Towards student-centered assessments
In several countries in East
Asia, there is recognition
that assessment
formats should move
away from summative
functions to performance-
based, formative functions,
enhancing curricular
emphasis on learning to
learn. By doing so, the
goal is to create
assessments that
empower learners to
conduct self-directed
learning activities, and
teachers to abandon
teaching-to-the-test and
mere transmission of
information.
Recently, some countries
in the region with
historically high scores on
PISA and TIMSS have
made efforts to reduce
high stakes testing,
introducing more student-
centered, process-
oriented assessments. In
2014, Japan proposed an
alternative examination to
be implemented starting in
2019, which will
deemphasize rote
memorization while
prioritizing students‘
critical thinking, reasoning,
and expression skills. In a
similar effort, South Korea
has implemented an exam-
free semester (introduced
in 2013, pilot-tested for
two years, and
implemented nationwide
in 2016), which allows
teachers to make flexible
use of the curriculum for a
period of one semester,
encouraging student
participation through
discussion and practice.
While the need for
21 st century skills is well
recognized across the
region, understanding,
defining and changing
teaching and assessment
practices to better
support learning and
measurement of these
skills remains a challenge.
There is now more
demand and
expectation of
teachers and they are
responding by working
longer hours.
Assessments have also
become more
complex now that
students are learning to
learn rather than simply
memorizing information.
Evaluating learning that is
inherently process-based,
such as reasoning or
interpersonal skills, is
challenging and difficult to
define. This approach also
requires deeper
engagement from parents
and communities to
understand and support
this change – a shift from
emphasizing content-based
to competency-based
learning. These challenges
signal a continued work
ahead and the need for
sharing of best practices
among countries.
Thus far, the
process of
21 st century
curriculum reform
in East Asia has
made three things
clear:
1. Socio-emotional
skills reinforce
cognitive skills
Across the region,
attainment of basic
competencies in literacy
and numeracy, particularly
in the less-developed
countries of the region,
remains a concern.
International assessments,
such as TIMSS and PISA,
reveal that while the