Unintended Negative Consequences of Selection: A Longitudinal Study of Assessment Use in An Undergraduate Honours System

Abstract

The use of high-stakes assessment for selective and evaluative purposes is prevalent in Chinese education, but its assumed psychological benefits are under question. To understand how assessments and an honours programme may have unintended consequences on students, this thesis investigated achievement motivation, academic emotions and conceptions of assessment of first-year students at an honours Chinese university. The honours programme enrols the top 10% of freshmen as the honours group. An operational assessment system of selecting and eliminating honours students takes place during the first semester. Students can be promoted into the honours class or dropped from it based on GPA. A convergent mixed methods design combining survey studies and semi-structured interviews was employed. Repeated measures were used to collect quantitative data from freshmen experiencing this assessment mechanism in their first academic year. A Chinese version of the Achievement Goal Orientation Questionnaire, Social, Individual-Oriented Achievement Motivation inventory, Academic Emotions Questionnaire and Chinese Students’ Conceptions of Assessment inventory were administered online in two semesters via four waves of surveys. A total of 351 students participated in the survey studies, with 84 from the honours group and 267 from the other (i.e., response rates 12% and 4% respectively). After establishing measurement invariance across semesters, path analysis revealed the other-based evaluation of academic competence was a powerful lever over the course of study for honours students. Findings from the roles of negative emotions (i.e., Self-loathing and Shame) as both predictors and dependent variables were intriguing and gave substance to the control-value theory of achievement emotions (Pekrun, 2006). Further, the qualitative data from 38 interviewees showed noticeable adverse impacts of high-stakes testing and grade-based assessment system on students’ motivational and emotional constructs, particularly for the down-graded students. Notwithstanding the predominant negative responses, promoted students had considerable positive assessment attitudes and learning values. Altogether, this thesis contributes to revealing the nature of the cross-sectionally developed inventories and measurement models using a longitudinal design. It presents a richer picture of Chinese learners who are seen to value high effort and academic success, but who also criticise and struggle with the high-stakes testing within a competitive environment. Further, the results raise important questions about the potential side effects of high-stakes assessment that might diminish students’ motivations, psychological well-being and learning outcomes.