Assessment Practices and Challenges in Biology Education at a China-Based International School: A Mixed-Methods Case Study

Abstract

This study examined how various assessment types are perceived and ranked by biology students and teachers in a China-based international school, and how these assessments are associated with student engagement and conceptual understanding. Operating under the Cambridge IGCSE curriculum, the school faces a fundamental tension: its student-centred, formative assessment philosophy conflicts with China's entrenched examination culture. Using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design grounded in pragmatism, quantitative data were collected from 55 IGCSE biology students and 6 teachers via structured questionnaires, followed by semi-structured qualitative interviews with 20 students and 5 teachers. Findings indicate that formative and summative assessments were rated most effective by both students (54.5% and 45.5% respectively) and teachers (66.7% each), while oral presentations and individual projects received strongly negative ratings. Three mediating variables — assessment-learning alignment (r = 0.831), student autonomy (r = 0.787), and feedback quality (r = 0.689) — showed strong associations with student engagement. Students' primary challenges centred on linguistic barriers and memorisation load; teachers identified authentic assessment in the AI era and balancing multiple curriculum demands as core concerns. Six improvement opportunity categories were identified, including assessment format diversification, enhanced feedback systems, and guided technology integration. This study contributes evidence-based guidance for international school educators and policymakers seeking to integrate global pedagogical standards with localised educational expectations.