English language testing has been developing with great momentum in China in the past two decades. However, little research is existent as to how these English tests are developed, administered, and used. This study reported a survey of English language testing practice in the Chinese context through empirically examining the testing practice of…

This paper will focus on the effective review of English in the third grade of primary school. In the first part, the author introduces the importance of improving the effective review of English in the third grade of primary school. Analyzing from the aspects of theories, teachers have to get a good knowledge of language theories and analyze it…

With the rapidly increasing entrance examinations for the School of Continuing education of CUGB, there is an urgent need of the examination papers that have the parallel testing ability for the same academic program. Based on the analysis of parallel factors and the comparison of the manual generated mode and the computer generated mode, the most…

How to compute and report subscores for a test that was originally designed for reporting scores on a unidimensional scale has been a topic of interest in recent years. In the research reported here, we describe an application of multidimensional item response theory to identify a subscore structure in a test designed for reporting results using a…

Teacher education has been undergoing significant transformations worldwide in recent decades, and China has made continuous efforts in its quest for world-class teachers. This paper aims at a comprehensive investigation of the complex policy process in China's national initiatives to nurture a world-class teaching force, with qualitative findings…

This paper provides an overview of Chinese government attempts to promote a revised school curriculum reflecting a more holistic approach to education under the banner of "suzhi jiaoyu" ("quality education"), and positions the policies in the Chinese historical, educational, social and economic context. While the push has…

For decades Japan has remained at or near the top of international assessments of student learning; and in the past decade, students in Japan have become more engaged in learning. However, the government aspires to improve learning outcomes even further. "Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education: Lessons from PISA for…

Whether to adopt national standards and tests has long been a subject of lively debate in the United States. With 47 states now participating in the Common Core State Standards Initiative, and a commitment from Education Secretary Arne Duncan to allocate hundreds of millions in stimulus funds to the development of common tests, the country is…

China has one of the oldest educational testing systems in the world, yet its modern form was influenced by various western educational modes borrowed during the twentieth century. This essay reviews the history of the Chinese traditional educational testing system: its origin, features, and its past impact on Chinese people's lives as well as on…

Previous research has shown that compared with their American counterparts, Chinese students' artwork is perceived as less creative by both Chinese and American judges. Three different factors are posited to be responsible for the discrepancy in rated creativity between Chinese and American students, namely, social values, school pedagogic…

Innovations, ETS's corporate magazine, provides information on educational assessment for educators, school leaders, researchers and policymakers around the world. Each issue of Innovations focuses on a particular theme in assessment. This issue reports on how new technologies in classrooms around the world are enhancing teaching, learning and…

Premodern Chinese education emphasized an intricate system of examinations used by the government to select its officials from among the "shih" (scholars). A dual tract educational system existed: state and some private schools for examination bound scholars, and private schools for others fortunate enough to receive some education. (MH)

The developer of the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth Program (SMPY) recounts his impressions during a tour of education programs in the People's Republic of China, addressing the apparent love of learning, emphasis on mathematical achievement, scholarly activities of university faculty, and testing issues. (CB)

The washback effect of tests on teaching has attracted considerable attention over recent years, but the critical question of how this translates into washback on learning remains under-explored. To address this issue, questionnaires relating to academic writing instruction were distributed to 108 learners from mainland China preparing for…