In this case study, we follow the career of one student teacher (Ellen) from her pre-service training to her first year as a mathematics teacher. As part of a research project about what it means to become a mathematics teacher, the aim of the study was to gain insight into the development of formative assessment competence. To accomplish this, we…

The Integrated Quality Assessment (IQA) in China is an officially mandated system that uses student self-assessment in addition to information provided by tests and examinations and other sources to make judgements about student achievement across a range of qualities. Officially, this system of assessment serves two purposes: to help students…

Cognisant of the benefits and shortcomings of peer review in the enhancement of student learning, the current study investigated how Year 12 students engaged in this activity. Specifically, attention has been paid to how 14 secondary school statistics students experienced peer review, their perceptions of the value of feedback, and the conditions…

Building capability in assessment for learning is a goal of education systems internationally, though difficult for nations to successfully implement and sustain over time. Evidence about the positive effects of assessment for learning practices on students' learning and achievement is convincing, but implementation is made difficult by the…

Recognising that assessment literacy is a complex construct comprised of knowledge, skills, and dispositions, the authors sought to better understand how teacher candidates develop assessment literacy by focusing on the dispositional construct of approaches to assessment. Teacher candidates' approaches to classroom assessment were analysed at…

Formative assessment is a crucial aspect of teaching and learning in the classroom, but there is evidence that there has been a lack of effective implementation of formative assessment in practice. In response, this article outlines the design and development of a formative assessment framework that can be implemented as a consistent whole-school…

Secondary schools in New Zealand use assessment data for school self-evaluation, but little research has explored exactly how schools are using these data. This case study of selected high schools explored the perspectives of teachers and school leaders whose schools had recently implemented a student assessment tracking and monitoring…

The project reported in this article focused on evaluating the use of a pre-existing observation schedule to document dimensions of primary teachers' AfL practice with the intent of using this information to enhance teacher assessment capability. Using the voices of the participant teachers, challenges teachers faced were identified when observing…

Assuming that the quality of assessment for learning (AfL) is, to some extent, bound by the context of the assessment culture it thrives in, it becomes important to understand students' experiences of the cultural characteristics that are regarded as valuable for their learning. The purpose of this study is to explore and compare students'…

This article reports findings from a nationwide research project conducted in Norway to determine the impact of the national programme called Assessment for Learning (AfL, 2010-2014) on school practices and classroom practices when assessment is used as a tool for learning. Based on a conceptual mapping tool developed to analyse AfL communities,…

Cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) has been used in several development studies, but few have used it for the purposes of formative assessment. This article reports from a study where the activity system was used to conduct a historical and actual-empirical analysis of the assessment culture at a purposively selected school. The article…

Formative assessment has been shown to have the power to positively affect student achievement, but professional-development initiatives for teachers to substantially develop their formative assessment practices have been frequently unsuccessful. In this study, a random selection of Year-7 teachers participated in a professional-development…

The purpose of this study is to better understand the norms, processes, and implications of a standards-based assessment (SBA) system in a project-based, STEM-focused secondary school in the United States. The SBA system had both formative and summative components in relation to classroom teaching and grading, respectively. We focus on both…

Student voice makes a valuable contribution in the effort to evaluate the impact of Assessment for Learning (AfL) as it is the student learning that AfL practices seek to enhance. The authors report on a practitioner-led qualitative study involving 11 students' perceptions of the impact of student-generated feedback practices. This study was…

The role the visiting lecturer plays in promoting and supporting student teacher learning on practicum is an important one in initial teacher education (ITE). The practicum experience is a challenging and high-stakes environment for student teachers. One of the reasons it is a high-stakes situation is because of the tension around assessment, and…