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/]

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 paper reports on, and presents the findings from, an investigation into feedback as a means of formative assessment. Feedback is important to learning because it gives us information about the results or consequences of what teachers do and what learners have achieved or have not achieved. It is as crucial in teaching and learning as in any other activity, forming part of the cycle of teaching and learning. However, general feedback such as 'Good work!' 'Effort shown!', or drawing a smiling face, though holding the acknowledgement effect, is not informative enough to help students advance their learning. This poses a question "What sort of feedback has functional significance in learning?"
The investigation collected data from school teachers through three different phases, namely, questionnaire survey, teacher interviews, and lesson observation. The first phase asked approximately one thousand school teachers to give their views on feedback in a questionnaire survey. Data analysis showed that four particular aspects about feedback were regarded as more significant than others. The second phase and the third phases, which involved a further 94 teachers and 27 teachers respectively, revealed that feedback could take many forms and the quality of feedback could vary tremendously.
[Copyright of Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) at http://www.aare.edu.au]