Best+Practice

[|This article raises some good points:] Formative assessment has been shown to be highly effective in raising the level of student attainment, increasing equity of student outcomes, and improving students’ ability to learn. The **//achievement gains//** associated with formative assessment have been described as “among the largest ever reported for educational interventions”. The study carried out by the OECD’s Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) supports these findings. Formative assessment **//builds students’ “learning to learn” skills//** by emphasising the process of teaching and learning, and involving students as partners in that process. It also builds students’ skills at peer-assessment and self-assessment, and helps them develop a range of effective learning strategies. Students who are actively building their understanding of new concepts (rather than merely absorbing information) and who are learning to judge the quality of their own and their peers’ work against well-defined criteria are developing invaluable skills for lifelong learning. ■

**__There are several key elements for a successful use of formative assessment in secondary schools__**

 * 1) Teachers using formative assessment have **//changed the culture of their classrooms//**, putting the emphasis on helping students feel safe to take risks and make mistakes and to develop self-confidence in the classroom. Teachers working with students from backgrounds other than their own also make efforts to understand cultural preconceptions. They interact frequently with individual or small groups of students and involve students in the assessment process, providing them with tools to judge the quality of their own work.
 * 2) Teachers also make the learning process more transparent by **//establishing and communicating learning goals//**, tracking student progress and, in some cases, adjusting goals to better meet student needs. Teachers are able to compare their assessments with other teachers to ensure that they are treating students equitably. They often find that comments are more effective than marks for improving student performance and helping all students to reach high standards. It is not always easy to drop or decrease the frequencyof marks, however. Sometimes students and their parents prefer to know how they are doing relative to other students.
 * 3) To meet a range of student needs, teachers **//vary instruction methods//**. They ensure that lessons include different approaches to explaining new concepts, provide options for independent classroom work, and encourage students who have grasped a new concept to help their peers.
 * 4) Teachers use a mix of approaches to **//assess student understanding//** of what has been taught.
 * 5) Teachers may provide **//verbal or written feedback//** on student’s work. Teachers and researchers have found that the most effective feedback is timely, specific and tied to explicit criteria. Teachers also adjust their strategies to meet needs identified in assessment.
 * 6) Ultimately, the goal of formative assessment is for students to develop their own “learning to learn” skills. When formative assessment is used successfully in schools, teachers model effective learning behaviour, teach self-assessment skills and help students to analyse how well different strategies have worked. Students take increasing responsibility for their own learning and progress. Such teaching approaches may be particularly important for children who do not have extra support for learning at home. ■