ABSTRACT
A comparison was made between assessment policies illustrated in the two physics curriculum documents from Mainland China and Hong Kong. The comparison includes the roles of assessment, the content to be assessed, and the assessment strategies. While some similarities are identified, differences include (i) the function of assessments in selecting students, (ii) interpretation of the concepts of and the relations between formative and summative assessment, (iii) description of internal and public assessment, and (iv) strategies for bridging formative and summative assessment. This chapter discusses the factors within and beyond education that may have contributed to the shaping of such differences. Factors related to the organisations involved in designing curriculum materials, constraints of enhancing the validity of the results generated in formative assessment, and the presentation of the results of public assessment were analysed. The chapter concludes with implications for curriculum developers and organisations responsible for supporting the implementation of assessment innovations.
