Abstract
My personal experience as a teacher in Japan has raised questions about the usefulness of both summative and formative assessment, the possible benefits of non-traditional approaches to classroom instruction, and the influence of assessment measures in the success of Japanese students. For instance, the use of collaborative, inquiry, task or project-based learning in Japanese high schools is nearly non-existent because of the structure of government-led educational standards, which mostly focus on preparing students for university entrance examinations. By critically looking at the latest existing literature on the uses and impact of assessment in Japanese education, this paper aims to further contribute to the discussion on the topic by elucidating possible implications for teachers and researchers who are interested in the context of Japan or similar educational settings. This paper also attempts to look at Japan’s current educational practices and how cultural tradition is woven into the integration of teaching philosophy.
Highlights
Educational assessment is a measurable set of standards used in classrooms to determine a student’s knowledge of concepts, proficiency, skill levels and attitudes as well as to measure what a student has learnt at the end of a chapter, a unit or course to ensure that the required standards have been achieved (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2008)
The purpose of this paper is to explore and critically analyze the latest existing literature on different types of assessment against the backdrop of the Japanese educational model, to elucidate the implications for teachers and students of the current methods used in Japan to assess academic performance, and to suggest possible alternatives that might prove beneficial for Japanese learners in the light of recent research findings
Implications of Summative and Formative Assessment in Japan – A Review of the Current Literature evident, with high school enrollment increasing from 51.5% in 1955 to over 90% in the 1970s
Summary
Educational assessment is a measurable set of standards used in classrooms to determine a student’s knowledge of concepts, proficiency, skill levels and attitudes as well as to measure what a student has learnt at the end of a chapter, a unit or course to ensure that the required standards have been achieved (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2008). Assessments can be delivered in various forms such as through standardized testing, objective and subjective writing, performance based exams, oral presentations or task completion It can be both formal and informal, as the important aspect of assessment is to provide students with feedback (Canfield, Kivisalu, Karr, King, & Phillips, 2015). The purpose of this paper is to explore and critically analyze the latest existing literature on different types of assessment against the backdrop of the Japanese educational model, to elucidate the implications for teachers and students of the current methods used in Japan to assess academic performance, and to suggest possible alternatives that might prove beneficial for Japanese learners in the light of recent research findings. The terms and keywords provided a wealth of journal articles of second language learning in Asia which this researcher used as the basis for this paper
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