Research On Green Assessment Indicators Of Student Academic Quality In Compulsory Education From Education Equity Perspective

The past decades has witnessed high-stake tests dominating the assessment system of basiceducation in China, which has restrained the overall development of students and hindered theprocess of quality education. Consequently, the incomprehensiveness of the assessment methodshas widened the gap between schools as well as regions and aggravated education inequality. Onthe other hand, overseas researches on standards-based assessment of student academicachievement are making a transition from theoretical aspect to empirical aspect, which has beenproved by the successive introduction of various national/regional standards-based assessmentsystems and some widely-accepted international academic performance programs for comparisonof education quality in different countries. As a response both to domestic strong appeal forassessment reform and advanced concepts overseas, Shanghai constructed Green AssessmentIndicators of Student Academic Quality in Compulsory Education (hereinafter referred to as GreenAssessment Indicators) in2011. Green Assessment Indicators, China’s first attempt on curriculumstandards-based assessment research, is designed to regularly monitor students’ academicachievement and the outcome of curriculum reform in Shanghai. The information and datacollected from the assessment are used for problem diagnosis and policy improvement. It focuseson “assessment for learning” rather than “assessment of learning”, helping students achieveoverall development and meanwhile setting a policy model for national or provincial edition of“Green Assessment Indicators”. It can be safely concluded that “Green Assessment Indicators” is amilestone in the process of assessment reform, indicating that a more scientific concept ofassessment has been taking shape in China.The strategic position of “Green Assessment Indicators” makes it the subject of this paper,which concentrates on analysis of its contents and processes from education equity perspective,given the fact that education equity is the value basis of education policy and the ultimate goal ofcontemporary education reform. Methods of literature analysis and logic deduction are employed to help draw academic and convincing conclusions. This paper firstly gives a brief introduction ofassessment reform both at home and abroad, discovering that “Green Assessment Indicators” is aninevitable outcome of the pursuit of education equity. Hence, the concept of education equity isdefined and its dialectical relationship with “Green Assessment Indicators” are analyzed at amacro level just to offer solid evidence that the choice of the research perspective is rational andscientific. Thorough and systematic study of “Green Assessment Indicators” indicates that it has acomplete framework and diverse assessment ways. Its democratic policy making process andreasonable operation mechanism further certify that it is an assessment of humanity solicitude andthat it is constructed on the basis of education equity. However, no policies are perfect and “GreenAssessment Indicators” is no exception. There are deficiencies in the aspects of policy subjects,assessing indicators, supervision mechanism, which will surely affect its potency. In order to makethe policy value more in equity, measures must be taken like introducing more stakeholders,replenishing the existed indicators, intensifying external supervision mechanism.