A teacher who collects and analyzes diverse types of evidence of a student’s learning and uses that information to either adjust instruction or provide feedback to the student is using formative classroom assessment (Brookhart, Moss, & Long, 2008). A central feature of formative assessment is a clear link between the results of an assessment and subsequent actions that lead to gains in student learning (Nichols, Meyers, & Burling, 2009; Wiliam, 2010). The impact of formative assessment is greatly diminished if teachers are not able to use evidence of student learning to determine next instructional steps and help students move their own learning forward (Heritage, Kim, Vendlinski, & Herman, 2009). Until recently, however, there has been little research on how often and how well teachers use formative assessment practices in the classroom—hence the theme of this issue. The findings from this set of articles, which investigate teacher and administrator formative practices at different levels of granularity and using different measures, address the following questions
Andrade, Heidi and Schneider, M. Christina, "Teachers’ and Administrators’ Use of Evidence of Student Learning to Take Action: Conclusions Drawn from a Special Issue on Formative Assessment" (2013). Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship. 11.