Formative Assessment Techniques Research Articles

Exploring Formative Assessment Practices in Public Secondary Schools in Kicukiro District

Various scholars acknowledged that formative assessment play a vital role in increasing students’ academic achievement. The main purpose of this study was to explore formative assessment practices in public secondary schools in Kicukiro District. The specific objectives of the study were to investigate how teachers plan for formative assessment in public secondary schools in Kicukiro district, to discover how teachers use formative assessment techniques in electing students learning evidence in public secondary schools in Kicukiro district and to assess how teachers provide formative assessment feedback to students in public secondary schools in Kicukiro district. The study used descriptive survey research design. The study was guided by Sadler’s theory of formative assessment founded in 1989. The target population of the study was 220 teachers and 13 deputy head teachers in charge of studies. A sample of 142 teachers were selected using simple random sampling while 13 deputy head teachers in charge of studies were included in the study purposively. Questionnaires, semi-structured interview and lesson observation checklist were used as research instruments in collecting data from respondents. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics such as means and standard deviations whereas thematic analysis was used for analysing qualitative data. The quantitative data were presented in tables while qualitative data were presented in the text. The findings indicate that the practices related to planning for formative assessment (M=2.41, SD=1.01) are rarely practiced in public secondary schools in Kicukiro District. It was also revealed that practices related to eliciting evidences of students’ learning (M=2.76, SD=1.11) were practiced sometimes. Finally, it was revealed practices related to formative assessment feedback (M=2.33, SD=1.01) were rarely done. The study recommended that National Examination and School Inspection Authority should strengthen the practices of formative assessment at school levels. Future researchers were recommended to replicate the study in other region beyond Kicukiro District.

Undergraduate curators: Production of a justice-oriented fashion museum exhibition

Undergraduate curators: Production of a justice-oriented fashion museum exhibition

Thirteen Strategies to Increase the Impact of Assignment Feedback

The value of assignment feedback in enhancing student learning is significant, not just in rectifying conceptual misunderstandings but also in engaging and motivating students and strengthening their belief in their academic capabilities. This article outlines 13 strategies to provide effective, efficient, and engaging feedback, including the use of feedforward guidance, one-to-many feedback, peer-to-peer feedback, multimedia feedback, feedback banks, automation, formative classroom assessment techniques, rubrics, assignment exemplars, generative AI, proactive notifications, automated mastery learning opportunities, and student self-feedback, all of which holistically empower students towards academic success, meaningful instructor-student interaction, and a richer online learning experience.

Examining Assessment Design in the Pakistan English Language Curriculum at Secondary Level: A Comprehensive Qualitative Analysis of its Implementation

ABSTRACT 
 The assessment is an integrated part of the learning process. The effectiveness of assessment design and practice during and after teaching will determine how language skills develop. This research study critically analyzes the Pakistan language curriculum 2006, regarding language assessment design. The study aimed to investigate the assessment design, mechanism, methods, and strategies envisaged in Pakistan's 2006 language curriculum. The study's goals were to investigate the LNC's 2006 language assessment plan and comprehend how extensive the 2006 national curriculum's assessment design is intended. Another goal is the extent to which this design supports language assessment and addresses language assessment ideas.
 The Pakistani national curriculum from 2006 will be the subject of a document analysis that considers both formative and summative assessment methods, techniques, and strategies. The language assessment theories and Bloom’s assessment mechanism were used as theoretical lenses. The document analysis model proposed by Bowen (2009) was used for this investigation.
 The study's findings demonstrate that Pakistan's LNC 2006 assessment design could be more helpful in developing language skills, by improving its level. The assessment strategies and methods for the development of every language skill are missing. The action verbs used for, Standards, benchmarks, and SLOs are at a deficient level and belong to Bloom's Taxonomy's first three stages of the cognitive domain. The summative test rather than ongoing assessment is indicated; hence the marking scheme is solely meant to be used for writing skills. Speaking and listening skills are nearly entirely ignored in assessment design. The standard for the development of textbook activities is likewise deficient in terms of assessment. The guidelines for teachers that train them on assessment are absent. In order to improve the language assessment design, policymakers and curriculum developers will use the study's findings. The findings will also help teachers comprehend and implement language assessment design appropriately.
 Keywords: Assessment, assessment design, language assessment, curriculum, textbooks, instruction.

An Investigation into Teachers’ Perceptions of Formative Assessment Techniques and Students’ Learning

The study's goals were to ascertain how instructors felt about formative assessment methods' impact on students' learning and how the public and private sectors differed in their views. The study also sought to determine how formative assessment methods affected university students' learning. All of the public and private universities in the Lahore district made up the population. In this investigation, the multistage sampling technique was applied. A questionnaire was used as the study's tool. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse the data. The study's conclusions showed that formative assessment methods and students' learning had a greater degree of agreement with the majority of respondents.

Teacher Preferences for Formative Assessment: Leveraging Findings for Future Professional Development Resources

Classroom-based formative assessment is invoked as an essential component of effective teaching, but there is no widely agreed-upon approach for targeted professional development. This survey of secondary school teachers examined 3 issues: (a) can McTighe and Ferrara’s assessment framework provide a psychometrically tenable way to classify formative assessment techniques, (b) does their framework offer a viable approach to professional development; and (c) could their framework be applied in strengths-based professional development. Analyses of the teachers’ self-reported skills showed (a) high levels of internal consistency across categories of formative assessment, (b) STEM and Humanities teachers could be grouped via discriminant analysis based on reported levels of skill in 3 categories of formative assessment, and (c) scenarios are presented to demonstrating a strength-based approach. The findings indicate that McTighe and Ferrara’s framework provides a psychometrically tenable way to categorize formative assessment techniques and provide professional development. Future research should include K-6 teachers.
 
 Received: 25 July 2023 / Accepted: 13 October 2023 / Published: 5 November 2023

The impact of formative assessment techniques on students' self-assessment skills

The introduction of formative assessment to improve students' self-assessment skills was one of the main innovations in Kazakhstan. However, there are issues with the implementation of formative assessment and its introduction. This study aims to examine the impact of the author's formative assessment techniques on students' self-evaluations. One of the methods was experimental work carried out in 2021-2022 at Almaty Secondary School No. 198. This study was carried out using 55 fourth grade students consisting of 27 students in grade four "A" (16 girls and 11 boys) as the experimental group (EG) and 28 students in grade four "B" (18 girls and 10 boys) as the control group (CG). The results identified problems with the introduction and implementation of formative assessments. This highlighted the importance of developing formative assessment strategies to improve students' self-evaluations. Our findings confirm that the identified and methodically substantiated procedures for improving self-assessment in students in primary school may be employed in classes with younger students and in teacher training groups.

Effect of Daily Class Assignment on Academic Achievement and Academic Anxiety of Senior Secondary School Students

This paper spotlighted findings of the Effect of Daily Class Assignments as a formative assessment technique on the Academic Achievement and Academic Anxiety of Senior Secondary Students. This assessment strategy was designed to revamp assessment, remove constraints, and make teaching learning more powerful. The experiment was conducted on students of 11th standard; a pre-test was taken to equalize both the experimental and control group. After equalization, economics was taught for 15 days to both groups, but DCA evaluation through DCA was done only for the experimental group after teaching, while the other was left uninterrupted after teaching. Post-test of Academic achievement and anxiety was administered to both groups to determine the effect of DCA. Results pictured the positive impact of DCA on Academic Achievement, but no difference was seen in the Academic Anxiety of students after the experiment.

Formative assessment of children's learning results in physical culture lessons in New Ukrainian School

The thesis analysed modern methodical approaches to the assessment of educational achievements of students in physical education lessons at the New Ukrainian School at various stages of education. The main determinants had identified of the activity of the physical culture teacher in relation to the organization of formative assessment
 Furthermore, in the process of work, it had found that the barriers to the wider use of formative assessment are: the discrepancy between formative assessment and final tests, which are designed to ensure the accountability of schools regarding the educational achievements of students; the lack of consistency between assessment and evaluation at the school and classroom levels and the perception that formative assessment is too resource-intensive and time-consuming to be practical.
 The methodology of formative assessment techniques is justified. Assessment in physical education is carried out in the following areas: cognitive domain - what students know and understand; health-related physical fitness - improvement of physical fitness levels; psychomotor skills - what students can do and perform; affective domain - attitudes and beliefs towards the subject. It is noted that assessment in the affective domain involves: identifying behaviors; communicating actions (indicators) that are acceptable for students to meet the expectations regarding the assessed characteristics/behavior; using checklists, rating scales, journals, event records, exit slips, written tests. General behavioral characteristics include: effort (willingness to participate); fair play (sportsmanship); readiness to cooperate (teamwork). These characteristics may have different significance for different individuals, so it is the teacher who decides which characteristics/behaviors are most important for the lessons.

Perceptions of Afghan EFL undergraduate students about exam cheating

The main purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate EFL undergraduate students’ perceptions about cheating in exams: reasons, techniques, and consequences. It also examined the differences between participants’ responses by their gender and class. A total of 185 EFL undergraduate students at two public universities took part in the study. A survey questionnaire was used to collect data for the study. SPSS version 28.0 was used to analyze the data. The results revealed that students cheated in exams for various reasons including getting a higher grade, passing an exam, and not having enough time. Students used different ways to cheat in exams such as cheat sheets, cellphones, clothes, and their body parts. Furthermore, students faced certain consequences as a result of cheating in exams. For instance, they failed a particular course due to being caught cheating in exams and they lost their class ranking and self-respect. The study also revealed that there were differences between the participants by their gender but not class. Lecturers should use student-centered learning and formative assessment techniques in their teaching practices to engage students in the learning process and maximize their learning.

SCIENCE TEACHERS’ AWARENESS AND UTILIZATION OF INNOVATIVE FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUES FOR ASSESSING STUDENTS IN SCIENCE CLASSROOMS IN ANAMBRA STATE

The growing need to survive in a 21st century global competitive society has presented the need to restructure the teaching and learning process to not just employ innovative instructional approaches that can promote learning but also formative assessment techniques that can help improve classroom instruction for effective delivery. In this light, the study sought to innovative formative assessment techniques (IFAT) for assessing students in science classrooms in Anambra state. Two research questions guided the study. A descriptive survey research design was adopted. 150 science subject teachers, drawn using simple random sampling technique, comprised the sample of the study. An instrument titled “Checklist on Science Teachers’ Awareness developed by the researchers for the teachers was used for data collection. The 50-item checklist was subjected to face and content validity by three experts and with a reliability coefficient of 0.82 established using Cronbach Alpha. Frequency count, percentages, weighted Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions. The findings of the study revealed that although science teachers are aware of some of these innovative formative assessment techniques, they however do not on the findings, it was then recommended among others that education stakeholders shosymposia, and conferences to educate teachers on these innovative assessment techniques and how to implement them in the classroom

Factors that influence student engagement with technology-enhanced resources for formative assessments in first-year undergraduate mathematics

Even prior to COVID-19, there had been an increase in the use of technology in undergraduate mathematics education to support the development of mathematical understanding and skill, and to enhance the student learning environment. Technology-enhanced resources can be used to provide formative assessment which can help students identify gaps in their knowledge and point towards appropriate action. In this paper, we report on the evaluations of a number of technology-enhanced resources that used formative assessment techniques and were provided for students attending non-specialist first-year undergraduate mathematics modules in Ireland. Analysis of the evaluations and consultation with literature identified 12 decisive factors that encourage students’ successful engagement with the resources, covering aspects such as the educational context, affordances and types of technology, technological communication and formative assessment. These factors constitute important knowledge for practitioners as they can use them in the planning, design, and development of technology-enhanced resources for use in their modules. The measures observed during the evaluations indicated both positive and negative engagement providing a link between observations and resultant student engagement, which was found lacking in previous studies on student engagement.

Effects of technology-integrated formative assessment on students' conceptual and procedural knowledge in chemical equilibrium

The impacts of a technology-integrated formative assessment technique on students' conceptual and procedural knowledge in studying chemical equilibrium are studied in this study. To attain the purpose, a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest strategy nested with a qualitative study method was adopted. The study has three groups: two experimental and one comparative. A random sample strategy was utilized to select two intact classes for treatment and one intact class for comparison groups. Data was collected using the chemical equilibrium conceptual test, the procedural test, and classroom observation. The data was examined using descriptive (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (one-way ANOVA, one-way MANOVA, and Pearson product moment correlation). According to the findings, technology-integrated formative assessment processes outperformed traditional techniques and formative assessment strategies alone in enhancing students' conceptual and practical understanding of chemical equilibrium. Similarly, when technology-integrated formative assessment processes are used, classroom observations show that students have a strong motivation to learn and that the instructor is more skilled than the other two teachers. Technology-integrated formative assessment processes were shown to be more effective than the other two groups in promoting students' conceptual and procedural understanding when learning chemical equilibrium.

IMPLEMENTASI METODE STAR UNTUK MENINGKATKAN KEMAMPUAN GURU MENGEMBANGKAN MODUL PROJEK PENGUATAN PROFIL PELAJAR PANCASILA

The Independent Curriculum policy has implications to the changes of curriculum structure. All educational activities are directed to achieve Project of Pancasila Student Profile Strengthening. The obstacle encountered is that the development of Project of Pancasila Student Profile Strengthening module has not been able to be carried out optimally. Likewise, Pancasila Student Profile formative and summative assessment techniques are not in accordance with regulatory provisions. It is caused by the lack of teacher’s understanding in developing Project of Pancasila Student Profile Strengthening module and the availability of supporting regulations is very minimal. Meanwhile, the availability of Project of Pancasila Student Profile Strengthening module is necessary. The purpose of this community service activity is to improve the ability of SMK Pariwisata Triatma Jaya Tabanan teachers to develop Project of Pancasila Student Profile Strengthening modules in accordance with the characteristics of school. The method used in this activity is STAR method (Situation, Challenge, Action, Reflection and impact). After conducting the activity, the results are the increase of teachers' understanding to the concepts and mechanisms for developing Project of Pancasila Student Profile Strengthening module, and being able to compile module in accordance with the provisions of applicable laws.

SIGNIFICANCE AND ITS FEATURES FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

The article discusses the issues of self-assessment of one’s knowledge on a daily basis, even at each lesson, and the use of formative assessment techniques and its features. Formative assessment is the daily work of achieving success. Of course, to ensure the development of school material, feedback is always supported. Formative assessment is characterized by informality, such as discussion of assessment, comments, and the observational nature of student achievement.

Implementation of verbal and written feedback classroom practices by teachers

Teachers use feedback to modify student thinking or behaviour to improve their learning. In order for students to achieve better, teachers must use different strategies and ways of teaching. In this article we reflect on the practical application and impact that written and verbal feedback have on learners. Through the research reported on here we aimed to contribute to reflection about different concrete feedback models that are helpful to teachers and students. Seventy-four teachers of the curriculum area, society and environment (civic education, geography and history), in urban schools (n = 39) and rural schools (n = 35) from 10 lower secondary schools answered the questionnaire. The results show that teachers provide students with written and oral feedback and that there is no significant difference in the application by teachers in urban and rural schools, nor among teachers who teach subjects in the curriculum area, society and environment. We recommend that teachers receive continuous training on how to use formative assessment techniques.

Demystifying Iranian EFL teachers’ perceptions and practices of learning-oriented assessment (LOA): challenges and prospects in focus

As a growing approach to assessment, learning-oriented assessment (LOA) has recently flourished to position learning at the center of assessment practices. It aims to unify assessment, teaching, and learning. However, little is written and known about its benefits, challenges, and practices in English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts. To shed light on these aspects, the present study was a bid to unpack Iranian EFL teachers’ perceptions about the benefits, challenges, and professional activities that facilitate LOA understanding and practice. To this end, 40 EFL teachers including both genders were invited to a semi-structured interview held in person. The results of the thematic analysis obtained by MAXQDA revealed that Iranian EFL teachers had different perceptions regarding LOA. They argued that LOA is a process-based, feedback-oriented, formative, and alternative assessment technique that foregrounds feedback and progress rather than the final outcome. Furthermore, it was identified that LOA can be practiced by using alternative assessment, performance assessment, dynamic assessment, peer assessment, self-assessment, and portfolio assessment. Likewise, the results demonstrated that LOA is beneficial in enhancing classroom interaction, collaboration, and engagement, integrating assessment, teaching, and learning, and monitoring students’ progress. However, the time budget, large classes, and teachers’ lack of knowledge and training on LOA were perceived as challenges for applying LOA. Furthermore, it was found that Iranian EFL teachers supported the use of training courses, reading articles and books, and attending assessment-related workshops, webinars, seminars, and conferences to improve LOA knowledge and skills. The study provides implications for EFL teachers and trainers, who can use different assessment techniques/practices representative of LOA.

Investigating high school science teachers’ readiness for implementing formative assessment practices

Formative assessment is used to link teaching and learning in the classroom. It provides feedback on ways to improve student performance by matching educational goals with instructional practices. The purpose of this study was to investigate Saudi science teachers’ readiness to implement formative assessment. The participants included 11 male high school science teachers. This study involved a qualitative, phenomenological research design. Science teachers were shown examples of teachers using formative assessment techniques in the form of vignettes and were asked if they have used or will use such techniques in their classrooms. The findings provide information on the readiness of science teachers to adopt formative assessment. Results show that only three had used formative assessment, indicating that teachers need more preparation for using formative assessment. The findings of this study are helpful for Arabic language countries and countries that tend to have rigid curricula.

Relationship between Formative Assessment Techniques, Students’ Learning and Academic Achievement at University Level

The study's objective was to determine the relationship between formative assessment techniques, students’ learning and academic achievement at university level. The study's methodology included quantitative, descriptive, and survey. All universities in the Lahore district, (public and private), were the target population of the research. It employed a multi-stage sampling technique. The total sample was comprised of 600 students. The questionnaire was self-constructed. The validity of the instrument was determined through experts’ opinions and the questionnaire’ reliability was found through pilot-testing. The Cronbach’s Alfa value was 0.912. It was concluded that there was strong positive relationship among different formative assessment techniques, students’ learning and academic achievement. It was recommended that the study be used by university teachers to create various appropriate formative assessment techniques to improve students' learning and academic achievement.

Review of Formative Assessment Practices: Primary Evidence on Relationship with Self-efficacy and Self-esteem

Robust literature was conducted to confirm the positive effect of formative assessment on learning outcomes. However, less is known about the reason why formative assessment techniques impact student achievement. Besides, there are insufficient studies about relationships between formative classroom assessment techniques and self-efficacy, self-esteem. This article reviews literature related to use of formative assessment in classrooms, self-esteem and self-efficacy with intention to explore the connections. Students responded to questionnaires which covers results, discussion and implications about future study. The quasi-experimental research was designed to define the relationship between students’ achievement and formative assessment in classroom instructional approach. It is found that reducing variation in students’ achievement could be attained by increasing variation in formative assessment in classroom instructional approach with the presence of promoting self-esteem and self-efficacy.