Utilising Large-Scale Public Examinations Data to Inform Learning and Teaching

Overview

Big data is increasingly prominent in education and assessment, offering opportunities for personalised instruction, responsive assessment, engaged pedagogy, and collaborative learning. Effective utilisation of examination data through data-driven analytics is essential for educators, academics, and researchers to inform learning and teaching practices.

The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) launched the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE) in 2012. This examination measures the attainment of students completing three years of senior secondary education and has accumulated a wealth of examination data from over 850,000 candidatures. The HKEAA employs a data-driven approach to develop a full range of examinations and assessment services aimed to promote ‘Assessment for Learning’.

In this presentation, Prof Wei will highlight recent developments in the Authority’s assessment tools for schools and teachers, focusing on the HKDSE Diagnostic Feedback System (DFS). This self-developed digital tool enables teachers to evaluate students’ strengths and weaknesses by creating tailored assessments using the HKDSE question bank. By completing these assessments, students’ performance will be analysed through a diagnostic feedback report generated by the DFS. Practical feedbacks on leveraging this insightful data to enhance teaching plans and improve student performance will be discussed.

Additionally, Prof Wei will illustrate the HKDSE School Statistical Reports, which provide customised feedback for schools. This includes specific reports showing individual schools’ examination statistics as compared to those of all day schools (available at school, class and teaching group levels), as well as detailed analyses of student eligibility for further education and university admission. This analysis highlights students’ strengths and weaknesses, advocating for a broader approach to enhance assessment literacy in education and boost motivation in learning and teaching.