are reported and does not involve any changes in how teachers or examiners mark students’ work.
 
More information on SRR and SBA can be found in the appendices.  Schools may also make reference to the updated information available on the website of Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority at http://www.hkeaa.edu.hk.
 
What should schools do in preparing for the introduction of the SRR system?
 
Schools should
help students to understand the system and the standards;
indicate to students the standards they need to attain to proceed  to the next level; and
continue with their normal learning, teaching and formative assessments.
 
  Reflective Questions
  How is internal assessment in your school linked to the public examination?  
  How will you make use of the level descriptors to help students to stretch to their full potential in learning?  
  How will your school assess students’ development in both cognitive and affective areas?  
 
 
What should schools do in response to SBA?
 
Schools should
help students to understand the rationale of SBA and its requirements;
help students to stretch to their full potential in accordance with their own abilities;
continue with their normal learning, teaching and formative assessment;
incorporate SBA into their normal learning and teaching plan;
stagger the implementation of SBA of various subjects across S5 and S6 to avoid duplication of work in a particular time-slot;
supervise and conduct SBA in accordance with their learning and teaching plan, play the role of a facilitator in students’ learning process; and
help students to manage their own tasks.
   
  Reflective Questions
  What measures will you employ to avoid overloading students with unnecessary assessment tasks?  
  In conducting SBA in your subject, how will you ensure that the work submitted by students is their own work?  
 
 
Appendix I
 
 
The HKDSE will make use of standards-referenced reporting for assessments. This means students’ levels of performance will be reported with reference to a set of standards as defined by cut scores on the variable or scale for a given subject. Standards referencing relates to the way in which results are reported and does not involve any changes in how teachers or examiners mark students’ work.
 
Within the context of the HKDSE there will be five cut scores, which are used to distinguish five levels of performance (1–5), with 5 being the highest.  A performance below Level 1 will be labeled as ‘Unclassified’.
 
For each of the five levels, a set of written descriptors that describe what a typical candidate performing at this level is able to do will be developed. These descriptors will necessarily represent ‘on-average’ statements and may not apply precisely to individuals, whose performance within a subject may vary and span two or more levels.
 
In setting the standards for the HKDSE, Levels 4 and 5 will be set with reference to the standards achieved by students awarded grades A–D in the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination of the old system. Referencing Levels 4 and 5 to the standards associated with the old grades A–D is important to ensure a degree of continuity with previous practice, facilitate tertiary selection and maintain international recognition.
 
The overall level awarded to each candidate will be made up of results in both the public examination and the SBA.
 
To maintain the levels of discrimination for selection purposes, the candidates with the best performance will have their results annotated with the symbols ** (i.e. 5**) and the next top group with the symbol * (i.e. 5*).
 
 
Appendix II
 
School-based Assessment
 
In the context of public assessment, SBA refers to assessments administered in schools and marked by the students’ own teachers.  The primary rationale for SBA is to enhance the validity of the overall assessment and extend it to include a variety of learning outcomes that cannot be assessed easily through paper and pen tests.
 
There are other reasons for SBA.  For example, it reduces dependence on the results of the examinations, which may not always provide the most reliable indication of the actual abilities of candidates.  Obtaining assessments based on students’ performance over an extended period of time and developed by those who know the students best – their subject teachers – provides a more reliable assessment of each student.
 
Another reason is to promote a positivebackwash effect on students, teachers and school staff.  SBA can serve to motivate students by requiring them to engage in meaningful activities that lead to a penetrating assessment of their performance.  It can reinforce curriculum aims and good teaching practice, and provide a structure and significance to an activity they are involved in on a daily basis.
 
It should be noted that SBA is not an “add-on” element in the curriculum.  The modes of SBA are normal in-class and out-of-class activities suggested in the curriculum.  The requirements for implementing SBA will take into consideration the wide range of student abilities and will avoid unduly increasing the workload of both teachers and students.
 
It is acknowledged that some subjects are more ready for SBA than others. SBA will therefore be phased in gradually in the SS curriculum, with the weighting, modes of assessment, etc. changing over time. A higher weighting will be allowed in some practical subjects.
 
SBA will be designed in ways that enable teachers to authenticate students’ work so as to avoid cheating.  This means that a significant proportion of SBA will be done under direct teacher supervision.
 
For most subjects, statistical moderation will be employed to adjust differences among schools in assessing students’ work.  Teachers have a good knowledge of the standards of their own students, but they are not necessarily familiar with the performance of students in other schools.  Statistical moderation ensures comparability of assessment across all schools.
 
For subjects with a small candidature and SBA involving outcomes that are very different from those assessed through a written examination, non-statistical moderation, such as expert judgement by a panel of external moderators, will be employed.
 
 
References
 
Assessment Reform Group. (1999). Assessment for Learning: Beyond the Black Box. Cambridge: University of Cambridge School of Education.
 
Black, P. (2003). The Nature and Value of Formative Assessment for Learning. Paper presented at AERA Conference, Chicago, April 2003.
 
Black, P. & Wiliam, D. (1998). Assessment and Classroom Learning. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practices, 5(1), 7-74. UK: Routledge.
 
Black, P. & Wiliam, D. (1998). Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards Through Classroom Assessment. Phi Delta Kappan, Vol.80, No 2
 
Clarke, S. (2001). Recommendations for the development of formative assessment in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Education Department.
 
Downing, S. M. & Haladyna, T. M. (ed) (2006). Handbook of Test Development. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
 
Ebel, R. L. (1979). Essentials of Educational Measurement. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
 
Frith, D. S. & Macintosh, H. G. (1984). A Teacher’s Guide to Assessment. Cheltenham: Stanley Thornes Ltd.
 
Gardner, H. (2000). The Disciplined Mind: Beyond Facts and Standardized Test. Britain: Penguin.
 
Gardner, H. (2004). The Unschooled Mind: How Children Think and How Schools Should Teach. New York: BasicBooks.
 
Gipps, C. V. (1994). Beyond Testing: Towards a Theory of Educational Assessment. London: The Falmer Press.
 
Gronlund, N. E. (2008). Assessment of Student Achievement. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
 
Hirsch, E. D. (1996).  The Schools We Need and Why We Don’t Have Them. New York: Doubleday.
 
James, M. (1998). Using Assessment for School Improvement. Oxford: Heinemann (Educational, Publishers).
 
Nitko, A. J. & Brookhart, S. M. (2007) Educational Assessment of Students. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
 
Stiggins, R. J. (1997). Student-centered Classroom Assessment. New York: Merrill.
 
Thorndike, R. L. (1971).   Educational Measurement. Washington D.C.: American Council on Education.
 
Wiggins, G. P. (1993).  Assessing Student Performance: Exploring the Purpose and Limits of Testing. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc.
 
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