The questions about formative assessment we hear most often

One of the benefits of working with schools across our network is the opportunity to engage in great conversations about teaching and learning. Few topics generate as many questions as formative assessment.

These are important questions and we value opportunities to discuss these kinds of issues with schools in your network.

Here are our thoughts, we would love to hear what you think.

Haven’t we been talking about this for years?

Yes, we have, and for good reason. Formative assessment is now widely acknowledged to be at the heart of effective teaching and learning – and as such, it isn’t something we can afford to treat as ‘done’ or ‘fully mastered’. Instead, it is something we need to keep circling back to, revisiting and refining. It brings us into interesting and nuanced discussions about how we communicate and how we understand learning. Socratic questioning has been around even longer (about 2,400 years longer), but it doesn’t mean there isn’t more to learn about how we use questions.

“The T&L development work we have done on Embedding Formative Assessment has been the most powerful and transformative T&L strategy I have been part of during my time at Balfour”
Sir Graham Balfour School

Isn’t it just good teaching and learning?

Yes, in a way it is. When we explore embedding formative assessment, we are unapologetically rooted in the day-to-day of classroom practice. It isn’t about doing something totally different, it is about considering how we can make what we already do even more effective. Some teachers will develop effective formative assessment techniques quite instinctively, others might need more guidance. The point is that everyone can improve, no matter what their starting point. As Dylan Wiliam says, “teaching is such a complex craft, it would take more than one lifetime to master it.”

Aren’t we doing all of this already?

Possibly. There is no doubt that some schools have highly effective practice in formative assessment. Of course, most teachers are aware of formative assessment, but is practice consistently embedded in all classrooms? Formative assessment remains one of the most frequently cited areas for improvement in Ofsted inspections, which suggests that there is still room for refinement and greater consistency. It is common for teachers to be familiar with certain formative assessment techniques, e.g. use of mini-whiteboards, without fully understanding the underlying principles. When teachers fully understand the principles, they can apply a wide range of techniques confidently and successfully, adapting to the evidence of learning they are seeing in the moment.

“Teachers have been picking and choosing what works for them, for their students, their subjects, and their classes. It’s all backed up by research – we know it works.”
The Hayling College

Is it just about assessment? Isn’t it more important to think about what you do with what you learn?

Formative assessment is, and has always been about more than the process of assessment. The Oxford English Dictionary’s definition of ‘formative’ is “having an important and lasting influence on the development of something.”  We often talk about something being a formative experience – in other words, something which shaped what followed. No assessment is formative unless it is being used to inform what comes next.

A common misunderstanding is the idea that formative assessment ends with the assessment, when it is just the beginning of the process. To separate the evidence gathering (assessment) from the follow up action (adapting your teaching) is a false dichotomy. The two are, or should be intrinsically linked. Formative assessment is about both.

And by assessment, we mean all of the information available to a teacher, including their observations and judgements. It is about using the evidence (in its widest sense) that we have available and then acting on it – both in real time in lessons and in the longer term in lesson planning and curriculum design.

As Dylan Wiliam says “Better evidence. Better decisions. Better learning.”

Isn’t it more about adaptive teaching now?

Terminology comes and goes, and lots of people are talking about adaptive teaching currently. Some articulations of adaptive teaching provide helpful insights into the familiar challenge of trying to meet differing needs within the classroom. Broadly, adaptive teaching and formative assessment cover very similar ground – understanding the progress of learners and adapting teaching in light of this. Dylan Wiliam’s principles of formative assessment go further than most explanations of adaptive teaching, in that they consider the role of the learner, as well as the role of the teacher. You can read more about the connections between formative assessment and adaptive teaching in our recent article.

We have been told we need to improve standards quickly, does that mean the EFA programme isn’t right for us?

We understand a two-year programme isn’t exactly a quick fix. It may be that there are rapid changes that you want to make. But, sustainable, deeply embedded improvements in teaching practice require habit change in your team, and that isn’t achieved through quick fixes.

A focus on formative assessment is one of the most powerful ways to improve the quality of teaching and learning and raise outcomes in your school. It not only supports practice in formative assessment, but also collaboration between teachers and a better understanding of implementation. Our EFA programme remains the only programme in EEF trials to have shown a demonstrable impact on students’ outcomes and teachers’ practice in secondary schools. The programme provides a structured approach to support teachers in working together to improve day-to-day classroom practice.

“In an ever-changing educational landscape, the EFA programme has proven to be an immensely powerful tool, not just for improving individual learning outcomes, but for fostering a positive, forward-looking school culture.”
Hunters Bar Junior School

The EEF research trial findings focused on secondary schools, does the programme work for specialist and primary settings?

The research trials did include specialist settings with a secondary phase – and the outcomes for those schools was equally positive. Whilst the research trials focused on secondary provision, the EFA programme had its roots in primary and specialist settings and there is exemplary practice in primary schools within our network, such as Chorley New Road Primary School, who lead an EFA franchise, and the work done at Hunters Bar Junior School. The programme works in all settings because the focus is on the team in that school exploring key ideas and working creatively and collaboratively to think about how they can apply Dylan Wiliam’s principles in their context.

“… it has raised standards in lessons for all students regardless of their prior attainment, gender, socioeconomic status or SEND need by giving students much more of what they individually need to succeed.”
Sir Graham Balfour School

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