The Fine-tuning medium-of-instruction policy in Hong Kong: A case study of the changing school-based test papers in science subjects.

This study examines changes in the school-based Chinese vis-à-vis English test papers
in two content-area science subjects (i.e., integrated science and computer and information
technology) in a secondary school in Hong Kong during the implementation of the new mediumof-instruction (MOI) initiative, in that schools were shifting to adopting content-based Englishmedium instruction (EMI) teaching at the junior secondary level. The analysis of the assessments
was via two main stages. First, a descriptive approach was adopted to investigate any observable
changes in the assessment designs and formats. Second, all the test items in the test papers were
evaluated in the dimensions of cognitive and knowledge categories using the revised Bloom’s
taxonomy as the analytical framework. The findings reveal that there was a reallocation of
question types and pedagogical foci as well as a decrease in score proportions and varieties of
questions assessing higher-level cognitive processes and knowledge in the revised test papers.
This article concludes by highlighting the possible effects brought about by the revised schoolbased assessment and the need to continue to investigate the influence of the new policy.