Chinese Preservice Teachers’ Beliefs about Assessment

This study investigated the responses of 531 preservice teachers to a “Beliefs About Assessment” questionnaire in China. The questionnaire focused on understanding the purposes, practices and principles of assessment for and of learning. Using factor analysis, an inter-correlated two-order model fitted well to the responses. This model comprised four factors: Assessment to Trace Development and Inform Action, Assessment for Various Accountability Purposes, Teacher Assessment Knowledge and Negative Aspects of Assessment. The preservice teachers demonstrated a broad conception of the usefulness, relevance and problematic nature of assessment for multiple purposes. As might be expected, preservice teachers endorsed the Negative Aspects of Assessment factor least (albeit still at the level of ‘agree’) and this assessment factor was very much inversely independent of the other factors. Striking differences and intriguing similarities between inservice and preservice teachers in the Chinese context and preservice teachers in China and New Zealand are discussed.