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…

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…

Background: In 2008 primary education in England reached, historically, another important phase in its development. Government reviewed the primary curriculum and some aspects of the national system of assessment. These government reviews coincided with an independent "Primary Review" based at the University of Cambridge to which the…

In many school districts, the pressure to raise test scores has created overnight celebrity status for formative assessment. Its powers to raise student achievement have been touted, however, without attending to the research on which these claims were based. Sociocultural learning theory provides theoretical grounding for understanding how…

The design and outcome of a bilingual education program evaluation emphasizing the instructional and attitudinal variables of the bilingual education program presently in operation is described. The purpose of this program evaluation emphasizing needs assessment is to gather base-line data for continued evaluations in the following years. The…

The 12 studies that constituted the 1971-1972 evaluation of the Let's Be Amigos program are presented together with the evaluation findings. The three components of the Bilingual Program, serving 1,813 students by the end of the third year, were the Model A program (prekindergarten to grade 3) with teams of English- and Spanish-speaking teachers…

The report documents the activities of the second year of a K-14 career education project in Greenville (Tennessee) city and county schools. The primary goal was to build upon the activities of the first year through the use of workshops and inservice programs to assist in the development of specific activities for the students. Project activities…

In this article, the authors describe various rationales for accountability testing programs over the past century. This history forms the backdrop for current test-driven reforms, including Public Law 107-110, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), which was signed into law in January 2002. The goals of the authors are first, to illustrate…

The purpose of this article is to present a case of national achievement assessment at the primary level within a formative approach. Many countries experience an increasing obligation to attach high stakes to national assessments, which results in greater pressure on teachers and schools. The author's view is that this kind of approach is…