Formative Assessment

Abstract

Formative assessment is the process by which teachers and students set learning goals, determine the current state of students’ learning, and take action to improve teaching and learning. Formative assessment takes place while learning is still in progress, rather than at the end of a unit or sequence of instruction. In this sense formative assessment is intended to be low-stakes and mutually beneficial to both teachers and students, both to inform subsequent learning, and to inform subsequent instruction. When conducted on an ongoing basis and over the course of instruction, formative assessment thus can be thought of as a cyclic process, whereby teachers and students together are constantly surfacing the state of present learning, both providing and taking action on feedback to move learning forward. The phrase ‘formative assessment’ refers to both the informal, on-the-fly questioning and discussions in which students and teachers engage, as well as the more formal, planned tasks and activities that teachers and students use as checkpoints to determine the status of current learning. Ultimately, a key element in formative assessment is feedback, or the information provided about the current state of performance. Multiple studies, reviews, and meta-analyses have indicated a positive effect of formative assessment on student learning across grade levels and content areas.