An Alignment Analysis of Junior High School Chemistry Curriculum Standards and City-Wide Exit Exams in China

Abstract

Alignment between content standards and standardized exams is a significant issue for adjusting curriculum implementation, applying pedagogy, and improving test validation. This chapter presents a study that examined the alignment between the Chinese junior high school national chemistry curriculum standards (grades 7–9) and the city-wide standardized chemistry exit exams at the 9th grade level. It was found that there was not a statistically significant alignment for chemistry exit exams in Nanjing City, Nantong City, and Yangzhou City. The insignificant alignment was to the result of a shift toward higher-level cognitive reasoning skills from content standards to standardized tests. For all of them, the insignificant alignment was also related to a lesser emphasis on scientific inquiry and STS in the chemistry exam. The insignificant alignment may result in both desirable and undesirable effects on guiding classroom instruction. Thus, ongoing study of the alignment between chemistry content standards and the standardized exams is necessary for chemistry education reform in junior high school in China.