The term "formative assessment" is often used to describe a type of assessment. The purpose of this paper is to challenge the use of this phrase given that "formative assessment" as a noun phrase ignores the well-established understanding that it is a process more than an object. A model that combines content, context, and strategies is presented as one way to view the process nature of assessing formatively. The alternate phrase "formative use of assessment information" is suggested as a more appropriate way to describe how content, context, and strategies can be used together in order to close the gap between where a student is performing currently and the intended learning goal. (Contains 1 figure.)