Articles

This paper contrasts accountability focussed Rasch based assessment systems with those that are aimed at supporting student learning, by drawing at distinctions between assessment of learning and assessment for learning. It includes a modest proposal for implementing a Rasch based assessment system in developing countries. After highlighting problems with current educational testing regimes, it describes two exemplary assessment systems which provide good models for developing testing in developing countries. In particular, it canvasses specific recommendations which move away from testing of learning to testing for learning. "If I had to reduce all of educational psychology to just one principle, I would say this. The most important single factor affecting learning is what the learner already knows. Ascertain this and teach him accordingly" (Ausubel, 1968).

Our 18th PROMS meeting took place in Hanoi near the end of 2022. Now, I am delighted to report that, less than 12 months later, we are able to disseminate several key papers from that meeting to a wider audience in this special PROMS edition of the Vietnam Journal of Educational Sciences. I initiated the Pacific Rim Objective Measurement Symposium in 2005 with the express purpose of mentoring the growth of Rasch measurement in developing countries on the western Pacific rim. The focus has been to encourage the adoption of equitable scientific measurement into university communities and to those responsible for educational and other testing in the region.

Conducting assessment is well-known for posing serious challenges to teachers, particularly with the pluralism in assessment approaches. In Vietnam, English language teachers recently are required to master specified pedagogical competencies, including assessment of students’ newly defined language competence, and the national English curriculum has been continuously updated, while most teachers are not prepared for conducting classroom assessment in a competence-based approach. Local English teacher training universities have responded to this need by implementing language assessment courses. The conceptualization of pre-service teachers’ assessment competence and the effects of these courses, however, remains fairly unknown. This study examines the construct of preservice teachers’ assessment competence and the results of one introductory language assessment course at a leading language teacher education institution in Vietnam, focusing on measuring the competence of teachers-to-be in language assessment. Both Rasch analysis and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the functioning of the items in a localized construct of assessment literacy for preservice English teachers and these teachers’ self-assessment results, which revealed that a) many practical components of the construct of language assessment competence can function well, but some requirements need to be adapted and instructed with more attention for students in the future courses, and b) while many student teachers could sufficiently perform the required language assessment tasks and were fundamentally ready for the job, others faced serious difficulties in applying the more abstract principles. The findings shed light on the necessary adjustments to be made in defining assessment literacy for the target teachers and offer suggestions for the future professional development of both these teachers and in-service ones.

Prior research has demonstrated that different noncognitive factors influence students’ science literacy. The present research investigates the relationships among students’ perceptions of their science teachers, their non-cognitive outcomes (epistemological beliefs, science interests and usefulness of science) and the influence of these factors on students’ science literacy. The data includes 5,826 15-year-old students (52.2% male and 47.8% female) who participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2015. The research revealed a meaningful pattern of complex relationships among non-cognitive factors and their influence on students’ science literacy, enhancing and clarifying previous research findings with both theoretical and practical significance. The results of confirmatory factor analysis show that all items in each non-cognitive outcome had reasonable factor loading, and the model had good fit indices [RMSEA = 0.037; CFI = 0.931: TLI = 0.923; SRMR = 0.032]. The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) show good fits, suggesting that students’ science interests directly influence their science literacy. Furthermore, students’ perceptions of their science teachers, epistemological beliefs and usefulness of science indirectly influence science literacy through their science interests. Evidence from PISA Vietnam 2015 data also shows the insignificant path of the usefulness of science to science literacy.