Formative Assessment In Schools: A Qualitative Analysis

Assessment is universally acknowledged as a central tenet for the measurement of learning and attainment in schools (Wiliam D. , 2014). Over the last few decades, formative assessment, has been described as an effective means to support and measure learning, whilst promoting an inclusive classroom edict (Black & Wiliam, 1998). Formative assessment employs various teaching methods to gauge pupil understanding, measure progression and evaluate learning requirements. The overall process is expected to shape teaching in response to pupils’ needs and improve learning (Black & Wiliam, 1998). This essay will critically analyse the use of formative assessment, with regards to pupil progression and support, with reference to the use of formative …show more content…
There are, however many aspects of formative assessment that make reliable quantification of student progression difficult. In the first instance, there is no commonly accepted definition of formative assessment or what formative principle methods should be employed. Margaret Heritage (2007) describes formative assessment as “a systematic process to continuously gather evidence about learning”, whereas Carol Boston (2002) defines it as “the diagnostic use of assessment to provide feedback to teachers and students over the course of instruction”. This lack of agreement and homogeneity therefore results in difficulty in interpreting meta-analyses and research …show more content…
However, since the publication of Black and Wiliam’s (1998) review, there has been limited practical classroom research carried out to investigate scientifically what influence(s) formative assessment has on student learning. Wiliam, Lee, Harrison, and Black (2004) looked at the use of formative assessment in 24 teachers in science and mathematics, after a 6 month period of training. Although the results of the study were promising, the findings were subject to several generalising issues and data inconsistencies, which led the authors to assert that the quantitative evidence was “difficult to interpret” (Wiliam, Lee, Harrison, & Black, 2004). There has been somewhat moderate success investigating formative assessment in scholastic technology literature. In 2003, Henly studied the impact on student learning using a computer assisted, Web-based formative assessment about nutrition. The results of the study showed that in the upper ten percent of the class, students accessed formative assessment twice as much, compared with the bottom ten percent of students in the class. The main question arising from this study is the efficacy of formative assessment for lower achieving students, as results for this group were limited by comparison to mainly high achievers. Wang (2007) conducted a multiple-choice Web-based assessment