FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT 2 (30%)

Writing a Body Paragraph (with sources)

Context

Some educators think that the adoption of School-based Assessment (SBA) goes
against the principle of ‘fairness’. DSE students, apart from the standardized test
(public examination), are also assessed by their own teachers in different stages
throughout their senior secondary years. However, some educators think that SBA
fosters learning because a student’s abilities are tracked over time and are assessed
not only through a ‘one-off’ public examination.

Topic

The adoption of SBA in ___________________ in the secondary school

curriculum can counteract some of the negative effects of standardized
testing.

 For the blank above, choose one secondary school subject listed in
the section ‘Background of SBA’ below.

Requirements

1. Write a body paragraph between 220-280 words (excluding the reference list). You
paragraph should either express a pro or con on the topic. Do not write under or
above the required word limit.

2. The structure of your paragraph has to include what we have studied:

 Claim (Topic sentence)
 Explanation/Elaboration of the claim
 Supporting evidence (Cited sources)
 Commentary/Evaluation of the cited sources to show their relevance to the
claim

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3. In your paragraph, you are required to include at least one in-text citation from the
article that we have studied in class (“The Issues of Standardized Testing”). Use the
bibliographical data below in your in-text and end-of-text references:

Author: Richard Norris

Date: 2009
Journal: Education Assessment
Volume: 4
Pages: 123-124

4. You can also cite sources from other academic texts as supporting evidence.

5. Please adhere to the specifications below:

 Double spaced
 Times New Roman/Calibri Font 12
 Word count indicated
 A reference list

6. Deadline:
First draft (5%):
By Session 9, submit a hard copy to your teacher and post a soft copy on Turnitin
on Moodle. You should not exceed more than 15% of similarity in your writing.

Final version (25%):

By Session 13, submit a hard copy to your teacher and post a soft copy on Turnitin
on Moodle. You should not exceed more than 15% in your writing.

*Note:
 Students will fail the assignment if there is evidence of plagiarism.
 Late submission of the first draft: 0 mark
 Late submission of the final version would receive a mark penalty, with
exception to those who have sought prior approval from teachers.
i. Being late for 1-9 calendar days: 20% deduction from this assignment
ii. Being late for 10 or more days: 0 mark

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 7. Your writing will be assessed on
 Cohesion
 Integration of the sources into your argument
 Register

Background of SBA1

School-based Assessment (SBA) is an assessment carried out by schools with students

being assessed by their own subject teachers. All school candidates have to complete
the SBA of the subjects concerned and the marks awarded are counted towards their
results in the HKDSE Examination. The following are subjects with a SBA component in
the HKDSE Examination:

Core Subjects  Chinese Language

NSS Elective Subjects
 English Language
 Liberal Studies
 Chinese History
 History
 Biology
 Chemistry
 Physics
 Integrated Science / Combined Science
 Information & Communication Technology
 Design & Applied Technology
 Visual Arts

You can also learn more about SBA from the information booklet published by Hong
Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority:
http://www.hkeaa.edu.hk/DocLibrary/Media/Leaflets/SBA_pamphlet_E_web.pdf

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This section on “Background” was excerpted from Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority and is
available at http://www.hkeaa.edu.hk/en/SBA/
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