TESTING AND CULTURE: WHERE DOES AMERICA MEET THE EAST IN THIS GLOBAL ERA?

A comparison of testing at elementary and secondary schools in the United States and some Asian countries discloses a poignant irony. While K-12 education in the U.S. is becoming test driven, termed as Accountability Movement, many Asian countries try to move away from the high-skates testing practice in an attempt to promote the development of students as an entire person. The striking contrasts indicate how testing and culture are interrelated in each system. The article analyzes and reflects on the complexity and sustainability of instructional and assessment practice and expects a meeting point between testing practice and the democratic belief to promote all children’s learning equitably regardless on the west or on the east of the globe.