Running head: THE USE OF FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT IN INCREASING

The Use of Formative Assessment in Increasing Student Achievement - Literature Review Jennifer Hart University Of New England

THE USE OF FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT IN INCREASING The Use of Formative Assessment in Increasing Student Achievement - Literature Review

Utilizing a variety of formative assessment techniques can increase student achievement. Whereas, formative assessment is seen as the ongoing process of collecting information to inform the teaching and learning progression of any given concept or skill. Teachers use the acquired information to provide feedback and guide the redesign of their instruction while students use the information to align their learning methods. So, what does the research suggest as the most effective formative assessment qualities that teachers can use to ensure an increase in student achievement? When teachers are able to successfully employ formative assessment strategies that focus on delivering feedback that advances learning, activating students understanding of where they are in the learning process and their role in moving that learning forward (self-assessment), having students serve as a resource to one another (peer-assessment), designing discussions, questions and tasks that show evidence of learning and providing students with a common understanding of learning goals and criteria for success they will see a positive correlation in student achievement. For assessment to become effective in advancing student learning it must move from being summative assessment to formative assessment and needs to be viewed as an integral part of the teaching and learning progression. As indicated by Cauley & McMillan (2010) teachers must have in place the following five key components if they are to support their formative assessment practices. Firstly, the teacher has to clearly articulate to the students what is expected of them and provide a variety of examples of student work as models. Second, teachers must provide meaningful feedback in a timely manner that lets students know their progress and give them suggestions on how to move it forward. Thirdly, feedback on formative assessment tasks should allow the student to see that their successes are a direct measure of their effort and not

THE USE OF FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT IN INCREASING attributed to outside factors. Fourthly, teachers need to encourage student self- and peerassessment and provide guidelines and models on how to assess and how to use that assessment to further the learning progression. Lastly, teachers need to guide students in the process of being able to set clear and attainable learning goals. From my experience it is evident that a

teachers awareness of these overarching formative assessment categories would have a positive impact on student achievement. Comparable to the research by Cauley & McMillan, Margaret Heritage cites similar key components as essential elements of effective formative assessment strategies. Heritage (2007) elaborates further by stating that teachers also need a specific knowledge base if their implementation and practice of formative assessment is to be effective. She states for formative assessment to be effective in increasing student achievement four basic elements of teacher knowledge are critical: 1) domain knowledge, 2) pedagogical content knowledge, 3) knowledge of students previous learning, and 4) knowledge of assessment (Heritage, 2007, p. 142). This knowledge base enables teachers to design meaningful tasks that encourage discussion and questioning that provides evidence of learning which is used to move learning forward and guide the subsequent teaching and learning progressions. In addition to teachers requiring a knowledge base Heritage (2007) discusses the skill base that she believes teachers need to have to successfully implement formative assessment techniques. Teachers need to have the skills to create a classroom culture that celebrates students strengths and differences and promotes an environment that facilitates peer and selfassessment. This environment encourages students to feel successful, take risks as learners and monitor their progression which can be beneficial to overall student achievement.

THE USE OF FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT IN INCREASING The work of Black & Dylan (2010) supports this notion in that they state that it is necessary to create classroom cultures that thrive on a culture of success and allow students to see themselves as learners. This statement would suggest that teachers need to be able to create an environment that allows students to recognize and value the learning process versus a reward

model of good grades or gold stars above all else. If students learn in an environment where they are encouraged and supported to be more interested in the process of learning versus finding the right answer they will be less likely to fear failure. This notion is vital to the learning process as the fear of failure becomes counterproductive in any learning progression. Formative assessment then becomes the tool that allows teachers to use failure to move students learning forward and enables the failed learning to be valued not feared. In a research project conducted by Wiliam, Lee, Harrison, & Black (2004) researchers collaborated with twenty four teachers in six schools for a six month time frame to investigate their understanding of formative assessment and how they could embed formative assessment into their practice. The result was teachers creating an action plan. The teachers were responsible to implement their action plans in at least one class that they were teaching at the end of the six month collaboration period. Upon completion of the class the achievement of the students was compared to achievement of students in classes previously taught by the same teacher or equivalent classes taught by other teachers. The mean effect size in favor of the intervention was 0.32 (Wiliam et al., 2004, p. 49). As with other research reviewed this study demonstrates gains in student achievement when teachers utilize formative assessment techniques in their practice. However, after review of the research method I feel that the results are reliable and not to be disputed but I feel great emphasis needs to be placed on the six months of collaboration that occurred prior to the collection of data began. It would seem reasonable to

THE USE OF FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT IN INCREASING

say that if teachers had not had the opportunity to delve into exploring formative assessment and putting into practice the elements that constitutes quality formative assessment that the effect size would have been lower. Dunn & Mulvenon, (2009) evaluated a variety of literature on formative assessment and were far more critical of the positive effect that formative assessment has on achievement than any of the other literature that I reviewed. They state that they do not dispute that formative assessment can have a positive impact on teachers instructional methods, students learning or increased achievement but feel that much works lies ahead in that a sound-research validated framework for best practices in formative assessment and formative evaluation must be established to ensure maximum benefits for all those involved (Dunn & Mulvenon, 2009, p. 9). I believe that we can see a connection to this quote in the research of Wiliam, Lee, Harrison, & Black as I believe that the teachers would have had a framework established in their in-depth collaboration process which would help to account for such positive results. What this suggests is that work with teachers in establishing best practice is critical to formative assessment being effective. When teachers are able to successfully employ formative assessment strategies that focus on delivering feedback that advances learning, activating students understanding of where they are in the learning process and their role in moving that learning forward (self-assessment), having students serve as a resource to one another (peer-assessment), designing discussions, questions and tasks that show evidence of learning and providing students with a common understanding of learning goals and criteria for success they will see a positive correlation in student achievement. There is a multitude of research to support that formative assessment enhances student learning and achievement but a great deal of work is needed to build the

THE USE OF FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT IN INCREASING capacity of teachers to understand best practice in formative assessment. It will take commitment and a shift in practice for teachers to utilize a variety of formative assessment techniques and embed it into their practice on a daily basis. This process is one that will take time but is invaluable in informing the teaching and learning process.

THE USE OF FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT IN INCREASING References Black, P., & Dylan, W. (2010, September). Kappan classic: Inside the black box: Raising

standards through classroom assessment. Phi Delta Kappan, 92(1), 81-90. Retrieved from http://www.kappanmagazine.org/content/92/1/81.abstract Cauley, K. M., & McMillan, J. H. (2010). Formative assessment techniques to support student motivation and achievement. The Clearing House, 83(1), 1-6. doi:10.1080/00098650903267784 Dunn, K. E., & Mulvenon, S. W. (2009, March). A critical review of research on formative assessment: The limited scientific evidence of the impact of formative assessment in education. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 14(7), 1-11. Retrieved from http://www.pareonline.net/pdf/v14n7.pdf Heritage, M. (2007, October). Formative assessment: What do teachers need to know and do?. Phi Delta Kappan, 89(2), 140-145. Retrieved from http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/ktoc.htm Wiliam, D., Lee, C., Harrison, C., & Black, P. (2004, March). Teachers developing assessment for learning: impact on student achievement. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 11(1), 49-65. doi:10.1080/0969594042000208994