Implementing formative assessment in Malaysia: Teachers’ viewpoints

Abstract

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.