Authentic assessment for life competence

Abstract

Concern for all-round development of good character and good person attributes has been a priority in modern China’s curriculum since the mid-1950s’ focus on the ‘Three Goods’ (i.e. ideology and morality, study and physical health) and the ‘Five Loves’ (i.e. motherland, people, labour, science and socialism) of the 1980s. The government of China has called for assessment reforms that move evaluation systems away from transmission and memorisation of ‘bookish’ knowledge for purely ranking or selection purposes towards more formative, authentic and humanistic approaches to assessment. Authentic assessment can be part of the antidote to the emphasis on written assessments that require recall of ‘authorised’ knowledge. Nonetheless, making assessments authentic is challenging and quite often remains ignored. In this seminar, participants will engage with the concept of ‘authenticity’ and how it can be implemented in higher education disciplines. Special attention will be paid to how university managers can adjust systems to allow for authenticity.