Transforming Formative Assessment in Lifelong Learning

Get the most out of testing for your students

Despite good intentions for formative assessment to enhance the quality of students' learning and motivation, it is widely misunderstood. Throughout the education system, it has become little more than a way of coaching students to meet the demands of summative assessment. Transforming Formative Assessment in Lifelong Learning combines theory, research and practical insights to demonstrate how you can enhance your understanding of formative assessment, particularly in vocational and adult education settings that are under pressure to meet targets for inclusion, retention and achievement.

Drawing on recent research, the book includes six case studies that draw out the implications of the research findings to suggest ways in which you can change your assessment practice, despite the pressures in your own contexts.

It considers:

• What is formative assessment, and what is it not?
• What impact do political and social factors have on assessment practices?
• Why do similar assessment practices have different effects in different 'learning cultures'?
• What role does subject knowledge play in educationally worthwhile formative assessment?
• How can teachers, lecturers and other education professionals improve formative assessment?

Kathryn Ecclestone is a professor of education and social inclusion at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom.