The policy and mission of the Swedish upper secondary school highlight the importance of developing students’ learning. Formative assessment is commonly used for this purpose. However, a prerequisite for formative assessment is a consensus between the student and the teacher. As a result, there are challenges regarding students enrolled into the introductory programmes due to these students’ lack of motivation. The aim of this study is to examine English teachers’ experiences of formative assessment in the Swedish introductory programmes IMS and IMA. The study took a qualitative approach and was conducted by semi-structured interviews with 5 teachers. The results show that the experience differs among the teachers, but all participants recognize the benefits of formative assessment for making the students’ learning process visible. Moreover, the effects of formative assessment are particularly evident when the students receive feedback during the writing process. However, a prominent challenge regards when students lack motivation to take an active part in their own learning process. The results of this study are of importance because teachers continue to teach unmotivated students in a formative manner despite the limited effects and students’ expressed need of a more summative assessment.