Successful implementation of formative assessment in classrooms relies on teachers’ formative assessment literacy, which is typically supported by professional development programs. This study reports on the impact of a professional development program on a group of in-service primary teachers in Hong Kong. The authors investigated the effectiveness of the program in developing teachers’ formative assessment literacy and how far the program assisted them in addressing the challenges they faced when implementing formative assessment in classrooms. With a mixed-method design, quantitative data were collected with a pre- and post-program survey (N = 27); qualitative data were collected with open-ended survey questions and a focus group with six participating teachers. The results provide evidence of the program’s success in developing teachers’ formative assessment literacy and equipping them with the necessary skills to address the challenges in implementation. The features of professional learning communities embedded in the program contributed to the positive impact of the program. Copyright © 2023 Teacher Development.

Social contagion has been documented across various domains. However, this phenomenon has not been explored in relation to formative assessment in schools. This study examines the social contagion of school teachers’ formative assessment practices and self-efficacy. A sample of 296 teachers from 12 Hong Kong primary and secondary schools participated in this study. All participants completed the same questionnaire twice, one year apart. The longitudinal results showed that formative assessment practices and self-efficacy were socially contagious. When teachers had colleagues who engaged in formative assessment practices and had high self-efficacy, they were more likely to engage in formative assessment and become more efficacious themselves. Also, school-level formative assessment self-efficacy predicted individual-level formative assessment practices demonstrating the importance of collective efficacy. The findings can inform the provision of school support and the design of teacher professional development programmes for promoting formative assessment in schools. Copyright © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

A significant challenge in studying formative assessment is the lack of suitable instruments for assessing teachers' formative assessment practices. This paper reports the development of the Teacher Formative Assessment Practice Scale (TFAPS) and its psychometric properties based on two samples of primary and secondary school teachers: one from Hong Kong (N = 449) and the other from Italy (N = 309). Exploratory factor analysis identified two distinct factors, including teacher-directed formative assessment (TdFA, six items) and student-directed formative assessment (SdFA, four items). The confirmatory factor analysis supported this two-factor structure. Rasch analysis provided further psychometric evidence regarding scale dimensionality and item quality. This study suggests that TFAPS is an appropriate instrument for assessing teachers' formative assessment practices, but the cultural influence on teachers' formative assessment practices should be noted in the applications of the instrument. Copyright © 2022 SAGE Publications.

Despite the critical role of formative assessment in instruction, there is a lack of theory-driven instruments that specifically assess teachers’ formative assessment literacy. This paper reports the development and validation of the Teacher Formative Assessment Literacy Scale (TFALS). The instrument was developed on a three-dimensional model of formative assessment, aiming at assessing the conceptual, practical, and socio-emotional aspects of formative assessment literacy. Survey data were collected from 585 teachers in Hong Kong primary and secondary schools. Exploratory factor analysis suggests a three-factor structure, and confirmatory factor analysis supports this structure. Rasch analysis results further support its scale dimensionality and item quality. In addition, the relations between TFALS scores and teachers’ formative assessment practices demonstrate the instrument’s external validity. Overall, the results suggest that the TFALS is an appropriate instrument for assessing teachers’ formative assessment literacy. The potential of using the TFALS in research and practice is discussed. Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Creativity is an important 21st Century skill that enhances students’ ability to see new opportunities, confront new challenges, and adapt flexibly to the changing study, work and life situations. To nurture students with strong self-efficacy in creative thinking is as important as the contexts and strategies involved in its application. But how to develop sustainable interventions (without generating excessive workload for teachers) to promote students’ self-efficacy in creativity is a long-lasting challenge. This study presents a simple and relatively cost-effective instructional intervention, i.e., self-assessment mind maps, and examines its effect on students’ self-efficacy in creativity, self-efficacy in learning English, and academic performance in English language tests. A pretest-posttest non-equivalent design was adopted for the experimental and control groups of students in a Hong Kong primary school in 2021/22 Spring semester. The results show that students from the experimental group significantly outperformed those from the control group on self-efficacy in creativity after the intervention. However, the intervention did not improve students’ self-efficacy and test performance in English learning. The findings demonstrate the potential of self-assessment mind maps as an effective and sustainable instruction intervention to promote students’ higher-order abilities. This study sheds light on designing sustainable instructional strategies for empowerment in creativity. Copyright © 2022 Yan, Lee, Hui and Lao.

Past studies identified isolated factors influencing teachers' formative assessment practices (FAP) but did not show a comprehensive model of it. Hence, this study systematically creates and tests a theoretical model of FAP by determining whether personal or contextual factors are linked to teachers' FAP. We collected longitudinal data from 296 Hong Kong primary and secondary teachers through two waves of the survey. The results of a multivariate outcome, multilevel analysis showed that personal (teacher rank, years of teaching experience, and self-efficacy) and contextual factors (school support, total number of teachers in a school, and teaching grade) significantly impact teachers’ FAP. Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

A significant challenge in studying formative assessment is the lack of suitable instruments for assessing teachers’ formative assessment practices. This paper reports the development of the Teacher Formative Assessment Practice Scale (TFAPS) and its psychometric properties based on two samples of primary and secondary school teachers: one from Hong Kong (N = 449) and the other from Italy (N = 309). Exploratory factor analysis identified two distinct factors, including teacher-directed formative assessment (TdFA, six items) and student-directed formative assessment (SdFA, four items). The confirmatory factor analysis supported this two-factor structure. Rasch analysis provided further psychometric evidence regarding scale dimensionality and item quality. This study suggests that TFAPS is an appropriate instrument for assessing teachers’ formative assessment practices, but the cultural influence on teachers’ formative assessment practices should be noted in the applications of the instrument. Copyright © 2022 The Author(s).

Collaborative lesson planning (CLP) is a key component of teachers’ professional development that responds to students’ ever-increasing learning needs. This study aimed to develop and validate an instrument to evaluate teachers’ CLP practices. Guided by the SECI (socialisation, externalisation, combination, and internalisation) knowledge-creation model of Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995), items assessing CLP practices were developed. To validate the CLP scale, we analysed data from 540 primary and secondary school teachers in Hong Kong. Exploratory factor analysis on a random half of the sample suggests a four-factor solution that supports the SECI model. A confirmatory factor analysis and multidimensional Rasch analysis on the remaining half of the sample confirmed the four-factor structure. Both analyses support the dimensionality of the four-factor model, rating scale effectiveness, and item fit statistics. The final version of the CLPS has 21 items that assess teachers’ CLP practices under the four SECI processes. This instrument has practical value in assessing, monitoring, and promoting collaborative teaching practices in school. The study's limitations and implications are discussed. Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

This study aimed to identify teachers’ perceived challenges in implementing assessment-as-learning (AaL) in classrooms, and evaluate the impact of a one-year professional development programme (PDP) designed for 47 teachers in a Hong Kong primary school to promote AaL implementation. Findings showed that the PDP increased the frequency and appropriateness of AaL implementation when on-site support was also provided, otherwise changes were not substantial. It suggests that systematic supporting measures should be provided together with PDPs to address the challenges teachers encountered in implementing AaL. Copyright © 2021 International Review of Finance Ltd.

This paper describes Hong Kong’s borrowing, primarily from the UK, of the assessment for learning policy, in the context of prolonged use of formal summative public examinations. The narrative review and analysis are guided by a social positivist critique of the assessment for learning policy in the Hong Kong context. This paper concludes that Hong Kong’s attempts to implement assessment for learning are ambitious but somewhat futile because of persistent use of public examinations for important decision-making. Change in Hong Kong may only happen through a gradual implementation of assessment for learning practices that takes into account cultural, societal, and historic norms. Critical issues are identified and recommendations are proposed for further implementation of assessment for learning in Hong Kong. Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd.