| In current research literature, formative assessment has been identified as having the potential for tracking student progress to ensure high-stakes test preparedness. Formative assessment has several shades of meaning. This study defines it as an ongoing process that utilizes all of the moment-by-moment day-by-day pieces of data that can be collected through listening to students, observing them and reviewing the various products of their work. Black and Wiliam have found that teachers who appear to be the most effective at using formative assessment include the following three elements in their practice: (1) the use of student data to measure the gap between student learning and some reference level, (2) the provision of specific, focused feedback, and (3) instructional adjustments based on student data.;This study sought to determine if a sample of grade 7 mathematics teachers were more or less effective at using the three key elements of formative assessment. The results indicate that these teachers were more effective at identifying the mathematical concepts used in a mathematics formative assessment, recognizing student misconceptions, and providing specific feedback to correct student misconceptions, but they were less effective at determining next instructional steps. This has possible implications for the design of professional development in formative assessment and for teacher preparation programs. |
