Page 68 - E-book 2012-13 final draft
P. 68
Enlightening Teaching & Research
quantitative data generated from assessment to papers of adjacent difficulty levels. Using Rasch modeling methods
inform learning and teaching. (Bond and Fox, 2007), all items can be mapped onto a common
ability scale through the linkage items. Alternatively, an item bank
Diversity of the student population is a realistic issue can be created, with each item in the bank having their difficulty
and so are the three other concerns. Until 2011, there were levels calibrated (e.g. using the Rasch model) along a vertical scale
about 80 thousand Secondary 5 candidates sitting the Hong Kong that extends from low to high ability levels, and assessment papers
Certificate of Education Examination each year. Among them, created on a needs basis by assembling items from the item bank.
about 50 thousand candidates got the minimum qualifications for The Institute has conducted a number of teacher development
entrance to Secondary 6, but only 30 thousand Secondary 6 places workshops in the last eight years, and over 6,000 teachers were
were available from all secondary schools in Hong Kong. In other trained with hands-on experience in using Rasch modeling methods.
words, only the top 37.5% of the cohort gained entrance to senior Hong Kong has real potential to build subject-based item banks
secondary levels (and among them, only 18% gained university with their associated vertical scale in order to facilitate assessment
admission). It was not too difficult to set assessments that targetted papers to be created on demand in order to meet challenges of the
this relatively homogeneous group of students. Since the structural assessment reform for the New Senior Secondary.
reform in 2012, schooling in Hong Kong has changed from a 5+2+3
academic structure (5 years of secondary education, 2 A-level years, Whereas technology might solve some parts of the problem,
and 3 years of university education) to a 3+3+4 academic structure it is perhaps more challenging to cultivate in schools a culture of
(3 years of junior secondary, 3 years of senior secondary, and 4 years integrating assessment with learning. As pointed out by the school
of university education). This means all on-age students stay in the principals in the NSS Workshop Series, schools are not short of
school system until Secondary 6 when they sit for the Hong Kong assessment data, but a culture of utilizing these data to provide
Diploma of School Education, which is also used as an entrance high quality feedback to students is yet to be established in Hong
examination to universities. As a result, there has been substantial Kong. Nevertheless, there are delightful signs of change. At the NSS
increase in heterogeneity in the student population at the senior Workshop Series, many schools shared their ingenious strategies,
secondary levels compared to the past. Given this diversity, it including setting assessment items which could pinpoint specific
is not surprising that schools find it really hard to align levels of misconceptions, using dynamic assessment to gauge achievement
assessments with students’ ability levels. level, and the use of such analytic tools as Student-Problem chart,
student profile, and Kid-map for the generation of diagnostic
Diversity in the student population means that tasks in an assessment information to inform subsequent learning and teaching.
assessment need to cover a large range of difficulty levels, which
in turn means that the assessment paper will be too easy for some In advocating for assessment reform, one must not lose
students but too difficult for the others. Instead of setting just one sight of the real meaning of assessment in its original word,
assessment paper for all students in the class, one solution to the assidere – to sit by the student in order to support his/her learning.
problem is to have multiple assessment papers each targeting a Learning is at the heart of the matter. The NSS Workshop Series
different range of ability levels but with common items between organizer Ms Susanna Cheung introduced workshop participants
54 55
quantitative data generated from assessment to papers of adjacent difficulty levels. Using Rasch modeling methods
inform learning and teaching. (Bond and Fox, 2007), all items can be mapped onto a common
ability scale through the linkage items. Alternatively, an item bank
Diversity of the student population is a realistic issue can be created, with each item in the bank having their difficulty
and so are the three other concerns. Until 2011, there were levels calibrated (e.g. using the Rasch model) along a vertical scale
about 80 thousand Secondary 5 candidates sitting the Hong Kong that extends from low to high ability levels, and assessment papers
Certificate of Education Examination each year. Among them, created on a needs basis by assembling items from the item bank.
about 50 thousand candidates got the minimum qualifications for The Institute has conducted a number of teacher development
entrance to Secondary 6, but only 30 thousand Secondary 6 places workshops in the last eight years, and over 6,000 teachers were
were available from all secondary schools in Hong Kong. In other trained with hands-on experience in using Rasch modeling methods.
words, only the top 37.5% of the cohort gained entrance to senior Hong Kong has real potential to build subject-based item banks
secondary levels (and among them, only 18% gained university with their associated vertical scale in order to facilitate assessment
admission). It was not too difficult to set assessments that targetted papers to be created on demand in order to meet challenges of the
this relatively homogeneous group of students. Since the structural assessment reform for the New Senior Secondary.
reform in 2012, schooling in Hong Kong has changed from a 5+2+3
academic structure (5 years of secondary education, 2 A-level years, Whereas technology might solve some parts of the problem,
and 3 years of university education) to a 3+3+4 academic structure it is perhaps more challenging to cultivate in schools a culture of
(3 years of junior secondary, 3 years of senior secondary, and 4 years integrating assessment with learning. As pointed out by the school
of university education). This means all on-age students stay in the principals in the NSS Workshop Series, schools are not short of
school system until Secondary 6 when they sit for the Hong Kong assessment data, but a culture of utilizing these data to provide
Diploma of School Education, which is also used as an entrance high quality feedback to students is yet to be established in Hong
examination to universities. As a result, there has been substantial Kong. Nevertheless, there are delightful signs of change. At the NSS
increase in heterogeneity in the student population at the senior Workshop Series, many schools shared their ingenious strategies,
secondary levels compared to the past. Given this diversity, it including setting assessment items which could pinpoint specific
is not surprising that schools find it really hard to align levels of misconceptions, using dynamic assessment to gauge achievement
assessments with students’ ability levels. level, and the use of such analytic tools as Student-Problem chart,
student profile, and Kid-map for the generation of diagnostic
Diversity in the student population means that tasks in an assessment information to inform subsequent learning and teaching.
assessment need to cover a large range of difficulty levels, which
in turn means that the assessment paper will be too easy for some In advocating for assessment reform, one must not lose
students but too difficult for the others. Instead of setting just one sight of the real meaning of assessment in its original word,
assessment paper for all students in the class, one solution to the assidere – to sit by the student in order to support his/her learning.
problem is to have multiple assessment papers each targeting a Learning is at the heart of the matter. The NSS Workshop Series
different range of ability levels but with common items between organizer Ms Susanna Cheung introduced workshop participants
54 55
