Toward Education Quality Improvement in China: A Brief Overview of the National Assessment of Education Quality

Abstract

This article is an overview of the National Assessment of Education Quality (NAEQ) of China in reading, mathematics, sciences, arts, physical education, and moral education at Grades 4 and 8. After a review of the background and history of NAEQ, we present the assessment framework with students’ holistic development at the core and the design for each subject used in the 2015–2017 assessment cycle. Technical details including item response modeling and the standard setting procedure are presented. We conclude with a discussion of the social impact, current issues, and future directions of national educational assessment.