Theorizing Formative Assessment: Time for a Change in Thinking

Abstract

Critics argue that formative assessment, an educational intervention that has been embraced globally and researched extensively, lacks a theoretical frame. In this essay, the author argues that because formative assessment is embedded in the learning that takes place in the classroom, the theory that underpins formative assessment would have to be a theory of learning and not of assessment.

Key words:

• assessment for learning
• formative assessment
• theory of formative assessment

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank Dr. Abdul Moeed, Sally Sellwood, and Susan Kaiser for stimulating discussions and their comments on earlier drafts.