1. Introduction

This chapter discusses the importance of front-line teachers in educational change and the introduction of school-based assessment in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination. It emphasizes the necessity of professional development for teachers to build new knowledge and skills in assessment literacy. The chapter also explores the impact of professional development on teachers' assessment literacy through pre and post teacher questionnaires from the first six years of the reform, focusing on understanding and attitudes about the key changes needed to implement the new assessment system.

2. Assessment Literacy: An Evolving and Highly Contextualized Concept

This chapter discusses the components of teacher assessment literacy and the disagreement over the mix of technical know-how, practical skills, theoretical knowledge, understanding of principles, and the context of assessment within education and society. It emphasizes the need for a sophisticated form of assessment literacy that goes beyond defining the knowledge base and best practice, and calls for teachers to critically examine their own conceptions of the assessment process. The chapter also highlights the importance of building opportunities for self-reflection, discussion with peers, and experimentation and feedback as core attributes of professional learning. Additionally, it recognizes that teachers are key agents in changes in pedagogic and assessment practices demanded by education reforms.

3. The Hong Kong Assessment Culture and Its Challenges

The Hong Kong assessment culture has been heavily influenced by its colonial history and subsequent rapid changes in education policy and goals. When school-based assessments were introduced, there were concerns about workload, fairness, authentication of student work, and teacher readiness. The SBA initiative led to improvements in student speaking skills and provided new responsibilities for teachers in designing and implementing assessment tasks, involving learners in the assessment process, and applying standardized assessment criteria. However, extensive assessment reform also presented challenges, such as workload concerns and resistance to the philosophy of assessment for learning. Localized professional development and support for teachers played a crucial role in the implementation process.

4. The Professional Development Program: Changing Cultures

This chapter describes the professional development program implemented by the HKEAA to help teachers adapt to the assessment reform. It involved distribution of materials, including an introductory DVD and training CD-ROMs, as well as a comprehensive teacher training program and refresher courses. The key objectives of the professional development courses were to develop a deeper understanding of the philosophy of assessment for learning, integrate SBA into the curriculum, design SBA assessment tasks, plan and implement SBA in the classroom, give appropriate feedback to students, and cater for different student and school needs. The program was organized around four themes: understanding/planning/doing/evaluating. This interactive and open-ended format allowed for continuous learning from the experiences of front-line teachers and ensured the SBA developed into a fully integrated coherent assessment system.

5. Evaluating the Changes

This chapter discussed the impact and evaluation of a professional development program on assessment literacy for English language teachers in Hong Kong. The paper explores the extent to which the program enhanced teachers' understanding of assessment reform, their attitudes, confidence, and readiness to implement SBA. Data was collected from over 2,300 teachers who completed the training, and questionnaires were used to examine the impact of the program as well as to explore what teachers gained from the professional development. The results were analyzed using SPSS, and themes from the open-ended comments were compared and analyzed.

6. Findings

The findings of the first part discuss changes in teachers' understanding of the underlying philosophy of SBA and their readiness and confidence in implementing SBA. The data suggests that the professional development program was effective in helping teachers develop a greater understanding of the assessment reform. However, it was found that teachers who delayed the professional development until the last minute were probably the ones who needed it the most. The second part presents evidence relating to what teachers gained from the professional development program and what further support they felt they needed after completing it. The data showed that the 15-hour course data were generally more positive than the 12-hour course data in terms of teachers’ readiness and confidence in implementing SBA on both the pre and post course data. In general, the 15-hour course received the most positive ratings in the domain of readiness and confidence in implementing SBA.

7. What Teachers Gained and What Further Support Was Needed by Teachers After the Completion of Professional Development

This chapter discusses what teachers gained and the further support needed after completing professional development for assessment literacy in Hong Kong. The findings indicate that teachers valued the opportunity to learn from other teachers and to share their experiences, and as time went on, they became more concerned with the rationale and principles of SBA. Teachers also reported gaining skills in setting appropriate assessment tasks and demonstrated a more positive attitude towards SBA. After the program, teachers expressed concerns about integrating SBA within the school curriculum, setting meaningful assessment tasks, and assessing students’ performances accurately. They also highlighted the critical importance of communication and information sharing within the school in implementing SBA. Overall, they expressed a need for further opportunities to share their ideas and concerns, attend refresher and more advanced professional development programs, and receive more effective support and mentoring from the school leadership team.

8. Discussion and Conclusions

After professional development, teachers appear generally more confident and ready to implement SBA. Teachers showed that they could understand the assessment for learning philosophy underlying SBA, and with structured input and ongoing support, feel confident about putting it into practice. The success of the Hong Kong SBA initiative and its professional development was due to the designed-in opportunities for all key stakeholders to listen to and accommodate to each other’s needs. However, the move from external to teacher-based assessment is not mastered in a one-off program, and 17 years after its introduction there are still concerns that SBA is not working as intended in a number of Hong Kong schools. This study suggests that significant changes in teacher assessment literacy are not only possible, but actually achievable.