About the Book
Fairness and Fear ? I was startled at the subtitle of the book when I first heard it! Our series has some imaginative titles but none so evocative as this one. But “fear” and “fairness” capture much of teacher thinking about assessment. Indeed, teachers struggle to be fair with students, certainly c- cerned (and often fearful) of failures to be fair, and repercussions that teachers can face as a result. Then there is the fearful enterprise of imposed assessment regimes that many teachers face. Dr. Yung’s book allows us to hear from the teachers on these concerns ? this is no top-down policy statement. His account is readable and highly instructive, and I hope that copies will find their way to the desks of many school administrators and policy personnel. We are indeed pleased to release this volume. William W. Cobern Book Series Editor (2000-2005) Foreword by Peter Fensham Two things are very clear to me about formal educational systems. • What is assessed in these systems determines what teachers and students recognize as knowledge of worth. • Teachers in general are conscientious in doing their best to ensure that their students will learn this knowledge of worth well. Science has now been widely acknowledged to be a core or key subject in the overall curriculum of schooling at all levels.
Table of Contents:
Foreword by Peter Fensham. Foreword by Derek Hodson. Acknowledgements.- 1. Introduction.- 2. The assessment reform.- 3. Teachers' enactment of the reform.- 4. Alan-the students' companion.- 5. Bob-the teacher with a mission.- 6. Carl-the teacher committed to all-round education.- 7. Dawn-the evolving teacher.- 8. Eddy-the money-hunter.- 9. Hugo-the examiner of a driving test.- 10. Ivor-the police fears to be scolded by his superior.- 11. John-the examination-driven teacher.- 12. Looking across the cases-a preliminary analysis.- 13. Three views of fairness.- 14. Teacher professionalism and policy interpretation.- 15. Ways of seeing and ways of enacting.- Appendix A: A study transversing three bodies of literature. Appendix B: Reflecting on the research methodology. References. Index.
Review :
International Journal of Science Education Vol. 30, No. 8, 25 June 2008, pp. 1129a "1133
ISSN 0950-0693 (print)/ISSN 1464-5289 (online)/08/081129a "05
DOI: 10.1080/09500690701880167
BOOK REVIEW
Assessment Reform in Science: Fairness and Fear
Benny H. W. Yung, 2006
Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer
$159.00 (hbk), 293 pp.
ISBN 1-4020-3374-5
Benny H. W. Yunga (TM)s book, Assessment Reform in Science: Fairness and Fear, explores
the issues that come to the fore when a major assessment reform is mandated. Yung
began the study intending to focus on the features of 10 secondary biology teachersa (TM)
practice with regard to the assessment reform; their perceptions of the intent and
regulations of the reform itself; their beliefs about science, teaching, and learning; and
the relationships among these practices, perceptions, and beliefs. As it turned out,
however, two additional areas became important to consider, as well: the teachersa (TM)
views of fairness, and their sense of professionalism.
The specific focus of the book is the Hong Kong Advanced Level Teacher Assessment
Scheme (TAS) for biology practical work. The TAS replaced a standard
public examination based on the system in the UK. Yung was involved in the initial
development of the TAS, and worked for the Hong Kong Examinations Authority at
the time of its inception. (He left that post before conducting this study.) The
teacher is required to enact a set number of TAS practicals, reporting assessment of
studentsa (TM) work to the Hong Kong Examinations Authority. The intention of the
TAS is not to replicate the public examination system, but rather tofold assessment
into the teachera (TM)s normal routine, and thus to alleviate the challenges of enacting the
public examinations. The TAS is also intended to reduce studentsa (TM) anxiety and
allow a valid assessment of their practical work abilities. Finally, it is intended to
enhance teachersa (TM) professionalism. In other words, although the TAS is mainly an
assessment reform, it is also a pedagogical reform. It does, however, put teachers in a
tricky position in which they need to administera "and determine the results ofa "a
high-stakes assessment with their own students.
The first two chapters of the book set the stage, with Chapter 1 giving a high-level
overview of the study and the literature in which it is grounded, as well as the methodological
approach taken. Chapter 2 describes the TAS and the Hong Kong
educational systema "although not in sufficient detail, perhaps, for some readers not
familiar with the UK system. The in-depth treatment of the literature and methods
are held back for appendices at the end of the book. Key perspectives are introduced
when needed, but briefly and superficially; the approach does not always provide the
foundation necessary for making sense of the analysis and interpretation. When
1130 Book Review
reached, the literature review and methods do not seem integral to the story the
author is telling, and are less engaging to read than the rest of the book.
Chapter 3 uses a quantitative cross-case analysis, giving some sense of the 10
teachersa (TM) enactment of the TAS. This chapter nicely introduces and situates the indepth
cases that are presented in the subsequent chapters. Oneconcern is that
Yung does not very clearly define the a ~dialogical text unitsa (TM) that he uses to separate
dialogical exchanges, yet the frequencies of various types of dialogical text units
provide the basis for almost all of the analyses. Assuming the reader can get past
that concern, the graphs of the various quantitative analyses in this chapter
strikingly illustrate the differences among the teachers. The teachers are presented
throughout the remainder of the book, ordered in terms of their increasing concern
with assessment-related issues during practicals, with Alan, Bob, and Carl at one
end of the list (with low concern for assessment-related issues), and Hugo, Ivor
and John at the other end. This alphabetical presentation is extremely helpful in
making sense of the results. The analyses in Chapter 3 show that:
teachers who were more concerned with assessment-related issues tended to interact
less frequently with students during the practical, and hence less teaching related to
practical work per se occurred. In particular, these teachers tended to spend less of their
[teacher-student] interaction a ] on developing studentsa (TM) scientific thinking and understanding
of the theory behind the practical work compared with the teachers who saw
TAS as both a pedagogical reform and an assessment reform. (p. 38)
Chapters 4a "11 present cases representing eight of the 10 teachers who participated
in the study. Through these chapters readers can get a sense of who these teachers are
and what drives them. For example, Alana (TM)s goal was to educate students to be good
citizens (see Chapter 4). He wanted to help students tolearn to engage in scientific
investigation and to apply their knowledge to interpret their data. Alan allowed some
leeway in the amount of time students had for writing up their results. Alan also
emphasised the students learning what he called a ~bench cooperationa (TM) and, more
generally, being able to learn together. In fact, at one point when Alan came upon
two students talking during a practical, he encouraged them to carry on when they
told him that they were learning from one another; other teachers in the study would
never have tolerated such discussion during a TAS practical. Alan interacted with the
students more than any other teacher, but his talk mainly took the form of guiding or
focusing questions and statements. Alan almost never focused his interactions on
assessment-related issues.
By way of contrast, Hugo focused far more on assessment-related issues, and
interacted with students far less (see Chapter 9). Hugoa (TM)s goal was to prepare
students for a ~their future working lifea (TM), a big part of which, to him, was the importance
of meeting deadlines. In fact, Hugo refused to give his students warnings
about the amount of time left for the completion of the practical, noting that
a ~people will not usually remind you kind-heartedly in the work placea (TM) (p. 116).
Hugo also saw teaching as involving the transmission of information, and his
stancea "unlike Alana (TM)sa "was more teaching focused than learning focused. In
general, Hugoa (TM)s classroom was much like a public examination hall during the TAS
Book Review 1131
practicals. Students were allowed exactly the same amount of time, and were not
allowed to look up any information or discuss anything amongst themselves. Hugo
avoided giving help to any individual student. While Hugo recognised how valuable
discussion was for his studentsa (TM) learning, his view of fairnessa "that he had to
provide the same information to each student in the rooma "precluded him from
providing that type of help.
Chapter 12 is subtitled a ~a preliminary analysisa (TM) and summarises issues related to
the teachersa (TM) beliefs and their views about the TAS, cutting across the cases. Yung
identifies three main themes in these data: the teachersa (TM) concern with fairness,
interpretation of the rules of the TAS, and sense of professionalism. The remaining
chapters continue to unpack these themesa "with the first addressed in Chapter 13,
and the second and third in Chapter 14.
The teachers all used a ~fairnessa (TM) to justify their actions, but they defined fairness
very differently. Chapter 13 characterises three views of fairness. In the first, teachers
see fairness from the standpoint of extending the public examination procedure.
Fay, Hugo, Ivor, and John reflected this stance. These teachersa "as exemplified by
John in the chaptera "polarised teaching and assessment, and saw the TAS as
purely a summative assessment. One view of fairness was held by only one teacher;
Carl focused on providing students with what he called an a ~all-round educationa (TM),
attending to their holistic development as individuals. In the final view of fairness,
teachers saw their role, including their role when engaged in TAS practicals, as
providing opportunities for students to learn the subject matter. Alan, Bob, Dawn,
Eddy and Glen held, to varying degrees, this view of fairness, and tried to use the
TAS to promote learning. Yung does not explore whether these differing views of
fairness have implications for the nature of the assessment itself. For example, do
teachers who hold one view distinguish among students in a different way than
teachers who hold a different view?
Chapter 14 explores teacher professionalism, or teachersa (TM) capacity to make
judgements to promote improved outcomes. Yung identifies three strands that
impact the teachersa (TM) overall stance toward the TAS. The first is how they approach
and interpret the text defining the TAS and its policies, with some feeling empowered
to use their professional judgement in interpreting it, and others feeling
constrained and reading the TAS as authoritative and unchangeable. The second
strand related to teacher professionalism is how high or low their professional
confidence is, and the third is to what extent they prioritise studentsa (TM) interests
versus their own interests. Four teachersa "Alan, Bob, Carl and Dawna "hold an
interpretive and empowered stance (and thus interpret the TAS flexibly), have high
professional confidence, and prioritise studentsa (TM) interests. Fay, Glen, and Hugo
hold a non-interpretive and constrained stance, have low professional confidence,
and prioritisest
An area of increasing interest in educational reform is the shift towards using assessment as a tool for improving teaching and learning. Benny Yung's book, Assessment Reform in Science: Fairness and Fear, is a report of research findings relating to teacher professional development and science pedagogy.
Yung offers a case-driven account of how 10 teachers in Hong Kong taught and assessed A-level biology through a continuous marks-based scheme called the Teacher Assessment Scheme (TAS). Readers familiar with the Science Practical Assessment (SPA) in Singapore will see an immediate connection. The book has 15 chapters, and includes 2 appendices which explain the theory and methods used in the study.
Following Chapters 1 and 2, which provide background information to the study, Chapter 3 portrays how the teachers implemented TAS. Using the frequency of dialogic interactions between teachers and students during the conduct of practical work as the principal unit of analysis, it was found that teachers who were more concerned with assessment issues in their laboratories tended to interact less often with their students than those teachers who were not.
In Chapters 4 to 11, eight narrative-based case studies are presented that describe teachers' personal, educational and professional backgrounds, their stated beliefs about science practical work and pedagogy. Each case is supported with interview and lesson transcripts and includes a useful summary at the end. It is immediately noticeable that the teachers' practices in the various case studies were markedly different.
In Chapter 12, the author shows how tensions arose when teachers were caught between the dual roles ofteaching and assessing in TAS. In Chapter 13, three differing views of TAS implementation are described and analysed. It was found that the teachers' discourses were dominated by, and their classroom actions were influenced by, their notion of fairness. They were fair in the sense of (1) assessing students on a fair basis; (2) not jeopardising students' chances to learn the subject matter while they are being assessed; or (3) not depriving students' of opportunities of receiving an all-round education.
]For teachers to implement the new assessment scheme successfully their existing understanding and beliefs concerning assessment had to be challenged and opportunities provided for them to come to terms with the philosophy of the new assessment scheme. Most importantly, the teachers themselves had to undertake such a learning process.
Chapter 14, "Teacher Professionalism and Policy Interpretation" is perhaps the most insightful of Yung's analyses. He revisits five of his cases to show the bases upon which his informants derived their interpretations of TAS. What emerge are threshold points in the teachers' capacity to make discretionary judgements in their classrooms relating to assessment.
Chapter 15 recaps the research questions and presents an overview of findings in the study. Of particular interest are Yung's views on what could be done to assist teachers in raising teachers' professional consciousness and confidence in dealing with assessment reforms. A role is identified for continuing professional development that promotes collaboration and sustained effort.
In our opinion, this book brings across the many interpretations and realisations of the same policy changethat are possible by different teachers. Meaningful learning experiences can only be formed if teachers are aware of their own beliefs and also those of others in the same profession. Awareness and comparison can lead to constructive dialogue between teachers which will lead, hopefully, to more thoughtful implementation of change.
About the reviewers
Phillip A. Towndrow and Tan Aik Ling are researchers in the Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice at the National Institute of Education.
Published in SingTeach, December 2006
An area of increasing interest in educational reform is the shift towards using assessment as a tool for improving teaching and learning. Benny Yung's book, Assessment Reform in Science: Fairness and Fear, is a report of research findings relating to teacher professional development and science pedagogy.
Yung offers a case-driven account of how 10 teachers in Hong Kong taught and assessed A-level biology through a continuous marks-based scheme called the Teacher Assessment Scheme (TAS). Readers familiar with the Science Practical Assessment (SPA) in Singapore will see an immediate connection.
The book has 15 chapters, and includes 2 appendices which explain the theory and methods used in the study.
Following Chapters 1 and 2, which provide background information to the study, Chapter 3 portrays how the teachers implemented TAS. Using the frequency of dialogic interactions between teachers and students during the conduct of practical work as the principal unit of analysis, it was found that teachers who were more concerned with assessment issues in their laboratories tended to interact less often with their students than those teachers who were not.
In Chapters 4 to 11, eight narrative-based case studies are presented that describe teachers' personal, educational and professional backgrounds, their stated beliefs about science practical work and pedagogy. Each case is supported with interview and lesson transcripts and includes a useful summary at the end. It is immediately noticeable that the teachers' practices in the various case studies were markedlydifferent.
In Chapter 12, the author shows how tensions arose when teachers were caught between the dual roles of teaching and assessing in TAS. In Chapter 13, three differing views of TAS implementation are described and analysed. It was found that the teachers' discourses were dominated by, and their classroom actions were influenced by, their notion of fairness. They were fair in the sense of (1) assessing students on a fair basis; (2) not jeopardising students' chances to learn the subject matter while they are being assessed; or (3) not depriving students' of opportunities of receiving an all-round education.
]For teachers to implement the new assessment scheme successfully their existing understanding and beliefs concerning assessment had to be challenged and opportunities provided for them to come to terms with the philosophy of the new assessment scheme. Most importantly, the teachers themselves had to undertake such a learning process.
Chapter 14, "Teacher Professionalism and Policy Interpretation" is perhaps the most insightful of Yung's analyses. He revisits five of his cases to show the bases upon which his informants derived their interpretations of TAS. What emerge are threshold points in the teachers' capacity to make discretionary judgements in their classrooms relating to assessment.
Chapter 15 recaps the research questions and presents an overview of findings in the study. Of particular interest are Yung's views on what could be done to assist teachers in raising teachers' professional consciousness and confidence in dealing with assessment reforms. A role is identified for continuing professional development that promotescollaboration and sustained effort.
In our opinion, this book brings across the many interpretations and realisations of the same policy change that are possible by different teachers. Meaningful learning experiences can only be formed if teachers are aware of their own beliefs and also those of others in the same profession. Awareness and comparison can lead to constructive dialogue between teachers which will lead, hopefully, to more thoughtful implementation of change.
About the reviewers
Phillip A. Towndrow and Tan Aik Ling are researchers in the Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice at the National Institute of Education.
Published in SingTeach, December 2006
