Formative assessment

Formative assessment is most effective, when there is a whole-school approach to it, with colleagues sharing best practice and planning for improvement.

Emphasis on formative assessment has the following effects:

pupils learn more effectively

some pupils feel more involved in ICT and become less disaffected

ICT teaching is focussed more effectively on the individual pupil

positive effects may be particularly evident in the less able

learning in the wider cross-curricular sense can be enhanced.

Black box research identified key elements of formative assessment:

  • The task should take account of prior ICT learning and clearly understood by the pupil.
  • The way in which they will be judged should be clearly understood by pupils.
  • Pupils should be aware of where they stand at the beginning of the task.
  • They should have a clear understanding of the ICT goal and how to achieve it.
  • They should be given opportunities to set their own goals.
  • They should have opportunities to make real decisions and choices.
  • Models of good work should be provided for pupils.

Questioning

  • ’Take-up time‘ should be allowed for the pupil to formulate a response.
  • The pupil's articulation of understanding is vital, even if it is incorrect.
  • Teachers very often answer their own questions – this should be avoided.
  • Answers should not be taken just from those who put their hands up (why haven't others put their hands up?)
  • Encourage pupils to ask questions.
  • Give opportunities for collaborative attempts at answering questions.
  • Encourage pupils to think about the process of their learning (‘metacognition’).

Comments

  • Tests at the end of an ICT teaching unit are too late for formative assessment.
  • Tests should be short and relatively frequent (new learning should be tested within a week). The formative use of summative tests is a powerful aspect of formative assessment.
  • Assessment should be geared to what the pupil is capable of.
  • Questions should be relevant to pupils and carefully worded.
  • Pairs and groups can explore questions and report back to others.
  • The teacher needs to understand the abilities and needs of individuals in observation exercises.
  • The teacher should adapt the teaching and learning process to react to what has been observed.
  • Formative assessment promotes confidence that every pupil can succeed as all pupils can see the progress they have made and are clear as to next steps in their ICT learning.

Feedback or informative assessment

  • should be given promptly
  • should give the pupil a sense of what has been achieved as well as improvement still to be achieved
  • marks/grades are not helpful in a formative sense and may demotivate
  • limit the number of comments, giving specific advice as to how goals can be achieved
  • oral feedback (including discussion) is most effective
  • discuss ICT targets and progress with pupils while they are working on the task
  • encourage pupils to reflect on the feedback with time to work on improvements
  • involve parents in the learning triggered by feedback.

Pupil self-assessment and pupil voice

The pupils' view of the work they have completed is an integral part of the resources that should be assessed. Self assessment sheets are designed to be used at the end of each term/topic to assess progress and attainment after the completion of a significant piece of work, such as an integrated project. They could also be used as a tool to find out individual achievement when children have been working collaboratively. There is no requirement to assess in this way after every ICT activity.

Pupil voice helps to ascertain what the children think they know (breadth and depth of the curriculum) and provides insights to pupils' perceptions of the value and purpose of ICT. In addition it provides information about behaviour and attitudes including enthusiasm and motivation. Pupil voice is also a tool to establish the nature of home use of ICT and help address the 'digital divide'. It gives ownership of learning to the pupils and raises the profile of ICT in the school.

  • Pupils need good understanding of the success criteria.
  • Pupils should make judgements about their progress towards targets.
  • Low achievers and pupils with learning difficulties can benefit from self-monitoring.
  • The discussion process in peer assessment gives valuable opportunity for pupils to talk about their developing understanding.

Formative assessment and personalisation

Personalised learning cannot be ‘done to’ a pupil – it enables pupils to learn at their own pace and must enable their ownership of the process. It means that all learners are aware of what they are learning and why and that they each know their next steps – they may develop individual learning paths to achieve success criteria, but this does not mean creating separate learning plans for a whole class. Transparent ICT learning objectives are essential and they must be understood or co-developed by pupils and they must understand how to achieve the success criteria.

Day-to-day formative assessment

Day-to-day assessment is embedded in good ICT teaching and learning, teachers consistently identify where the class and individual are in their learning. Outcomes from the assessment inform next steps and are used to refine teaching, to correct pupil misconceptions, and to set future targets. Teachers gather feedback for example through whiteboard responses or voting pads. See the document, Day-to-day assessment strategies [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] , and the following extracts for further information:

Assessment for learning is the process seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to go and how to get there.

(Learning and Reform Group, 2002)

The formative and summative purposes of assessment have become confused in practice and as a consequence assessment fails to have a truly formative role in learning. The importance of this role is argued particularly in relation to learning with understanding (deep learning). It is pointed out that the requirements of assessment for formative and summative purposes differ in several dimensions, including reliability, the reference base of judgements and the focus of the information used. This challenges the assumption that summative judgements can be formed by simple summation of formative ones. An alternative procedure for linking formative and summative assessment is proposed such that their separate functions are preserved.

(Harlen and James, 1997)

Underlying concepts

Summative assessment