Creativity and assessment in Chinese arts education: Perspectives of Hong Kong students

The Chinese government has opened up its education system since the early 1990s, blending traditional test-centered approaches with critical thinking and versatility, and easing exam pressures. This article examines the place of creativity in the education reform agenda, and creativity and assessment in Chinese arts education, from the perspective of Hong Kong students 10 years after the handover and 6 years after the launch of the education reform. The article reports the findings of a survey on the types of assessment employed by music and visual arts teachers in primary and secondary government schools, what arts students thought about arts assessment and what contributed to arts learning, their preparation for and confidence in taking arts assessment. Key differences between the practices and perspectives of music and the visual arts are highlighted, and the implications for creative music education in China are discussed.