Literature Review:
Formative Assessment
Theory
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Short cut to the article:
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 (Printed): With hard copy in the 6051 Filing cabinet.
Black, P. (2005). Formative assessment: views through different lenses.
The Curriculum Journal, 16 (2), 133-135.
(Printed)
The article discusses developments related to formative assessment in England,
New Zealand, Scotland and U.S.
Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Inside the black box: Raising standards through
classroom assessment. Phi Delta Kappan, 80 (2), 139-148.
(Printed)
This article discusses the importance of formative assessment in classroom, and
the rooms for improving the current practice. The authors view that assessment
and grading methods used by teachers do not promote good learning, and that
assessment feedback has a negative effect on low-achieving students.
The authors outline three possible areas for improvement, namely:
 Self-esteem of pupils
 Self-assessment by pupils
 Effective teaching practices, and
 Policy implementation
In addition, suggestions are provided for the effective implementation of
formative assessment.
Black, P. & Wiliam, D. (2003), 'In praise of educational research': formative
assessment, British Educational Research Journal, 29 (5), pp. 623-637.
(Printed)
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The authors trace the development of the King's Formative Assessment
Programme from its origins to the present day. They discuss the practical issues
involved by reviewing past researches. The authors also outline the strategies
used and to try to communicate the findings to as wide an audience as possible.
Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B., & Wiliam, D. (2004). Working
inside the black box: Assessment for learning in the classroom. Phil Delta
Kappan, 86 (1), 9-21.
(Printed)
This article discusses the idea that formative assessment can raise students’
achievement, which is the subject of the 1998 article "Inside the Black Box".
The authors review their major findings in KMOFAP
(King’s-Med-way-Oxfordshire Formative Assessment Project) project and
categorize into four major areas, namely:




Questioning
Feedback through grading
Peer-and self-assessment, and the
Formative use of summative tests
In addition, reflections are conducted on the deeper issues about learning and
teaching such as:
 Learning theory
 Subject differences
 Motivation and self-esteem, and the
 Changing environment and roles in learning.
Further advices on implementation of formative assessment are also provided in
the paper.
Boston, C. (2002). The concept of formative assessment. Practical Assessment,
Research & Evaluation, 8 (9). (ED470206)
(Printed)
The author addresses the purpose and benefits of formative assessment and
provides examples and resources to support its implementation.
Chappuis, S.(2005). Is formative assessment losing its meaning? Education Week,
24 (44), 38.
(Printed)
The author points out the risk of misunderstanding of the formative assessment.
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The author recalls the meaning of formative assessment through re-examining
its purpose and concepts.
Ecclestone, K., & Pryor, J. (2003). 'Learning careers' or 'assessment careers'?
The impact of assessment systems on learning. British Educational Research
Journal, 29 (4), 471-488.
(Printed)
This article highlights some key factors in 'learning careers', particularly in
relation to the impact of formative assessment practices. It aims to relate
findings from research on formative assessment in primary and further
education. The article evaluates whether the concept of 'assessment careers'
illuminates a specific strand and offers more precise insights about how
practices produced by different assessment systems. The article draws, from the
previous study of formative study on Advanced General National Vocational
Qualifications (GNVQs, now transmogrified as Advanced Vocational
Certificates in Education – Vocational A Levels), the following are the
conclusions:
 Even at the very earliest stages of children’s schooling, their and the ways
in which they construct their identity as learners through interaction with
teachers and each other, influence their ability to use formative assessment
opportunities productively;

There is a need to conduct a more detail study on the construction of
assessment regime by structural, cultural and political factors
Hayward L., Hedge, N. (2005). Travelling towards change in assessment: policy,
practice and research in education. Assessment in Education: Principles,
Policy & Practice, 12 (1), 55 – 75.
(Printed)
Holmes-Smith, P. (2005). Assessment for learning: Using statewide - Literacy &
numeracy tests as diagnostic tools. Paper presented at Australian Council
for Educational Research (ACER) Research Conference 2005. Melbourne,
7-9 August.
(Printed)
The author believes that the standards of learning could be raised by supporting
classroom teachers to make better use of formative assessment, and Literacy &
Numeracy tests being the diagnostic tools is a good place to start with.
Izard, J. F. (2004). Best practice in assessment for learning. Paper presented at
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the Third Conference of the Association of Commonwealth Examinations
and Accreditation Bodies on Redefining the Roles of Educational
Assessment, March 8-12, 2004, Nadi, Fiji: South Pacific Board for
Educational Assessment.
(Printed)
This paper looks at the requirements for using assessment for teaching and
learning and addresses threats to the validity of assessments to evaluate progress.
These threats include failure to use appropriate samples of tasks in assessments,
use of uncalibrated tasks, and inappropriate scoring procedures and methods of
interpreting data.
Poehner, M. E., & Lantolf, J. P. (2005). Dynamic assessment in the language
classroom. Language Teaching Research, 9 (3), 233-265.
(Printed)
The focus of this paper is on the implementation of Dynamic Assessment
(henceforth, DA) in the L2 classroom setting. This paper argues that dynamic
assessment is more than a special type of formative assessment. It is a
pedagogical approach constructed upon a specific theory of mind and mental
development.
Pryor, J. & Crossouard, B. (2005). A sociocultural theorization of formative
assessment. Paper presented at the Sociocultural Theory in Educational
Research and Practice Conference (8th and 9th September 2005),
University of Manchester.
(Printed)
This paper draws on the authors’ empirical research conducted over eleven years
in educational situations ranging from infant schools to postgraduate education.
It emphasizes formative assessment as a social practice of participation in
discourse, involving dialectical, sometimes conflictual, process. These bring into
play issues of power in which learners’ and teachers’ identities are implicated
and what counts as legitimate knowledge is framed by institutional discourses
and assessment demands.
Roos, B. & Hamilton, D. (2005) Formative assessment: a cybernetic viewpoint.
Assessment in Education, 12 (1), 7-20.
(Printed)
This paper considers alternative assessment, feedback and cybernetics. It
suggests that different conceptions of mind lie behind these tensions and, to
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mark the autonomy and integrity of formative assessment, it offers an alternative,
univalent descriptor: 'constructivist assessment'.
Sadler, R. (1989). Formative assessment and the design of instructional systems.
Instructional Science, 18 , 119 - 144. (Printed)
This paper identifies four successive phases in the study of written feedback to
students' compositions. The studies included in these phases are distinguished
by views of writing instruction reflected in their theoretical frameworks
Sadler, R. (1998). Formative assessment: Revisiting the territory. Assessment in
Education: Principles, Policies and Practice, 5 (1), 77 - 85
(Printed)
The author comments on several themes of Black & Wiliam’s (1998) paper:
Assessment and classroom learning. In the conclusion part, the author recalls the
importance of quality feedback in formative assessment, as well as the
accessibility of the feedbacks to the learners.
Threlfall, J. (2005). The formative use of assessment information in planning –
The notion of contingent planning. British Journal of Educational Studies,
53 (1) 54-65.
(Printed)
This article discusses the relationship between assessment information and
teacher planning, and the problems related to TGATs (Curriculum Task Group
on Assessment and Testing) notion of ‘plan the next steps’. The article criticizes
‘plan the next steps’ as too demanding on teachers’ knowledge, and it proposes
the mechanism of ‘contingent planning’ as the solution to the planning problems
under the implementation of formative assessment.
Topping, K. (1998). Peer assessment between students in colleges and universities.
Review of Educational Research, 68 (3), 249-276.
A definition and typology of peer assessment between students in higher
education is proposed, and the theoretical underpinnings of the method are
discussed. A review of the developing literature follows, including both process
and outcome studies.
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Wininger, S. R. (2005). Teacher candidates' exposure to formative assessment in
educational psychology textbooks: A content analysis. Educational
Assessment 10 (1), 19-37.
(Printed)
This article outlines the key definitions of, and the means of conducting
formative assessment in classrooms. The paper also conducts content analysis of
current educational psychology text books, and discusses the theoretical linkage
between formative assessment and several important motivational constructs.
Wynne, H. (2003). Enhancing inquiry through formative assessment. Institute for
Inquiry Exploratorium, San Francisco.
(Printed)
This monograph sets out research evidence and theoretical points supporting the
claim that effective formative assessment can raise student achievement. Due to
the nature of formative assessment, however, the benefits cannot be secured
without considerable change in education policy and practice. To that end, the
final section of this document examines the actions required to bring about these
changes.
Yorke, M. (2003). Formative assessment in higher education: Moves towards
theory and the enhancement of pedagogic practice. Higher Education, 45
(4), 477-501.
(Printed)
In this paper, a sketch is offered for the direction that theoretical development in
respect of formative assessment might take. It states that formative assessment
may be either constructive or inhibitory towards learning. Suggestions are made
regarding research in formative assessment, and how research might contribute
to the development of pedagogic practice.
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