Improving Formative Assessment in Adult Literacy, Numeracy and Language (English language)

1. Improving Formative Assessment in Adult Literacy, Numeracy and Language (English language) Methodology Propositions Summary of messages for teachers Gaps in research Kathryn Ecclestone and Jay Derrick

2. Methodology for Literature Review • Not systematic: terms and concepts are not well-defined in adult education, but they are in UK school-based research – do we need to reinvent the wheel? • Searching on associated terms such as feedback and dialogue in teaching • Use of bibliographical trails • Use of advice from researchers, policymakers, and ‘practitioner wisdom’ in relevant fields Kathryn Ecclestone and Jay Derrick

3. Propositions from the Literature Review and the IFA Project • Good formative assessment is a key part of improving learning and attainment for all learners: this may be observed more clearly with less confident learners • Good formative assessment makes more difference to less confident learners • Systems for measuring learning (for the purposes of accreditation, accountability, or the evaluation of teachers) impact on what teachers do in classrooms. Evidence from schools suggests that this impact can be damaging for many learners • Different factors in the system encourage instrumental formative assessment that is not about deep learning • The differences between summative and formative assessment are not well understood in the field: specific professional development is necessary Kathryn Ecclestone and Jay Derrick

4. Summary of messages for teachers 1 • Learning should be structured as dialogue between teacher and learners • Teachers need the highest level of communication skills • ‘Bureaucratic’ formative assessment can lead to low-risk, unchallenging and ‘comforting’ forms of learning Kathryn Ecclestone and Jay Derrick

5. Summary of messages for teachers 2 • Feedback should focus on the task rather than the ego and the feelings of the person. • Grades and marks can demotivate students, especially those who are least confident • Assessing progress in learning must be a ‘joint enquiry’ between the teacher and learners Kathryn Ecclestone and Jay Derrick

6. Summary of messages for teachers 3 • Teachers need to use a repertoire of questioning techniques • Questions should be open-ended and exploratory rather than closed, encouraging thought and discussion between learners • Summative assessment tools such as standardised tests can be used formatively Kathryn Ecclestone and Jay Derrick

7. Summary of messages for teachers 4 • A key purpose of formative assessment is to help teachers find out about individual learners’ attitudes to and motivation for learning, so as to help with planning and differentiation • Teachers must work to develop a culture of relaxed and open enquiry in their classes Kathryn Ecclestone and Jay Derrick

8. Summary of messages for teachers 5 • Formative assessment can easily become bureaucratised: it is not an administrative activity but a pedagogical one. • There is a profound tension between the ‘spirit’ and the ‘letter’ of FA: confirmed strongly in school research and emerging in IFA • Peer assessment and self-assessment are necessary components of sustainable learning Kathryn Ecclestone and Jay Derrick

9. Summary of messages for teachers 6 • Formative assessment works if learners increase their understanding of assessment, including the language of assessment • Formative assessment is a means of increasing confidence, motivation to learn, and autonomy, but motivation and autonomy can be low-level and instrumental Kathryn Ecclestone and Jay Derrick

10. Summary of messages for teachers 7 • Formative assessment aims to support learning in the future as well as in the present • Teachers need specific professional development to support formative assessment approaches in the classroom. • Left to themselves, many teachers exclusively use the transmission mode of teaching Kathryn Ecclestone and Jay Derrick

11. Gaps in research • How far can we apply findings from schools to adult education contexts? • How can we ensure that assessment and recording techniques and procedures are genuinely formative? • What are the effects of policy and accountability systems on day to day formative assessment practices? • How can we learn from existing examples of teaching and assessment in different contexts? Kathryn Ecclestone and Jay Derrick

12. Further information www.nottingham.ac.uk/cdell/ifa www.nrdc.org.uk Kathryn Ecclestone and Jay Derrick