Dancing with chains: How does assessment-as-learning fit in China?

In its recent assessment reform, China has been promoting formative assessment widely. How does assessment-as-learning, a branch of formative assessment, fit in an examination-oriented culture, such as China's? Assessment-as-learning aims to enhance learning through assessment tasks designed to provide students with learning opportunities. Are the features of assessment-as-learning in conflict with the examination-oriented culture that prioritises test performance over the development of long-term learning competency? To answer this question, in this chapter, we first discuss the nature of assessment-as-learning and highlight its position as a learning strategy instead of a competing assessment procedure. We then point out the potential of assessment-as-learning for enhancing both students' short-term test performance and long-term capacity development in an examination-oriented culture. Starting with a perception that teachers take a critical role in the implementation of assessment-as-learning, we have conducted a case study in a major city in China to explore teachers' conceptions of and practices relating to assessment-as-learning. We conclude with suggestions for future development of assessment-as-learning in order to better fit in the examination-oriented context. Copyright © 2022 selection and editorial matter, Zi Yan and Lan Yang; individual chapters, the contributors.