It is now a consensus that high-stakes testing exerts powerful impact in controlling curriculum and pedagogy, and shaping students' learning. The power of testing is especially strong in contexts where testing culture prevails. The Chinese educational context is such a context which is dominated by competitive tests. The language testing results…

In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to the roles that assessment plays in promoting learning. Formative assessment is considered a powerful strategy for improving student learning; however, its learning potential has been less extensively explored in contexts where summative assessment dominates, because summative assessment is…

Whilst there are studies exploring students' perspectives of assessment, relatively little is known about how Chinese high school students' respond to assessment. Students' perspectives are particularly important because the power of assessment directly impacts on their motivation and attitudes towards schooling. This article explores students'…