The Relation of Teachers' Use of Classroom Formative Assessment Strategies to Summative Reading Results

Abstract

In the research reviewed for this study, there is strong evidence and consensus among researchers that the formative assessment process used by teachers and students during instruction has very powerful and positive effects on student achievement. Summative, large scale assessments, and a focus on standards and accountability that ignore the process of teaching and learning in classroom, do not provide the direction that teachers need to inform instruction and improve student learning. The purpose of this study was to determine the relation between “end of year” student growth on the Northwest Evaluation Association/Measures of Academic Performance (NWEA/MAP) reading assessments and teachers’ classroom formative assessment practices. For the purpose of this study, end of year classroom assessment results were compared to teacher formative assessment survey results. Results of this study revealed an overall significant positive effect on reading achievement in classrooms where teachers engage in more frequent use of formative assessment strategies. On average, teachers who engage in more frequent use (1-3 times a day) of formative assessment strategies compared to teachers who engage in less frequent use (1-3 times a week or less) of these strategies, realized a significant, positive effect of plus sixteen (+16%) on the end of year classroom reading results as measured by the NWEA/MAP assessment. Of the teachers in this study who were identified with higher end of year reading growth and achievement results, three of twelve formative assessment strategies were used significantly more often by these teachers than others were: 1) opportunities for students to analyze models of strong and weak work as it relates to the intended learning, 2) students in their classrooms can communicate what they are learning and what steps they need to take to reach their learning goals, 3) students receive feedback that is descriptive and interactive.