The notion that testing exerts influence on teaching and learning is accepted by many. In Hong Kong, some educationalists indeed see tests and examinations as one way of instilling positive changes in learners' learning. In 1993, amidst growing concern that Hong Kong students' standard of English was declining, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) proposed to the then University and Polytechnic Grants Committee that a Graduating Students' Language Proficiency Assessment (GSLPA)be devised and introduced to encourage university students to improve their English proficiency. In 1999, the GSLPA-English was mandated by the PolyU as a university exit English test for its graduates. There was no accompanying formal teaching/learning curriculum, as the test was intended to assess students' level of English proficiency rather than their achievement in some taught English courses. Whilst it was reasonable to expect that some students in this university would engage in some form of learning activities to help them learn/train for their exit English test, it was not clear exactly how these students - of their own accord, without a specified learning syllabus and receiving no input from teachers in the regular English classroom - would approach test preparation. Hitherto, there has been little research on how washback operates for learners rather than teachers. This study was principally motivated by a desire to better understand learners as participants in the washback cycle. It investigated how a sample of PolyU graduating students perceived the GSLPA-English as a university exit English test, and whether and how they prepared for it. Initially, the study found that this test was perceived by many respondents as lacking in status and stakes, and that not many took steps to prepare for it. The GSLPA-English was superseded by the lELTS-CEPAS in 2002, when the University Grants Committee, in a further attempt to raise students' awareness of the importance of English proficiency

Background: The literature suggests two main types of orientations influencing teachers' choice of assessment strategies--"Knowledge acquisition and retention (K orientation)" and "Understanding and Conceptual change (U orientation)" with the former more directly related to surface learning types of assessment strategies and the latter more to do with strategies which encourage deep learning.
Aims: The study aimed to investigate what kinds of strategies teachers used to assess their students and how teachers' self-reported assessment strategies reflected the orientations suggested in the current literature. In addition, it identified the governing forces that impacted on the orientations of the teachers in their assessment strategy selection.
Sample: Ninety-four Hong Kong teachers from nine primary schools and six secondary schools took part in semi-structured interviews which focused on the strategies they used for assessing their students.
Results: The teachers reported using many types of strategies including tests, exams, projects, etc. The results of the study showed that there were forces that drew teachers towards "Knowledge acquisition and retention" orientation while selecting assessment strategies for use.
Conclusion: More effort has to be made to encourage teachers to attain a better balance between assessment aimed at measuring knowledge and assessment aimed at learning and understanding.
背景: 文獻指出教師在選擇評估策略上有兩種主要取向 - 「知識的獲取與記憶」(知識取向) 及「理解與概念的轉變」(理解取向)。「知識取向」的評估策略偏向淺層次的學習；而「理解取向」的評估策略是鼓勵深層次的學習。
目的: 本研究的目的是瞭解教師選擇甚麼評估策略來評估學生，分析他們選取評估策略的取向，及找出主導他們對評估策略取向的因由。
取樣: 本研究訪問了九十四位來自九所小學及六所中學的香港教師。
結果: 本研究的結果顯示教師曾經使用不同種類的評估策略，包括測驗、考試及專題計劃等。當教師選擇評估策略的時候，有一些外在的力量使他們傾向於選擇「知識取向」。
結論: 有需要增強相關的做法，令教師擺脫這些限制，使「用評估量度知識」與「用評估學習和理解」之間取得平衡。
[Copyright of New Horizons: The Journal of Education, Hong Kong Teachers' Associationl is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Association at http://www.hkta1934.org.hk/]

本文首先分析中小學教育實踐中人們混淆常模參照與目標參照兩種測試的原因，進而提出一些實施目標參照測試的方法，如設計參照標準，合理地命題、評分、解釋分數等，從而使校內測試更好地促進學生全面地、積極地、創造性地學習。
This paper begins with analyzing the reason why Criteria-referenced and Norm-referenced tests are often misunderstood and misused in schools. It then goes on to suggest some methods in implementing the school-based Criteria-referenced tests, including setting up standards for assessing academic achievement, designing test questions and interpreting test's results. In so doing, we aim to improve the quality of school-based tests in order to engage students in a more active and creative way of learning.
[Copyright of New Horizons: The Journal of Education, Hong Kong Teachers' Associationl is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Association at http://www.hkta1934.org.hk/]

It is widely accepted that assessment has a link with learning. One key factor in the link is formative assessment. Formative assessment is generally defined as taking place during a course with the express purpose of improving pupil learning. However, there is still considerable disagreement over the roles of teachers and pupils in this process (Torrance & Pryor 1998, p.8). It is therefore very important to understand how teachers perceive their roles and their pupils' roles in the formative assessment events. This paper will report on an investigation into teachers' perceptions of their roles and their pupils' roles in the formative assessment process. The investigation, which involved over 1000 teachers from 35 primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong, invited teachers to show their views by completing a questionnaire. To supplement the data collected from the questionnaire survey, a sample number of teachers were interviewed. Discussion will be focused on a comparison of the findings with the current literature, leading to some implications for the roles of teachers and pupils in the formative assessment process.
[Copyright of Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) at http://www.aare.edu.au]

This report is concerned with the development of measurement scales for self-learning of secondary students. Self-learning refers to a process whereby the learner participates actively in the act of learning, including planning, goal setting, progress monitoring, selecting learning strategies and controlling the learning environment. The capacity for self-learning has been accorded high priority in recent years by major education systems, particularly those in the Asia Pacific region. This study is motivated by the lack of measurement tool available for the study of self-learning in countries where Chinese is the main medium of instruction, including China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. The sample comprised 398 secondary students from Hong Kong secondary schools and a comparable sample of 200 secondary students from Macau. Questionnaires with Likert items were administered to the students during class-time. Scales included students' goal setting, academic motivation, self-efficacy, information processing strategies, monitoring and management of learning resources. Rasch modelling and confirmatory factor analysis were used to establish construct validity of these scales. Differences across males and females, grade levels, and regions were reported in the paper.
[Copyright of Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) at http://www.aare.edu.au]