The preceding articles in this issue describe a diverse range of projects which had in common the aim of implementing or improving the practice of formative assessment, and thereby to secure some of the benefits attributed to it. This article attempts to set up a framework within which each of the different studies may be located and…

Recent legislative and local school accountability efforts have placed a premium on the collection, analysis, and use of student assessment data for educational improvement. As a result, schools have sought assessments that will provide additional information about student performance. In response, a burgeoning boon industry formed--formative…

School districts across the country have adopted interim and benchmark assessments in response to NCLB pressures to raise student achievement, despite the lack of a research base. Thus, it is especially important that well-conceived, empirical studies of the effects of such programs be carried out. Various theoretical frames can help understand…

Local assessment systems are being marketed as formative, benchmark, predictive, and a host of other terms. Many so-called formative assessments are not at all similar to the types of assessments and strategies studied by Black and Wiliam (1998) but instead are interim assessments. In this article, we clarify the definition and uses of interim…

This article chronicles the evolution of a large research extensive institution's General Education writing assessment efforts from an initial summative focus to a formative, improvement focus. The methods of assessment, which changed as the assessment purpose evolved, are described. As more data were collected, the measurement tool was…

This article reports on a formative and internal evaluation of teacher induction practices for newly hired teachers in a US university ESL program. By adopting a utilization-focused approach, evaluators produced a design that was articulated to the information needs of the evaluation users. The ensuing findings were then used to develop and…

Based on the results of a generalizability study of measures of teacher knowledge for teaching mathematics developed at the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing at the University of California, Los Angeles, this article provides evidence that teachers are better at drawing reasonable inferences about student…

Assessments labeled as formative have been offered as a means to improve student achievement. But labels can be a powerful way to miscommunicate. For an assessment use to be appropriately labeled "formative," both empirical evidence and reasoned arguments must be offered to support the claim that improvements in student achievement can be linked…

Areas of evaluation are identified in which the formative/summative distinction appears inadequate: (1) knowledge-generating evaluations aimed at conceptual use; (2) developmental evaluation; and (3) use of evaluation to support intervention or empower participants. An argument is also made for the effectiveness of feedback that cannot be…

This chapter addresses the problems encountered in the formative evaluation of instructional development projects and the instructional development process. Three types of formative evaluation--component, convergent, and contextual--are distinguished, and the consequences of using the wrong type of evaluation in a particular situation or project…

Proposals satisfy a number of functions in evaluation work. This article examines how these functions differ depending on whether the proposal concerns a preordinate study in which methods are prespecified or an emergent study in which decisions about methods are made as the study proceeds. (Author/SLD)

A good formative evaluator, who helps programs become as effective as possible, behaves remarkably like a good personal coach. Nine ways in which a formative evaluator can help a program manager are listed, and implications for practicing evaluators and the evaluation profession are detailed. (SLD)

The dynamic interplay between internal and external evaluation in formative and summative studies of an intervention program aimed at promoting mathematics, science, and technology education was explored. Results emphasize the need to define the roles of formative and summative evaluation and the contributions of internal and external evaluators…

Describes the development of INTERACT, a videotext system in which information and graphics were designed using a systematic multistage formative approach. The assessment of information needs is explained, and results of an evaluation completed after five weeks of operation in the student center at Syracuse University are discussed. (Author/LRW)

Four forms of evaluation are outlined: (1) evaluation and development; (2) design evaluation; (3) process evaluation; and (4) summative evaluation. Each form is understood through five dimensions (orientation, state, focus, timing, and approach), which are illustrated through evaluation of a community services training program in Australia. (SLD)