Definition
Noting in a widely cited review that the term formative assessment "does not have a tightly defined and widely accepted meaning", Black and Wiliam operate an umbrella definition of "all those activities undertaken by teachers, and/or by students, which provide information to be used as feedback to modify the teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged.". Along similar lines, Cowie and Bell define formative assessment as "the process used by teachers and students to recognise and respond to student learning in order to enhance that learning, during the learning". Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick, who emphasise the role students can play in producing formative assessments state that "formative assessment aids learning by generating feedback information that is of benefit to students and to teachers. Feedback on performance, in class or on assignments, enables students to restructure their understanding/skills and build more powerful ideas and capabilities."
Formative assessment is typically contrasted with summative assessment. The former supports teachers and students in decision-making during educational and learning processes, while the latter occurs at the end of a learning unit and determines if the content being taught was retained. Ainsworth p. 23 (2006)
Formative assessment is not distinguished by the format of assessment, but by how the information is used. The same test may act as either formative or summative. However, some methods of assessment are better suited to one or the other purpose.
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