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The paper aims to study the implementation of one of the dimensions of formative assessment i.e., assessment as learning. It has specifically attempted to investigate the practices of peer- and self-assessment among teachers in schools. Considering the recent growth in implementing formative assessment around the world; both in schools and higher learning institutions, this study aims to shed some light on the practices of it in schools, which can help policymakers adjust their policies in higher learning institutions. This study employed a quantitative method, in which a questionnaire is distributed among teachers in four states in the northern region of Malaysia. This paper offers insights into how teachers attempted to practise peer- and self-assessment in schools in the northern region of Malaysia. As this is a washback study, it not only reports the factors that were discovered, but it also attempts to report the factors mediating the washback. This study can be considered a contribution in terms of shaping the research into assessment as learning at its early stage.

The Malaysian government has over the decades devised various assessment policies in its attempt to promote a learning culture and to mitigate the status quo testing culture in schools. This chapter zooms in on the recent English language assessment reform at the lower-secondary level in Malaysia. It also discusses a potential obstacle in the form of “perspective crises” that may debilitate the possible benefits of learning-oriented assessment like school-based assessment, which amalgamates both the formative and summative approaches. A representative group of stakeholders were interviewed for their insights. The findings of this study reported a combination of both positive and negative washback in relation to teaching content, teaching methods, and assessment activities.