The Role, Purpose and Power of Assessment FOR Learning in an Assessment System – Margaret Heritage

Featured Presentation

The purpose of formative assessment is to inform ongoing teaching and learning in everyday classroom practice rather than to measure it or sum it up. In this presentation, formative assessment will be considered within the framework of a comprehensive assessment system as a means to ensure the learning needs of all students are continuously and consistently addressed. The presentation will explore what formative assessment is, what it is not, and why educators and other stakeholders should care about it; the distinctive yet complementary roles of teachers and students in formative assessment and how these are operationalized in the classroom; and the optimal classroom culture for formative assessment. The presentation will also consider the status of formative assessment implementation in the United States. Drawing on cross-national policy contexts, the presentation will also address how formative assessment can be promoted through policy and professional learning.

Framing Questions

1. How does the use of formative assessment practices improve students’ learning?
2. Why do students need to be partners in the assessment process?
3. How do assessment practices in the U.S. compare to those in other countries?