ABSTRACT
Over a decade ago, researchers (Cheng, 2003; Hallinger, 1998; Kennedy, Lo, & Fairbrother, 2004; Mok et al., 2003) reported profound educational reforms in major systems throughout Asia, including Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan. Motivating these reforms were the rapid changes due to globalisation, the knowledge economy and technological developments since the last century. Assessment reform was one of the key elements in these reform initiatives in the region. The studies discovered, inter alia, extensive changes in the conception, purpose and methodology of assessment. Assessment was no longer seen as merely a mechanism to select the best candidates for the jurisdictions – a commonly shared elitist and competitive educational culture. Instead, in parallel with other changes in the curriculum and pedagogy, assessment for learning reform was a common tenet across the jurisdictions. Assessment was promoted as a tool to inform and support learners in the systemic pursuit of continuous and lifelong learning, rather than merely for evaluating learners for accreditation and selection purposes. This pursuit for systemic improvements through assessment reform was fuelled by unprecedented rapid technological and knowledge developments in the 21st century. The chapters in this section focus on the use of technology-enhanced assessment (TEA). Recent developments in TEA are reported, including implementation barriers and strategies to turn the rhetoric of assessment for learning into reality in five systems, namely, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.
