Studying in China: Analysis of the Implementation of Formative Assessment in Learning and its Contribution to Islamic Religious Education
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Keywords:
Formative assessment, Implementation, effectiveness, Challenge, Islamic religious education
Abstract
The education system in China is heavily influenced by Confucianism, which has led to an exam-oriented education system and a teacher-centered approach to learning. This environment is less conducive to the implementation of formative assessment, which emphasizes evaluating the learning process. However, this does not mean that process-based assessments are not applied in China. On the contrary, formative assessments are still used despite challenges from a system that prioritizes exam results. This article discusses the implementation, effectiveness, and challenges of formative assessment in China. The method used is a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) with the help of Prisma 2020. The results show that formative assessment in China is implemented through various methods such as student journals, portfolios, teacher-student interactions, formative tasks, self-assessment, peer assessment, classroom observation, and feedback. Formative assessment has proven effective in improving students' academic performance. However, its implementation faces challenges at the macro level (national education policy), meso level (school management), and micro level (classroom practices). Several formative assessment practices in China that can be adapted for assessment in Islamic education include feedback, portfolios, formative tasks, self-assessment, and peer assessment.
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References
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Brown, Gavin T.L., and Lingbiao Gao. “Chinese Teachers’ Conceptions of Assessment for and of Learning: Six Competing and Complementary Purposes.” Cogent Education 2, no. 1 (2015): 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2014.993836.
Chen, Jingping. “Formative Assessment as a Vehicle for Changing Classroom Practice in a Specific Cultural Context.” Cultural Studies of Science Education 10, no. 3 (2015): 753–62. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-014-9599-7.
Chen, Qiuxian. “Localized Representation of Formative Assessment in China: A Regional Study from a Sociocultural Perspective.” Frontiers of Education in China 12, no. 1 (2017): 75–97. https://doi.org/10.3868/s110-006-017-0005-9.
Chen, Qiuxian, Margaret Kettle, Val Klenowski, and Lyn May. “Interpretations of Formative Assessment in the Teaching of English at Two Chinese Universities: A Sociocultural Perspective.” Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education 38, no. 7 (2013): 831–46. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2012.726963.
Chen, Qiuxian, and Huihui Li. “Formative Assessment in China and Its Effects on EFL Learners’ Learning Achievement: A Meta-Analysis from Policy Transfer Perspective.” The Educational Review, USA 5, no. 9 (2021): 355–66. https://doi.org/10.26855/er.2021.09.005.
Chen, Qiuxian, Jiajin Zhang, and Liang Li. “Problematising Formative Assessment in an Undeveloped Region of China: Voices from Practitioners.” Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability 33, no. 4 (2021): 649–73. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11092-021-09369-5.
Dong, Yifan, and Siros Izadpanah. “The Effect of Corrective Feedback from Female Teachers on Formative Assessments: Educational Resilience, Educational Belongingness, and Academic Procrastination in an English Language Course.” Current Psychology, no. 0123456789 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03825-1.
Grimalt-Álvaro, Carme, and Mireia Usart. Sentiment Analysis for Formative Assessment in Higher Education: A Systematic Literature Review. Journal of Computing in Higher Education. Springer US, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12528-023-09370-5.
Gu, Peter Yongqi, and Guoxing Yu. “Researching Classroom-Based Assessment for Formative Purposes.” Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics 43, no. 2 (2020): 150–68. https://doi.org/10.1515/CJAL-2020-0010.
Guo, Qiang, and Yueting Xu. “Formative Assessment Use in University EFL Writing Instruction: A Survey Report from China.” Asia Pacific Journal of Education 41, no. 2 (2021): 221–37. https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2020.1798737.
He, Weiwei, and Qionghui Mei. “Research into Formative Assessment in English Writing for English Majors.” Proceedings - 2020 International Symposium on Advances in Informatics, Electronics and Education, ISAIEE 2020, 2020, 50–53. https://doi.org/10.1109/ISAIEE51769.2020.00019.
Huang, Enmou, Lianjiang Jiang, and Manzhen Yang. “The Affordances of a Technology-Aided Formative Assessment Platform for the Assessment and Teaching of English as a Foreign Language: An Ecological Perspective.” Educational Technology Research and Development, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-021-10047-y.
Jian, Huang, and Luo Shaoqian. “Formative Assessment in L2 Classroom in China: The Current Situation, Predicament and Future.” Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics 3, no. 2 (2014): 18–34. https://doi.org/10.17509/ijal.v3i2.266.
Jiang, Yuhong, Jia Li, and Qiang Wang. “An Ecological Approach to Understanding University English Teachers’ Professional Agency in Implementing Formative Assessment.” Frontiers in Psychology 13, no. September (2022): 1–19. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.916980.
Lee Hang, Desmond Mene, and Beverley Bell. “Written Formative Assessment and Silence in the Classroom.” Cultural Studies of Science Education 10, no. 3 (2015): 763–75. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-014-9600-5.
Liu, Shujie, Xianxuan Xu, and James H. Stronge. “Chinese Middle School Teachers’ Preferences Regarding Performance Evaluation Measures.” Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability 28, no. 2 (2016): 161–77. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11092-016-9237-x.
Ma, Tianjiao, Yin Li, Hua Yuan, Feng Li, Shujuan Yang, Yongzhi Zhan, Jiannan Yao, and Dongmei Mu. “Reflection on the Teaching of Student-Centred Formative Assessment in Medical Curricula: An Investigation from the Perspective of Medical Students.” BMC Medical Education 23, no. 1 (2023): 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04110-w.
Ma, Zhiqiang, Xuejing Yan, and Qiyun Wang. “Assessing Individual Contribution in Collaborative Learning through Self- and Peer-Assessment in the Context of China.” Innovations in Education and Teaching International 57, no. 3 (2020): 352–63. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2018.1555049.
Poole, Adam. “‘Complex Teaching Realities’ and ‘Deep Rooted Cultural Traditions’: Barriers to the Implementation and Internalisation of Formative Assessment in China.” Cogent Education 3, no. 1 (2016): 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2016.1156242.
Qin, Bo, Gang Zhu, Chen Cheng, Liang Shen, and Aidong Zhang. “Bane or Boon? An Autoethnographic Narrative of the English-Medium Instruction Contradictions in a Chinese University.” Asia-Pacific Education Researcher 32, no. 2 (2023): 251–62. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-022-00648-3.
Rich, Changhua Sun, and Yihong Wang. “Online Formative Assessment Using Automated Essay Scoring Technology in China and U.S.-Two Case Studies.” ICETC 2010 - 2010 2nd International Conference on Education Technology and Computer 3 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1109/ICETC.2010.5529485.
Wang, Xiaoying. “A Chinese EFL Teacher’s Classroom Assessment Practices.” Language Assessment Quarterly 14, no. 4 (2017): 312–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2017.1393819.
Yan, Zi, Ronnel B. King, and Joseph Y. Haw. “Formative Assessment, Growth Mindset, and Achievement: Examining Their Relations in the East and the West.” Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy and Practice 28, no. 5–6 (2021): 676–702. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594X.2021.1988510.
Yin, Xinying, and Gayle A. Buck. “There Is Another Choice: An Exploration of Integrating Formative Assessment in a Chinese High School Chemistry Classroom through Collaborative Action Research.” Cultural Studies of Science Education 10, no. 3 (2015): 719–52. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-014-9572-5.
Zeng, Juan, and Liyan Huang. “Understanding Formative Assessment Practice in the EFL Exam-Oriented Context: An Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior.” Frontiers in Psychology 12, no. December (2021): 1–13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.774159.
Zhan, Ying. “Motivated or Informed? Chinese Undergraduates’ Beliefs about the Functions of Continuous Assessment in Their College English Course.” Higher Education Research and Development 39, no. 5 (2020): 1055–69. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2019.1699029.
Zhang, Luning. “Formative Assessment in English for Specific Purposes.” Proceedings - 2016 8th International Conference on Measuring Technology and Mechatronics Automation, ICMTMA 2016, 2016, 315–18. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICMTMA.2016.83.
Zheng, Qinhua, Li Chen, and Daniel Burgos. The Development of MOOCs in China. Lecture Notes in Educational Technology (Lecture Notes in Educational Technology). Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd., 2018.
Zhu, Tianxin, Junyi Liang, Min Mao, Xintong Liu, and Dandan Qian. “Association between Formative Assessment and Academic Performance for Undergraduate Medical Students in a Chinese Clinical Skills Training Course.” Medical Science Monitor 27 (2020): 1–8. https://doi.org/10.12659/MSM.929068.
Zou, Min, Delin Kong, and Icy Lee. “Teacher Engagement with Online Formative Assessment in EFL Writing During COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of China.” Asia-Pacific Education Researcher 30, no. 6 (2021): 487–98. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-021-00593-7.
Published
2025-01-29
How to Cite
Amiruddin, Khalid Hasan Minabari, Kusaeri, and Fauziah Md. Jaafar. 2025. “Studying in China: Analysis of the Implementation of Formative Assessment in Learning and Its Contribution to Islamic Religious Education”. TADRIS: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam 19 (2). https://doi.org/10.19105/tjpi.v19i2.15750.
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