Malaysian science teachers’ conceptions and practices of assessment: school-based assessments within a high-stakes examination system

After a prolonged reliance on external exams, the Malaysian government eliminated two standardised exams, favouring school-based, teacher-made assessments. A survey was conducted to determine if their beliefs and practices of assessment aligned with this responsibility. Four primary conceptions and five practice factors were identified using the Teacher Conceptions of Assessment (TCoA-III) and Practices of Assessment (PrAI) inventories. Analysis was limited to 142 participants with complete, paired datasets from 236 teachers who provided some data, as this requirement precluded imputation. Structural equation modelling found six statistically significant paths from TCoA-III to PrAI factors: improvement conception robustly predicted diagnostic and improvement practices; the student accountability predicted exam preparation and ignoring assessment practices; the irrelevance conception predicted ignoring assessment practices; and school accountability predicted equivalence practices. These results had strong similarities to Chinese teachers who work in a public exam-oriented system, suggesting that Malaysian teacher-made assessments are not strongly formative.