Effective implementation of formative assessment is hindered by its complexity, summative-assessment pressure, and teachers' negative early experiences¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2021 · checked against its sources 2026-10-15 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Using assessment information to adjust subsequent learning to meet student needs is extremely difficult, and summative-assessment focus and failed early attempts further hinder formative assessment implementation. → Marks 2021

Evidence¶

Marks 2021¶

Marks, A., Woolcott, G., & Markopoulos, C. (2021). Differentiating Instruction: Development of a Practice Framework for and with Secondary Mathematics Classroom Teachers. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 16(3), em0657. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/11198

q2 · i? · review · r2

Narrative review of implementation barriers: the article reports, citing Vingsle (2014), that formative assessment is "a complex, demanding and challenging process" and that adjusting subsequent learning from assessment information is extremely difficult. No effect size is printed.

"Firstly, formative assessment is a complex, demanding and challenging process, and using assessment information to adjust subsequent learning to meet student needs is extremely difficult (Vingsle, 2014)."

Studies bearing on this claim¶

What stops formative assessment working in practice: stakes, grading, time and class size? This table gathers the studies behind this claim and the 6 narrower claims that bear on it: 7 distinct studies (4 qualitative, 1 review, 1 causal, 1 associational), q1–q2, 0 of 7 with an effect size coded. One row per study, codes as each entry records them; no effect is averaged and no verdict is drawn. Built by scripts/synthesize_claim.py from eval/synthesis/; a row that looks wrong is fixed on the claim it comes from.

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Peer assessment improves academic performance by a small average amount relative to no assessment or to teacher assessment — related
• Teachers used Forms results to differentiate instruction, including forming working groups and modifying assessments for IEP accommodations — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Educators see AI as having potential to increase capacity for high-quality formative assessment, which is an operational challenge at scale — related
• Formative assessment practices coherent with OpenSciEd are constrained by grading expectations misaligned with formative goals and by the time cost of evaluating and giving feedback on three-dimensional tasks. — related
• Students want ongoing targeted formative feedback, but faculty time constraints and large class sizes limit providing it — related
• Teachers viewed district pacing calendars and standardized assessments as impediments when they pressured rushing through material regardless of mastery — related
• Automated formative assessment and feedback with AI agents ranks second-highest in impact with moderate perceived challenge — related
• Teachers use Microsoft Forms for real-time formative assessment to make in-the-moment instructional adjustments — related