Education Quality Assessment in China - What We Learned From Official Reports Released in 2018 and 2019

Oct 15, 2026

Purpose and scope of this article is to introduce China’s recent compulsory education quality assessment, drawing on official education policy documents and major monitoring reports. The analysis synthesizes three key reports: the national quality monitoring report and two subject-specific reports for mathematics and for physical education and health. Findings review the work’s short history, present the assessment framework and reported results from the 2015–2017 cycle, and evaluate significance, limitations, and special issues in the pursuit of holistic education.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Purpose

Design/Approach/Methods

Findings

Originality/Value

Introduction and Background

Reports and publication timeline (2018–2019)

Assessment cycle and coverage (2015–2017)

Terminology and translation choices

Article Objectives and Structure

History and policy overview

Subject-by-subject findings and comparisons

Framework demonstration and discussion

Education Quality Assessment in China: What We Learned From Official Reports Released in 2018 and 2019 Danqing Yin (殷丹青) University of Kansas ECNU Review of Education 2021, Vol. 4(2) 396–409 ª The Author(s) 2021 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[DOI: 10.1177/2096531120944522](DOI: 10.1177/2096531120944522)[ ](DOI: 10.1177/2096531120944522)[journals.sagepub.com/home/roe](journals.sagepub.com/home/roe) Abstract Purpose: This article intended to introduce the recent Chinese compulsory education quality assessment. Design/Approach/Methods: The article summarized education policy documents relevant to the recent Chinese compulsory education quality assessment, especially from the three reports: The Chinese Compulsory Education Quality Monitoring Report, The Chinese Compulsory Education Quality Monitoring Report on Mathematical Learning, and The Chinese Compulsory Education Quality Monitoring Report on Physical Education and Health. Findings: The article examined the development of Chinese education quality assessment in the context of the nation’s pursuit of holistic education. It first reviewed a brief history of the education quality monitoring work in China that bore the fruits of a few recent reports. Second, findings and the framework of the assessment are demonstrated. Finally, I discuss the significance, limitations, and special issues of the assessment. Originality/Value: The article is among the earliest to present findings of the recent quality assessment in Chinese compulsory education in English critically. Corresponding author: Danqing Yin, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, School of Education and Human Sciences, University of Kansas, 1122 W Campus Rd, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA. Email: [danqing.yin@ku.edu](danqing.yin@ku.edu) Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License ([https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages ([https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage](https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage)). Keywords Compulsory education, education quality assessment, large-scale assessment Date received: 27 February 2020; accepted: 2 July 2020 The Chinese Compulsory Education Quality Monitoring Report was first published in July 2018 by the National Assessment Center for Education Quality in China, under the supervision of the Ministry of Education, People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as “Chinese MOE” or“MOE”) . Two additional subject reports, The Chinese Compulsory Education Quality Monitoring Report on Mathematical Learning and The Chinese Compulsory Education Quality Monitoring Report on Physical Education and Health, were later released in 2019 . These reports presented the assessment results from the 2015–2017 assessment cycle in a recent large-scale assessment in Chinese compulsory education. This article aims to examine the development of Chinese education quality assessment in the context of prevailing international large-scale assessments and the nation ’s pursuit of holistic education. It first reviewed a brief history of the education quality monitoring work in China that bore the fruits of the above three reports. The general information of Chinese compulsory education, the guiding law, and the policy for the assessment are introduced in this section. Second, findings from the reports are presented by individual report with a comparative analysis on results of available subjects: One is mathematics, and the other is physical education and health. The framework of the assessment i

FAQs

What is the main purpose of the article?

The article introduces China’s recent compulsory education quality assessment and explains what can be learned from official reports released in 2018 and 2019.

Which official reports does the article summarize?

It summarizes the national compulsory education quality monitoring report and two subject reports released in 2019: mathematics learning and physical education and health.

What assessment cycle do the reports analyze?

The reports present results from the 2015–2017 assessment cycle in a large-scale assessment of Chinese compulsory education.

Oct 15, 2026

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