Paul Black and Dylan William provide a review of literature on the value of formative (process) assessment in action research settings. Here are some choice quotes and several conclusions from Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards Through Classroom Assessment.
On self-esteem: A report of schools in Switzerland states that "a number of pupils . . . are content to 'get by.' . . .
Every teacher who wants to practice formative assessment must reconstruct the teaching contracts so as to counteract the
habits acquired by his pupils."
The conclusion: "...feedback to any pupil should be about the particular qualities of his or her work, with advice on what he or she can do to improve, and should avoid comparisons with other pupils."
On self-assessment by pupils: "Many successful innovations have developed
self- and peer-assessment by pupils as ways of
enhancing formative assessment, and such work has achieved some success with pupils from age 5 upward. This link of
formative assessment to self-assessment is not an accident; indeed, it is inevitable."
The conclusion: "...if formative assessment is to be productive, pupils should be trained in self-assessment so that they can understand the main purposes of their learning and thereby grasp what they need to do to achieve."
On the evolution of effective teaching: "The research studies ... show very clearly that effective programs of
formative assessment involve far more than the addition of a few observations and tests to an existing program. They require
careful scrutiny of all the main components of a teaching plan. Indeed, it is clear that instruction and formative assessment are
indivisible."
The conclusion: "...ways of managing formative assessment that work with the assumptions of "untapped potential" do help all pupils to learn and can give particular help to those who have previously struggled.
On policies: "Changing the policy perspective. The assumptions that drive national and state policies for assessment have to be called into
question. The promotion of testing as an important component for establishing a competitive market in education can be very
harmful. The more recent shifting of emphasis toward setting targets for all, with assessment providing a touchstone to help
check pupils' attainments, is a more mature position. However, we would argue that there is a need now to move further,
to focus on the inside of the "black box" and so to explore the potential of assessment to raise standards directly as
an integral part of each pupil's learning work."
The conclusion: "It follows from this view that several changes are needed. First, policy ought to start with a recognition that the prime locus for raising standards is the classroom, so that the overarching priority has to be the promotion and support of change within the classroom. Attempts to raise standards by reforming the inputs to and measuring the outputs from the black box of the classroom can be helpful, but they are not adequate on their own. Indeed, their helpfulness can be judged only in light of their effects in classrooms."
