Monitoring Student Progress in Mathematics and Science
Under educational reform, the Joint Public Senior High School Entrance Examination was replaced in 2001 with the Basic Competency Test, which was administered twice a year and provided the main selection criteria for senior high schools.16 The Basic Competency Test covered Chinese, English, mathematics, natural science, and social science, and emphasized students’ fundamental knowledge and skills. In 2014, the Comprehensive Assessment Program for junior high students was implemented to replace the Basic Competency Test.17 The main differences between the two tests include the following: the Basic Competency Test is a norm-referenced test while the Comprehensive Assessment is a standards-referenced test; in addition to multiple-choice items, the Comprehensive Assessment includes constructed response and short essay items, and the Comprehensive Assessment is optional for students applying to senior high school. The central government aims to use the results of the Comprehensive Assessment for quality control of primary and lower secondary education rather than to provide the results for students to enter senior high schools; this is a long term objective.
In addition to the Basic Competency Test and the Comprehensive Assessment, various international studies in education (e.g., TIMSS and PISA) as well as nationwide and local assessments, such as the Taiwan Assessment of Student Achievement (TASA)18 and the Longitudinal Study of Achievement Growth in the Mathematics Literacy of New-Immigrant Children,19 have been conducted to monitor trends in student progress in mathematics and science at the population or individual level.