Critical Issues in Formative Assessment NCME conference, April 2013, San Francisco, CA

Q1: What theoretical questions are most important to address for moving the field of formative assessment forward? Dylan Wiliam

Theoretical questions 3  Need for clear definitions  So that research outcomes are commensurable  Theorization and definition  Possible variables Category (instruments, outcomes, functions) Beneficiaries (teachers, learners) Timescale (months, weeks, days, hours, minutes) Consequences (outcomes, instruction, decisions) Theory of action (what gets formed?)

An inclusive definition… 4  An assessment functions formatively to the extent that evidence about student achievement is elicited, interpreted, and used by teachers, learners, or their peers, to make decisions about future instruction that are likely to be better, or better founded, than the decisions that would have been taken in the absence of that evidence.

Q2: What empirical research is most needed to support the further development of formative assessment theory and practice? Dylan Wiliam

Empirical research questions 6  Accounting for current variation in empirical outcomes in terms of theoretical clarifications  Experiments with formative assessment programs  Experiments have to be large Clustering Magnitude of educational effect sizes  Fidelity of implementation Intention to treat vs. received treatment analyses  Need to broaden what counts as evidence

Q3: What factors are most central to the successful implementation of formative assessment on the large scale called for by the Common Core State Assessment Consortia? Dylan Wiliam

Implementation questions 8  Articulation with other policy priorities  Teacher evaluation frameworks (Marzano, Danielson)  Differentiated instruction  Response to (instruction and) intervention  Policy environment  Teacher pre-service education  Commitment to continuous improvement District-level policies that require all teachers to improve Improvement focused on evidence-based practices  Focus