Critical Issues in Formative Assessment

NCME conference, April 2013, San Francisco, CA

Q1: What theoretical questions are most important to address for moving the field of formative assessment forward?

Dylan Wiliam

Theoretical questions3

Need for clear definitions So that research outcomes are commensurable

Theorization and definition Possible variables

Category (instruments, outcomes, functions) Beneficiaries (teachers, learners) Timescale (months, weeks, days, hours, minutes) Consequences (outcomes, instruction, decisions) Theory of action (what gets formed?)

An inclusive definition…4

An assessment functions formatively to the extent that evidence about student achievement is elicited, interpreted, and used by teachers, learners, or their peers, to make decisions about future instruction that are likely to be better, or better founded, than the decisions that would have been taken in the absence of that evidence.

Q2: What empirical research is most needed to support the further development of formative assessment theory and practice?

Dylan Wiliam

Empirical research questions6

Accounting for current variation in empirical outcomes in terms of theoretical clarifications

Experiments with formative assessment programs Experiments have to be large

Clustering Magnitude of educational effect sizes

Fidelity of implementation Intention to treat vs. received treatment analyses

Need to broaden what counts as evidence

Q3: What factors are most central to the successful implementation of formative assessment on the large scale called for by the Common Core State Assessment Consortia?

Dylan Wiliam

Implementation questions8

Articulation with other policy priorities Teacher evaluation frameworks (Marzano, Danielson) Differentiated instruction Response to (instruction and) intervention

Policy environment Teacher pre-service education Commitment to continuous improvement

District-level policies that require all teachers to improve Improvement focused on evidence-based practices

Focus