Classroom formative assessment: What it is and what it isn’t; when it works and when it doesn’t

In this presentation, Dylan Wiliam will discuss why the terms "formative" and "summative" really describe the uses we make of assessment information rather than the assessments themselves, and will discuss a range of strategies and practical techniques that teachers can use to integrate formative assessment into their regular classroom practice. The session will also explain why rubrics sometimes fail to improve student learning, why questioning is often not a good way of finding out what students know, how feedback can lower student achievement, and the best ways to make peer- and self-assessment powerful ways of improving student achievement, both in the short-term and the long-term.