Bitesize Research: Formative Assessment (A refreshing reminder)

Dear WA Colleagues,

This week, we have all been busy entering our on-track grades for KS3/4 and 5 students. All good educators know, a summative assessment is merely a snapshot in time. However, on-going rigorous formative assessment is the key to unlock our ability to know what our students are working towards. Therefore, I feel it is a timely moment to share some evidence backed research about formative assessment. These are the classic works of Dylan William and Siobhan Leahy (2011). 

What does formative assessment look like:

Formative assessment involves a range of evidence-informed strategies used in the classroom across the curriculum with learners of different ages, and can be applied across all subjects. Formative assessment can help the teacher and student understand what needs to be learned and how this can be achieved. A teacher can use a range of strategies to support their students to make progress, and the learner can embrace formative assessment strategies to monitor and reflect on their own progress and act on feedback provided by the teacher and/or their peers.

Dylan Wiliam and Siobhan Leahy have written extensively about five key formative assessment strategies (Embedded Formative Assessment, 2011). The five strategies promoted by Wiliam and Leahy are:

1. Clarifying, sharing and understanding learning intentions and success criteria

2. Engineering effective discussions, tasks, and activities that elicit evidence of learning

3. Providing feedback that moves learners forward

4. Activating students as learning resources for one another

5. Activating students as owners of their own learning.

For each of these strategies a range of techniques can be deployed in the classroom. Formative assessment strategies take place during the learning process in contrast to summative assessment that focuses on a final and high stakes exam or test. The aim of these strategies is to continually help students make progress and develop.

Do you want to learn more about both formative and summative assessment strategies? Join the Assessment Lead Programme that's included in your Great Teaching Toolkit to learn through a combination of theory, design, regular collaboration and practical application sustained over time.

References:

Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in Education, 5, 7-74. doi:10.1080/0969595980050102

Embedding Formative Assessment. Practical Techniques for the Classroom. Dylan Wiliam and Siobhan Leahy. (2011).