This article analyses an assessment initiative known as the Basic Competency Assessment (BCA) in Hong Kong using Bernstein's performance and competence models of pedagogic practice. On the one hand, BCA is aligned with a competence model through its official projection as a low-stakes, student-focussed and formative assessment. However, an examination of the public perception of and context for BCA reveals its high-stakes, disciplines-centred and summative nature; it is argued that BCA reflects a performance model with strong classification, strong framing and visible pedagogies. The example of Hong Kong illustrates the usefulness of Bernstein's theory and extends the existing research on the interactions between local culture and pedagogic practices.
[Copyright of British Journal of Educational Studies is the property of Routledge.]

The field experience component in a teacher education programme serves both a gate-keeping function and a formative purpose that supports student teacher development. The authors were members of a research team which took care of the re-design of the assessment instrument for the field experience component of a teacher education programme, as well as conducting a pilot implementation test. The new assessment instrument, referred to as a Professional Development Progress Map, was developed with reference to the professional standards formulated by an official teacher education policy advisory body. This paper looks into the comments of the users, that is the supervisors and the student teachers (or participants, as in-service teachers were involved in the pilot implementation test) after the pilot implementation test. Findings suggest difficulties in using the Progress Map as a summative assessment instrument regarding the determination of grades and levels, making judgements based on observable performance and collection of evidence, and difficulty in assessing the domain 'Involvement in Education Community'. The discussion highlights the dilemma related to the use of professional standards as summative assessment instruments, and how users may be re-orientated to enhance the formative purpose. The paper concludes with suggestions on prudent use of the Progress Map.
[Copyright of Teacher Development is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13664530802259289]

This paper presents a study that shows the use of professional standards in field experience assessment in initial teacher education. A Professional Development Progress Map was developed in field experience assessment in a teacher education institution in Hong Kong. The study enriches our understanding of the holistic nature of assessing professional competence in teaching, problems of using the Progress Map in summative assessment, and the enhancement of professional learning in field experience assessment. While the discussion cautions the limitations of professional standards, it advocates the empowerment of the assessors and the assessed to be agents striving for good assessments. Suggestions on engaging supervisors and student teachers in 'assessment dialogue' are proposed for this empowerment - making explicit judgments on professional competence in teaching and sharing supervisory practices among supervisors, engaging student teachers with the assessment criteria, and reframing supervisory practices to empower student teachers to take an active role in supervision.
[Copyright of Journal of Education for Teaching is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02607470701773416]

The thesis is about a study that aims to evaluate the effects of 1975 Provisional Science Syllabus Forms I to III as being piloted in 20 elite schools in Hong Kong. The author reports that, firstly, paper-pencil achievement test was constructed for use in a pretest-posttest design. Secondly, form one pupils labeled as monitored group, innovative Angles-Chinese Group, and innovative Chinese-middle group were compared with traditional Angles-Chinese schools. And thirdly, high-achievers were found to benefit more than low-achievers in the innovative practical-work-biased curriculum.