Principals play a key leadership role in school effectiveness and student success; however, one area that has received relatively little attention so far is principals' embedded understanding of assessment and grading within the educational context where they work. We examined 141 Chinese school principals' conceptions of assessment and grading…

This study employed a quantitative research design to investigate Chinese teachers' conceptions of classroom assessment and perceived skills. A total of 746 teachers were recruited through professional teaching groups. Results showed that a higher percentage of Chinese teachers selected contemporary assessment approaches to classroom assessment…

Background: Teachers' perspectives provide crucial insights into classroom practice in early childhood education settings. Although many kindergarten programmes emphasise play "and" assessment to support children's learning and development, recent research suggests that there are some disparities between teachers' articulated role of…

Classroom assessment dynamics are shaped by individual and local understandings of assessment (assessment micro-cultures), as well as common assessment beliefs and practices that stem from system-wide features, such as large-scale testing (assessment macro-cultures). Teachers' approaches to assessment reveal how they navigate assessment micro- and…

Recognising that assessment literacy is a complex construct comprised of knowledge, skills, and dispositions, the authors sought to better understand how teacher candidates develop assessment literacy by focusing on the dispositional construct of approaches to assessment. Teacher candidates' approaches to classroom assessment were analysed at…

Assessment is one of the thorniest aspects of teaching for creativity. Nevertheless, research suggests there is tremendous potential for nurturing creativity through assessment. This article identifies how music educators can leverage assessment for learning (formative assessment) as a powerful tool for cultivating creativity within a variety of…

Systemic disruptions from COVID-19 have transformed the assessment landscape in Canada and across the world. Alongside repeated shifts to emergency remote teaching, large-scale assessments and summative evaluations were cancelled in many jurisdictions, and repeated concerns were raised about ensuring equity and access to quality education. This…

Currently, kindergarten education is shaped by two priorities: (1) the recognition that early learning must maintain a developmental orientation and support socio-personal growth; and (2) a growing emphasis on standards-based curriculum and the use of assessment to support children's learning. While some researchers have argued these two…

Research indicates that several factors variably influence teachers' approaches to classroom assessment. Building on previous assessment literacy research, this study empirically examines variability in teachers' approaches to classroom assessment across a set of dimensions including their conceptions of assessment purposes, processes, fairness,…

Classroom assessment has become a cornerstone of today's standards-based system of education. However, recent policy developments, professional standards, and variable assessment education have led to significant variability in teachers' approaches to assessment. The primary purpose of this research was to use a new instrument predicated on…

Kindergarten education is changing. Current reforms have increased accountability structures requiring teachers to integrate assessments throughout their instruction to support academic learning while retaining developmentally appropriate pedagogies such as play-based learning. Despite these reforms, comparatively little research has been…

As one of the most high-stakes practices in education, grading has been the subject of significant debate and research over the years. However, it is only recently that researchers have started to explore the teaching and learning values embedded in grades by looking at grading policies. This study examined grading polices in China by focusing on…

Given the longstanding role of grades in education, and their increased use for high-stakes decisions including student mobility, admission, selection, and accountability, this paper presents a systematic review of grading policies across all 10 Canadian provinces and 3 territories. In total, 23 policies were inductively analyzed for their…

Assessment literacy is a core professional requirement across educational systems. Hence, measuring and supporting teachers' assessment literacy have been a primary focus over the past two decades. At present, there are a multitude of assessment standards across the world and numerous assessment literacy measures that represent different…

Within the current accountability framework of public education, kindergarten teachers face the challenge of balancing traditional developmental programing and current academically oriented curriculum. Central to this challenge is teachers' uses of assessment to measure and communicate student learning in relation to their curricular stance.…