The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore three questions regarding formative assessment (FA) and Student-Involved assessment strategies among five middle years teachers in Saskatoon Public Schools. The questions were one, what were the beliefs of the teachers regarding formative assessment and student involved assessment? as well as two, what were their perceptions about attitudes of students, parents, and the community about these innovative assessment practices? and thirdly, what did the teachers believe would support teachers in taking up formative assessment and student-involved assessment? The five participating teachers had varying lengths of service ranging from five to over twenty-five years. Teachers were interviewed in a semi-structured style during one forty-five minute interview, each. Teachers were provided with sample prompts in order to facilitate the conversation. Teachers reported using FA and student involved assessment strategies with mixed results. Teachers used strategies and modified them on occasion to suit the learning conditions, to allow for time constraints, or to accelerate the pace of instruction. Teachers also reported using FA and student-involved assessment strategies primarily in subject areas in which they felt most comfortable and relied on more traditional summative assessments in subject areas in which they were less comfortable. Teachers stated there were varying degrees of support from colleagues, school based administrators, and school division consultants. The support generally disappeared if the school based administrator whose emphasis was FA and student-involved assessment left the school for a different assignment. Some participants reported taking initiative to pursue FA of their own accord, but were left to roll out the initiative on their own. Teachers described mixed results with other stakeholders in these processes as well. Generally parents and students were less interested in FA and student-involved assessment and showed a preference for summative evaluations such as percentages and letter grades. Implications of these findings are that teachers are not appropriately trained in student assessment and support for formative assessment is inconsistent. Students are often omitted from the unpacking of curricula, are not accountable for collection of their own assessment data and are not held responsible to act upon any formative assessment feedback in order to improve their learning. This study led to the following definition of formative assessment: formative assessment is the demonstration by students they can act upon descriptive feedback to show they have achieved a learning outcome regardless of mode (oral, written, performance, etc.).

Följande arbete handlar om bedömning som ett pedagogiskt verktyg för att främja elevers lärande och kunskapsutveckling, en så kallad formativ bedömning eller bedömning för lärande. Arbetets forsknings- och litteraturgenomgång behandlar, utifrån syftet, vilka förutsättningar som krävs för en formativ bedömning och hur lärare kan arbeta med en sådan bedömning. Skolans styrdokument förespråkar en formativ bedömning, varpå undersökningens syfte är att beskriva hur denna bedömning upplevs av elever för att kunna analysera och påvisa vilka förutsättningar eleverna ges till att utveckla sitt lärande. Utifrån arbetets inriktning fokuserar undersökningen på elevers upplevelser av den formativa bedömningen i de samhällsorienterade ämnena, i grundskolans tidigare år. Arbetets syfte är uppdelat i de preciserade frågeställningarna: Vad innebär det att arbeta med formativ bedömning? Hur upplever elever bedömningen i de samhällsorienterade ämnena? På vilka sätt blir eleverna involverade i bedömningsarbetet i de samhällsorienterade ämnena? Undersökningen genomfördes med fokusgruppsintervjuer, med totalt 15 elever i årskurs 5-6 uppdelade i fyra olika fokusgrupper. Resultaten av fokusgrupperna visar att de formativa inslagen i bedömningsarbetet i de samhällsorienterade ämnena överlag lyser med sin frånvaro. De förutsättningar som krävs för den formativa bedömningen upplevs inte i större utsträckning i dessa ämnen utav eleverna, vilket behöver förändras om bedömningsarbetet ska kunna främja elevernas lärande och kunskapsutveckling. / The following assignment is about assessment as a didactic tool to promote pupils learning and knowledge development, called formative assessment or assessment for learning. The assignments research and literature review describes, according to the purpose, the preconditions for a formative assessment and how teachers can work according to this. The schools governing documents indicates a formative assessment, upon which the research purpose is to describe how this assessment is experienced by pupils to be able to analyze and show what conditions are given to the pupils to develop their learning. The research focuses, based on the direction of the work, on pupils experiences of the formative assessment in civics in elementary school. The assignments purpose is divided into these following questions: What does it mean to work with formative assessment? How do the pupils experience the assessment in civics? In which ways will the pupils be involved in the assessments of civics? The research was conducted with focus group interviews, a total of 15 pupils in grade 5-6 were divided into four different focus groups. The result of these groups shows that the formative components of assessments in the civics generally are absent. The conditions required for the formative assessment is not experienced to a greater extent in these substances out of the pupils, which needs to be changed if the assessment process are to promote the pupils learning and knowledge development.

The ultimate purpose of this study was to investigate how to best prepare Singapore students for the Knowledge-based Economy (KBE). Investigating the possible need for the realignment of the primary science assessment to the KBE was of utmost interest as assessment was viewed as the driver of the actual curriculum. This was a mixed methods design study (Creswell, 2005). Fifteen teachers were first interviewed to ascertain the major features of primary school science assessment in both Perth, Western Australia and Singapore. A list of twelve questions was prepared for the eight teacher interviewees in Singapore and the seven teacher interviewees in Perth. The NUD*IST program was used to help organise trends in these teacher responses. Definitions of KBE skills were synthesised from literature reviews and validated by the fifteen teachers for the subsequent survey. The survey involved a list of demographic questions and two matrices. The first matrix required the teachers to rate, on a four-point scale, the use of the eleven assessment modes for the twelve 'process' and KBE skills. The second matrix was a frequency check to determine if the teachers had used a particular mode to assess a particular skill. One hundred and forty-five usable surveys were analysed. The Rasch analysis was performed through RUMM2020 program and unfolding model was sought through the program RateFOLD. The interviews first established that KBE skills and a variety of assessment modes were needed for today's classes. The survey confirmed these needs and found that the paper and pencil test was the most frequently used assessment procedures in Singapore and Perth. In both interviews and the survey, teachers were requested to match the skill(s) to the appropriate assessment mode(s) though the details and justification of such tasks were explained by the teachers in the interviews. In the process, other factors such as 'time constraints' and 'ranking of the teachers' were uncovered as 'hindrances' to teachers assessing the students appropriately for learning. The problems identified by the Singapore teachers were a lack of time, overloaded syllabi and the crucial perceived need of assessment of learning (high-stake summative tests). The results of both the interviews and survey supported the need for a variety of assessment modes (Gray & Sharp, 2001; Hackling, 2004; National Research Council, 1996, 2001 & 2003; Sebatane, 1998; Sterenberg, 1998) to help students learn science in today's contemporary classes. The Singapore teachers in this study were also appealing for help from the policy-makers to use a variety of assessment modes as the system that stipulated the use of the paper and pencil testing was beyond their control and jurisdiction. Recommendations that stemmed from this study include allowing teachers to use a variety of assessments to assess the students' learning in the high-stake Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) and not just the paper and pencil mode that has been in used for at least the last thirty years. There are important implications as the learning theories that are currently used to support the assessment of learning are no longer sufficient nor in total alignment with the needs for today's class. For example, a behaviourist taxonomy of skills emphasises the measurable output and not the process of learning. Socio-constructivist approaches that focus on the individual constructing meaning in hislher context such as the use of ongoing formative assessment to encourage feedback (Black & Wiliam, 1998a & b) may assist in engaging the students in lifelong learning which is required in the KBE. Lastly, the significance of this study lies in two aspects, the practical and the scholarly. This study provides the evidence for the need primary science assessment to be more aligned to contemporary needs. This in turn will assist in better preparing the young of Singapore, who are the nation's only natural resource, for the workforce. This study also aims to contribute to the body of knowledge in three ways. Firstly, KBE needs will be connected to the primary science classroom via assessment of skills. Secondly, both KBE and process skills were found to be more appropriately assessed by assessment modes such as portfolio and paper and pencil respectively, as demonstrated through the analysis by Rasch and unfolding models. Thirdly, the gap between the implemented and official curriculum will be narrowed with this proposed change in assessment processes.

Research shows that schools are largely a professional solo cultures (Blossing 2014), which impede teachers' professional development as learning takes place in social interaction and through living-practice dilemmas (Wenger 1998/2004). Changing cultures is difficult, not least in the world of education that on the whole has been a solo culture since the establishment of convent schools.The purpose of this study is to investigate whether teachers believe that through professional collaboration in the form of Teacher Learning Community (TLC) has contributed their knowledge and compentence in the field of embedding formative assessment. TLC is a sort of community of practice for improve teaching. The study works according to the hypothesis that “Teachers believe that professional collaboration in the form of Teacher Learning Community (TLC) has contributed to their knowledge and expertise in the field of embedding formative assessment”. The study was conducted at a large secondary school in central Sweden which organized its collegial learning according to TLC and exclusively worked to develop and modify instruction regarding embedding formative assessment during five years before the study. The theoretical approach applied is based on the tradition of "school improvement" with a human relational and group dynamic organizational based on social-constructivism) (Schein, 1994; Giddens, 1984; Wenger 1998/2004; Schmuck & Runkel, 1994; Blossing 2008; Scherp 1998). The study is quantitative and was conducted using a questionnaire, processed through a factor analysis, that is, a multivariate analysis. The analysis was conducted in four stages: stage 1: factor analysis to reduce factors exceeding the value of 1; step 2: categorization of all questions related to the component; step 3: measurement of the homogeneity of issues with Cronbach's Alpha; step 4: hypothesis testing in Person. The correlation was 0,686 (p<0,001). This is a so called census survey and the high response rate gave the study high validity. The study concluded that it is possible to change a school's historic solo culture to a collaborative team culture through systematic collegial cooperation in the form of TLC, and as a result to change the current teaching patterns.

Assessment for Learning (AfL) has been seen as a key aspect of teaching and learning for almost two decades, since the seminal review by Black and Wiliam (1998a). However, the research has largely been conducted with practising teachers rather than student teachers. This thesis attempts to fill this gap in relation to AfL, and illustrate that understanding how student teachers learn to use conceptual resources, such as AfL, can inform the work of all those who support the learning of teachers in training. The present study investigated how four secondary geography student teachers on a one year post-graduate training programme in England worked with ideas associated with AfL in their teaching during two school placements. The study asked how and why they used AfL or, as became evident, Assessment of Learning (AoL) in their teaching and what their use of AfL might tell us about their learning to teach in schools. The thesis adopted a cultural-historical approach to investigate the actions in activities of the student teachers as they learnt to teach. The four students were followed over two terms in their two placement schools to gather data on their trajectories as learners and beginning teachers. Data collection methods were: (i) semi-structured interviews with the four students; interviews with their teacher mentors and other school staff; and (ii) regular post-lesson interviews with the student teachers, following observations of their teaching. The cultural-historical approach led to examining AfL as a potential tool to be used by the student teachers in their teaching. Engeström's (1990, 1999, 2007) work on tool use and mediating artefacts was deployed to analyse the student teachers' use of AfL and what they saw as its purposes. The attention to purposes of tool use in the study was also informed by Hedegaard's (2012, 2014) work on motives in institutional practices, the activities in the practices and the actions taken by student teachers. This approach pointed to how the institutional motives and demands embedded in school practices influenced their learning. The study also paid attention to the identity work being done by the student teachers. This work was most apparent when the student teachers moved from their first to second placement school and worked with a different set of demands in institutional practices. One early finding was that although school colleagues and student teachers were using the label AfL, closer examination revealed that they were actually using AoL. Key findings from the final analyses were as follows: there was considerable variation in how the geography specialist teacher mentors interpreted and used AfL; some mentors were strongly mediating the AfL/AoL expectations evident in the school inspection system in England; there was evidence of some strong and challenging mentoring, but it was not consistent across the experiences of the students; the students' own sense of the kind of teacher they wanted to become could be tracked in ways which revealed how they coped with the different school demands and what they saw as university expectations; the transition between placement schools was significant for the student teachers in ways that had not been anticipated by the design of the programme. Following the student teachers as learners offered insights into their experiences in the black box of school placements during teacher education. Consequently, the implications for the design of teacher education programmes are a key part of the discussion stimulated by the findings.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty Of Education in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree Of Doctor Of Philosophy (D.Ed) in Science Education in the Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education at the University Of Zululand, 2018 / Classroom assessment is an essential component of teaching and learning. It should be an on-going process that improves instruction rather than a periodic evaluation of what has been achieved. This study was designed to investigate teachers’ and learners’ conceptions and experiences about assessment for learning (AfL) and its impact on learners’ performance in Life Science. Simple random sampling was used to select four schools from the uThungulu district to participate in the study. Two of the selected schools constituted the Treatment Condition while the other two served as the Comparison Group. Altogether, 160 Grade 11 learners (forty from each participating school) participated in the study – comprised of four intact classrooms, one from each participating school. Two teachers were trained to use AfL as an instructional approach, while the teachers of the Comparison Group used their usual instructional approaches. The topic being studied by all the learners were Animal Nutrition and Cellular Respiration, lasting six weeks for the two groups. In addition, 80 Life Science teachers also took part in the study as respondents on their assessment practices in the subject. Data were collected using pre- and post-tests for the learners and a questionnaire for the teachers. These were followed by semi-structured interviews with the two teachers of the Treatment Group and selected learners from the same group. The quantitative component of the study took the form of a Quasi-Experimental Pretest-Posttest Comparison Group Design, while the qualitative component employed a hermeneutical research approach. Data were collected using a test, questionnaire, survey and semi-structured interviews. The findings revealed that the current formative assessment practices used by Life Science teachers in uThungulu district are out of alignment with the principles of formative assessment as directed by the Department of Basic Education (DBE). Furthermore, the respondents’ conceptions of AfL did not influence their classroom assessment and instructional practices. On the question of learner performance following the six week instructional intervention, the study found that learners in the Treatment Group performed significantly higher than learners’ in the Comparison Group. From these results, recommendations are made to influence both policy and classroom practice. Investigating the wide variety of assessment practices has allowed me to come to understand the culture of assessment within the AfL approach, where assessment placed learners at the center of learning to help support the learning process. Learners’ views/experiences about AfL approach suggests that AfL instructional approach constitutes a better strategy that makes learning a more enjoyable and pleasant experience.

An early childhood assessment tool was developed by the author to fill a need for an observational, authentic, child assessment instrument that would include the measurement of social and emotional development, help guide teachers towards best curriculum practices, and meet common criteria for effective, appropriate, and equitable assessment. Theoretical constructs of interactionalism, multiple intelligences, dispositions, and developmentally appropriate practices were used to inform the construction of the tool. In addition, the author hoped to develop a tool that would be effective for use as a Head Start program evaluation research instrument. Research methods involved a representative random sample of 200 children in four early childhood programs in two northwest states and the use of two different surveys, one completed by 15 early childhood experts and one by 114 users of the assessment. The Oregon Assessment was found to be an instrument with an acceptable degree of item, curricula, and construct validity; a high level of test-retest, inter-rater, and internal reliability (coefficient alpha = .879); and an acceptable degree utility. Only one item out of 60 was found to have low item validity, and three other items were rated lower than others (although generally positive) on both item and curricula validity. It was found to have significant but moderate congruent validity with total scores on The McCarthy Scales for Children and The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. Users throughout the U.S. found it generally useful – nearly 87 of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the results accurately reflect the skills, behaviors, and abilities of their children. The length of time it takes to administer emerged as a concern from some users. Recommendations were made to refine the instrument and user manual and to develop a shorter version. It was found to have great potential use as a research instrument for program evaluation and for promoting best practices in early childhood programs.

This study sought to improve the learning outcomes at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. Here, missionary trainees aged 19-24 are taught language and doctrine in an accelerated environment. In an effort to improve learning outcomes, the effect of formative feedback provided to students and summary feedback provided to teachers was assessed in a 2x2 factorial design with a separate control group. Four dependent variables were assessed including (a) doctrinal knowledge, (b) knowledge of teaching principles, (c) language grammar, and (d) ability to speak in a foreign language. The results showed that students who received immediate formative feedback outperformed students who did not receive such feedback. However, providing summary feedback to teachers did not lead to an increase in achievement. The interaction effect was not statistically significant. The results indicated that students who completed formative assessments significantly outperformed students who did not complete such assessments.

This study sought to improve the language learning outcomes at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. Young men and women between the ages of 19-24 are taught a foreign language in an accelerated environment. In an effort to improve learning outcomes, computer-based practice and teaching of language performance criteria were provided to missionaries in an effort to allow them to progress at their own pace outside of the classroom. The effect of computer-based practice and the teaching of language performance criteria were assessed in a 2x2 factorial design. The dependent variable was speaking proficiency in the Spanish language. This variable was assessed in two different ways: (a) human-rated speaking proficiency and (b) computer-scored speaking proficiency. Results suggest that the teaching of language performance criteria increases speaking proficiency over those who are not taught the criteria. Missionary trainee responses also indicate that the training of criteria helped the trainees to evaluate their own performance and the performance of other language speakers. Missionary trainees also reported that this training helped them to see their own progress and to set appropriate learning goals.

Thesis (M. Ed. (Mathematics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / The purpose of this study was to document my enactment of the five key strategies of assessment for learning in my mathematics classroom to account for learners' mathematical understanding. I used a constructivism teaching experiment methodology to explore learners' mathematical activities as they interacted in the classroom. Twenty-five learners from my Grade 10 mathematics class took part in the study. Data were gathered through classroom observations, written work samples from learners, and the teacher's reflective journal. My enactment of the five key strategies enabled learners to participate in classroom discussions, collaborate with their peers, and use self-assessment tools while engaging in classroom interactions. The major findings revealed that, through my enactment of the five key strategies, learners developed conceptual understanding, procedural fluency and strategic competence of the concepts taught. In addition, practices such as the development of lesson plans detailing how the five key strategies will be enacted in the classroom, use of comment – only feedback for grading learners’ work, creating a conducive learning environment to allow the use of peer and self-assessment allowed for a meaningful enactment of assessment for learning in my classroom. Strategies four and five, whose primary goal is to encourage learners' participation in the lesson, were critical in promoting learners' mathematical understanding.