Media

HKU Launches School-based Assessment Teacher Training Package for the 2012 HKDSE English Language Examination

24 Feb 2010

A high level of English in the younger generation will be instrumental to maintain Hong Kong's status as a leading international city. HKU, as one of the premier English-speaking institutions in the region, has always been to the forefront in maintaining and enhancing the standard of English teaching in Hong Kong. The latest initiative is marked by the launching of a teacher training package for school-based assessment (SBA), which is being implemented in the 2012 Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) English Language Examination.

Building on the successful implementation of SBA in the HKCEE, a substantial school-based oral assessment will be incorporated into the compulsory English Language subject in the HKDSE. The Faculty of Education of HKU was commissioned by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) to conduct research and develop training and support material for the SBA component, including multimedia materials and case studies for local school teachers. Two researchers from the Faculty of Education, HKU, Professor Chris Davison and Professor Liz Hamp-Lyons, led a consultancy team specializing in SBA. Their collaborative efforts with more than 700 students, 100 teachers, and 35 SBA district coordinators from local secondary schools produced the SBA package, which includes an introductory DVD and a booklet introducing the components of SBA, and a Training DVD containing the requirements, criteria and standards for the assessment.

Members of the media are cordially invited to attend the launching ceremony cum media briefing, details of which are as follows:-

Date:    February 26, 2010 (Friday)

Time:  

5:45 - 6:45 pm : Media briefing by Professor Chris Davison, Faculty of Education, HKU, teachers who participated in the research and development project and HKEAA officials will answer questions.

7:00 - 7:45 pm : Talk entitled "School-based assessment in English Language in Hong Kong secondary schools: The first five years" by Professor Chris Davison.

7:45 - 8:00 pm : Official launch of the teacher training package by Dr George Pook, the Deputy Secretary General, HKEAA.

Venue:

Media briefing - Room 113, Hui Oi Chow Science Building, HKU
Ceremony & Talk - LG06, Hui Oi Chow Science Building, HKU

Media Contact: Ms. Queenie Wong, Development and Communications Manager, Faculty of Education, HKU (Tel: 2219 4270 / mobile: 9220 5840 / fax: 2540 6360 / email: qlpwong@hku.hk)

More information for reference

School-based Assessment (SBA)

In the contexts of public assessment, School-based Assessment (SBA) refers to assessments administered in schools and marked by the students' own teachers. SBA marks awarded will count towards students' public assessment results.

The primary rationale for SBA is to enhance the validity of the assessment, by including the assessment of outcomes that cannot be readily assessed within the context of a one-off public examination. SBA can also reduce dependence on the result of public examinations, which may not always provide the most reliable indication of the actual abilities of candidates. Obtaining assessments based on student performance over an extended period of time and developed by those who know the students best - their subject teachers - provides a more reliable assessment of each student. Another reason for including SBA is to promote a positive impact on teaching and learning. It can serve to motive students by engaging them in meaningful activities; and for teachers, it can reinforce curriculum aims and good teaching practices, and provide structure and significance to an activity that they are in any case involved in on a daily bases, namely assessing their own students.

(Information extracted from http://www.hkeaa.edu.hk/en/sba/)

Provision of Support to Teachers

The following resources and support are provided to teachers to enable them to conduct the assessments in an effective and efficient manner:

- detailed guidance on how to conduct the assessments;
- detailed assessment criteria and exemplars to illustrate performance standards;
- professional development programmes to enhance teachers' understanding of SBA;
- a system of district coordinators to support teachers;
- detailed guidance and exemplars on how to record students' performance; and
- an online system to store and submit SBA marks.

(Information extracted from the Handbook for School Leaders on School-based Assessment, p.22:
http://www.hkeaa.edu.hk/DocLibrary/SBA/HKDSE/SBAhandbook-SchoolLeaders-E-300609.pdf)