Leong, W.S., & Tan, K. (2014). What (more) can, and should, assessment do for learning? Observations from ‘successful learning context’ in Singapore. Curriculum Journal, 25 (4), 593−619.
Journal article link: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09585176.2014.970207#.VKdU6rkcRjo
Singapore has earned accolades as one of the leading education systems in the world, based on its record in international assessments, including TIMSS and PISA. This has contributed to the entrenchment of ‘assessment’ becoming an institutional authority of standards, teaching (performativity) and classroom learning. It is against, and amidst such contexts, that this article traces how the notion and discourse of formative assessment and Assessment for Learning (AfL) are widely introduced and used formally across all Singapore schools, particularly after a recent introduction of new ‘Holistic and Balanced Assessment’ policies. We argue that the very institutional authority of successful high-stake examination results, which served as critical standards of performativity of teaching and learning in the classroom, is being challenged. The changing assessment context of Singaporean schools therefore serves as an interesting case study site for studying how formative assessment and AfL can be adapted and understood when 'learning' is already seen to be successful.
Wong, H.M. (2014): I can assess myself: Singaporean primary students' and teachers' perceptions of students' self-assessment ability, Education 3-13: International Journal of Primary, Elementary and Early Years Education, DOI: 10.1080/03004279.2014.982672
Student self-assessment engages the students in purposeful reflection about what they are learning and how they are learning it. This study investigated the perceptions of students and teachers towards the students’ self-assessment ability in two Singapore primary schools. A total of 75 students were taught how to use self-assessment. Eighteen students’ self-assessments were randomly selected and compared with an independent panel of teachers’ assessment. The results revealed both differences as well as similarities between the students’ and teachers’ perceptions of students’ self-assessment ability. The findings and the implications for students are discussed in concluding the article.
Leong, W.S. (2014). Knowing the intentions, meaning and context of classroom assessment: A case study of Singaporean teacher’s conception and practice. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 43, 70−78.
Journal article link: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191491X13000758
With the articulation of new ‘Holistic and Balanced Assessment’ initiatives in Singaporean schools, a new standard of conceptualising and enacting classroom assessment is expected of Singaporean teachers. This paper draws on findings from a larger study of ‘high-achieving’ Singaporean teachers’ deliberations and transactions of assessment activities. The use of case studies as a central methodology to investigate a contemporary phenomenon of education assessment extends the studies of conceptions and implementation of new classroom assessment practices in Anglophone and Western European countries. The findings from one of the ‘high-achieving’ case-study Singaporean teachers reveal that any quality assurance framework or guideline for evaluating teachers’ assessment practices needs to be sensitive to their intentions, meaning and context of teaching.