Formative Assessment Techniques

to Support Student Motivation

and Achievement
KATHLEEN M. CAULEY and JAMES H. McMILLAN

Abstract: Formative assessment can have a powerful im- students can drive instructional changes; specifically,
pact on student motivation and achievement. This ar- “assessment-elicited evidence of students’ status is used
ticle discusses five key practices that teachers can use by teachers to adjust their ongoing instructional pro-
to gather important information about student under- cedures or by students to adjust their current learning
standing, provide feedback to students, and enable stu- tactics” (2008, 6).
dents to set and attain meaningful learning goals. Each Three components are key to this definition: evidence
of the techniques can enhance student motivation as of students’ knowledge and understanding, the nature
well as achievement. of the feedback given to students, and shifts in the way
that students learn.
Keywords: formative assessment, motivation, feedback One way to think about formative assessment is
to contrast it with summative assessment. In summa-
tive assessment, evidence only records current student

F ormative assessment is currently a “hot topic”

among teachers and administrators and is now rec-
ognized as one of the most powerful ways to enhance
achievement. Although formative assessment can be
performed after a test, effective teachers use formative
assessment during instruction to identify specific stu-
student motivation and achievement. Research has ac- dent misunderstandings, provide feedback to students
cumulated that shows a positive relationship between to help them correct their errors, and identify and imple-
formative classroom assessment and student motiva- ment instructional correctives. Ongoing formative as-
tion and achievement on both classroom and large- sessment is conducted primarily through informal ob-
scale assessments (Brookhart 1997, 2007; Black and servations and oral questions posed to students while
Wiliam 1998a; McMillan 2004). Too often, however, content is being taught or reviewed. If the information
formative assessment is perceived as simply gathering from the observations and questions to students is ac-
information from students and using it to improve curate, the teacher identifies instructional adjustments
learning. Formative assessment is actually far more, that can help improve student learning. In this way,
and by using its specific techniques, teachers can re- formative assessment is integrated with instruction and
alize just how valuable formative assessment can be for ideally provides a seamless process of assessment fol-
student learning. So, what are these specifics, and how lowed by instruction, followed by further assessment
do they work to motivate students and improve learn- and instruction (see figure 1).
ing? First, we must consider what formative assessment It is also useful to think about formative assessment
is and is not to provide a foundation for a discussion of as a set of characteristics that are present in varied de-
specifics. grees in any situation. That is, some assessments may
Formative assessment is a process through which only show evidence of student performance and feed-
assessment-elicited evidence of student learning is gath- back, while others demonstrate use of many more char-
ered and instruction is modified in response to feed- acteristics. How formative assessment is used depends
back. Popham points out that both teachers and on how it is defined and operationalized. Table 1 lists

Kathleen M. Cauley, PhD, is an associate professor of Foundations of Education at

Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA. James H. McMillan is a professor
of Foundations of Education at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Copyright © 2010 Heldref Publications
1
2 The Clearing House 83(1) 2010

will have the most positive effect on motivation and

Student motivation
learning.
Formative assessment, then, is a planned process to
the extent that the teacher consciously and constantly
Ongoing student Instructional absorbs evidence of student performance and then uses
engagement, correctives by teachers
work and and students
this information productively, resulting in increased
achievement student motivation and engagement. Students learn
more through formative assessment for four primary
reasons:

1. Frequent, ongoing assessment allows both for fine-

tuning of instruction and student focus on progress.
Ongoing Ongoing 2. Immediate assessment helps ensure meaningful feed-
assessment Feedback
back.
3. Specific, rather than global, assessments allow stu-
FIGURE 1. Formative Assessment Cycle.
dents to see concretely how they can improve.
4. Formative assessment is consistent with recent con-
structivist theories of learning and motivation.

Formative assessment provides valuable information

eleven possible characteristics and examples of prac- to both students and teachers. Stiggins (2005) notes that
tices, spanning from low-level to high-level formative students use available information to decide if learning
assessment. Low-level formative assessment is rudimen- is worth the effort. If students believe learning is impor-
tary and either excludes some characteristics or just in- tant, they will exert greater effort. Students who believe
troduces each characteristic as an explicit component learning is not worth the effort tend to give up. Stig-
to be fully developed. High-level formative assessment gins’ (2008) model of “assessment FOR learning” pro-
is marked by a complete dedication to fully integrat- vides students with clear standards, examples of strong
ing the characteristics into teacher and student practice. and weak work, and feedback so that students can set
As long as the environment in which formative assess- personal learning goals. Assessment FOR learning in-
ment is practiced is supportive and trusting, a classroom forms students about their own learning and their daily
that demonstrates these characteristics at a high level progress in meeting their goals.

TABLE 1. Variations of Formative Assessment Characteristics1

Characteristic Low-level Formative ←−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−→ High-level Formative

Nature of the evidence Mostly objective, standardized Varied assessment, including objective,
constructed response, and anecdotal
Structure Mostly formal, planned, anticipated Informal, spontaneous, “at the moment”
Participants Teachers Teachers and students
Feedback Mostly delayed (e.g., give a quiz and give Mostly immediate and specific for low achieving
students feedback the next day) and general students, delayed for high achieving students
When conducted Mostly after instruction and assessment (e.g., Mostly during instruction
after a unit)
Instructional adjustments Mostly prescriptive, planned (e.g., pacing Mostly flexible, unplanned
according to an instructional plan)
Choice of instructional tasks Mostly teacher determined Teacher and student determined
Nature of teacher-student Most interactions based primarily on formal Extensive, informal, trusting, and honest
interaction roles interactions
Role of student Little or none Integral
self-evaluation
Type of motivation Mostly extrinsic (e.g., passing a competency Mostly intrinsic
test)
Attributions for success External factors (teacher; luck) Internal, unstable factors (e.g., moderate student
effort)
1Adapted from McMillan (in press).
 Techniques to Support Student Motivation and Achievement 3

Formative feedback affects the kind of achievement uous, students have a foundation that helps them
goals students internalize. Achievement goals fall into to understand what they are learning, set goals, and
two categories: performance goals and mastery goals self-assess. These formative assessment practices en-
[Order switched to match the order of subsequent ex- courage students and give them a greater sense of
planation). A performance-goal orientation (also called ownership in instructional activities. Students can also
an ego-involved orientation) emphasizes comparison phrase standards or expectations in their own words
of students’ abilities. Teachers promote performance or create their own definitions of quality work (Bruce
goals by making student evaluations public, attribut- 2001).
ing performance to individual ability, and rewarding Teachers can improve the clarity of student learning
students who outperform others. In contrast, a mastery- targets by providing examples of both weak and stel-
goal orientation emphasizes learning, understanding, lar work (Sadler 1989; Chappuis 2005; Stiggins 2008).
improving, mastering new skills, and taking on chal- Examples are powerful because they enable students to
lenges. Teachers promote mastery goals by evaluating more fully understand where they are going and why the
student progress, providing students opportunities to teacher provides feedback. Furthermore, providing clear
improve, treating mistakes as part of the learning pro- expectations enables students to set realistic, attainable
cess, varying evaluation methods, and making evalu- goals. From a mastery-goal perspective, these targets al-
ation private (Ames 1992; Patrick et al. 2001; Meece, low them to set task goals, which focus on learning
Anderman, and Anderman 2006). Students adopt mas- and meeting standards, as opposed to goals that focus
tery goals when evaluation (a) is tied to progress toward on how they compare to other students. An emphasis
individual goals, (b) takes into account active participa- on task goals improves students’ intrinsic motivation
tion, and (c) provides positive feedback on strategy use and, when combined with other formative assessment
(Ames 1992; Kaplan and Maehr 1999). Such evaluation practices, also further supports the adoption of mastery
techniques are also characteristic of effective formative goals.
assessment.
Students who pursue mastery goals share many pos- Offer Feedback about Progress toward Meeting Learning
itive achievement characteristics. For example, research Targets
has shown that these students use deeper cognitive Feedback to students that focuses on developing
strategies than other students and relate new learning skills, understanding, and mastery, and treats mistakes
to prior knowledge (Anderman, Austin, and Johnson as opportunities to learn is particularly effective. By
2002) Research also suggests that these students tend showing students specific misunderstandings or errors
to be more persistent when facing challenging tasks that frequently occur in a content area or a skill set, and
(Meece, Anderman, and Anderman 2006). These char- showing them how they can adjust their approach to the
acteristics are also indications of intrinsically motivated task, students can see what they need to do to maximize
students. their performance. Feedback about their progress in
Students who pursue performance goals typically learning gives students hope and positive expectations
demonstrate more debilitating achievement charac- for themselves. Table 1 indicates that low-achieving stu-
teristics. For example, research suggests that these dents require feedback that is highly specific and im-
students are more likely to procrastinate, use su- mediate, while high—achieving students work best with
perficial strategies, and, with some groups, display delayed feedback.
cheating behaviors (Meece, Anderman, and Ander- What does effective feedback for formative assess-
man 2006). Performance-goal-oriented students typi- ment look like, and how and where should it be given?
cally show great concern with how their abilities are Consider the “quick-and-quiet” type of feedback. These
judged by others and the recognition (or lack thereof) individual, extemporaneous comments are given spon-
that may result. These characteristics are associated with taneously and focus on a single aspect of the student’s
extrinsic motivation. work. Quick-and-quiet feedback often occurs during
Specifically, then, what can teachers do to ensure that seatwork while a teacher monitor student work. For ex-
their formative assessment results in greater student mo- ample, when teaching a mathematical concept such as
tivation and learning? Five key practices can support subtraction, the teacher might provide practice prob-
appropriate formative assessment. lems. While roaming the room, the teacher would look
for evidence that students are following the correct steps
Provide Clear Learning Targets and, if necessary, would ask students if they understood
Formative assessment is most effective when stu- those steps. The teacher might first want to ask the stu-
dents have a clear idea of what teachers expect of dent for clarification (e.g., “Please explain to me how
them. Stiggins (2005, 2007) notes that when students you are doing this problem”) or supply a clue about
have clear learning targets and models of strong and what response would be best (e.g., “Remember that bor-
weak student work, and when feedback is contin- rowing involves both placeholders”). Feedback is thus
4 The Clearing House 83(1) 2010

paired with a new instructional approach that offers the (2005) argues that, when used effectively, assessment
student a different way of understanding the mathe- FOR learning—one formative strategy—usually triggers
matical concept of borrowing. Similarly, in reviewing an optimistic response from students—they are eager to
student work on a project, a teacher might remind stu- keep trying and know what to do differently the next
dents of particular criteria to consider in completing time they attempt a task. Showing students how to im-
their work. prove the quality of their work in a concrete fashion
Normative feedback, which relies on teacher com- raises expectations for success.
parisons of students, should be avoided, because it
tends to motivate students for extrinsic reasons, pro- Attribute Student Success and Mastery to Moderate Effort
motes performance goals, and can lower expectations Feedback to students in formative assessment can also
for success. Consequently, formative assessment works influence how students attribute their successes. Attribu-
best when the teacher avoids grading practices and com- tions are the reasons students cite to explain their suc-
ments that show students how their performance com- cesses or failures, such as ability, luck, help from others,
pares to other students and uses informative comments and lack of effort. Students commonly attribute their
instead. If the only feedback students receive is a final successes to their individual efforts; this attribution is
grade (e.g., for a unit of instruction, midterms, finals, or highly effective in the classroom because it places stu-
external tests), they cannot see how their efforts improve dents in control. Effort attributions suggest that the stu-
skills, which may lower expectations for success in the dent is capable of learning.
future. Furthermore, the evaluative comments and judg- In the classroom, teachers provide students with im-
ments of ability that are prevalent in comparisons can be portant attribution cues through feedback. Teachers can
debilitating for students (Elliott and Dweck 1988). To unknowingly reduce student motivation by communi-
promote mastery goals, feedback from formative assess- cating a lack of belief in their abilities. This impres-
ments should reduce social comparisons and instead sion is created when teachers offer any of three types
emphasize progress toward achieving learning targets of feedback: expressing pity after a student failure; of-
(Maehr and Anderman 1993). For example, a teacher fering praise for a success (particularly in an easy task);
might tell a struggling student, “That’s okay, we’re just and offering unsolicited help, which high-achieving stu-
starting this topic. Try to think of it this way. You’ll get it dents do not require (Graham 1990). Although these
as we work with it more” or “You’re almost there. Keep kinds of feedback have their place in the classroom, if
working at it.” overused, they can lead students to make detrimental
Task-specific comments influence students’ interest low ability attributions. Students who believe that their
and commitment more positively than either grades or successes are due primarily to their effort and ability will
praise (Butler and Nisan 1986). An example of this type have stronger motivation and staying power to complete
of comment might say, “You have included quite a few challenging work.
examples in your paper. Can you think of any more Thus, when giving feedback for formative assessment
unusual examples?” Both high- and low-achieving stu- activities, teachers should attribute results to student ef-
dents who receive private feedback demonstrate more forts and then explore changes in instruction and learn-
engagement and a lower focus on how their abili- ing tasks, which suggests that a lack of success is also
ties and successes compare to others’ accomplishments related to a factor that a student can modify. Formative
(Brookhart 2008; Butler 1987). In contrast, both high- assessment without effort attributions and instruction
and low-achieving students who received grades and modifications that support developing understanding
praise on their written work showed an increase in ego- can leave students feeling hopeless. Examples of the
involved, or performance, orientation, contributing to right kinds of feedback include: “It looks like the ex-
extrinsic motivation (Butler 1987). tra effort that you put into studying has paid off” and
Additionally, feedback that is based on normative “Look how you’ve improved since you tried a different
standards of ability-based performance emphasizes the strategy.”
hierarchy of ability in a classroom (Kaplan and Maehr
1999). A normative standards approach facilitates so- Encourage Student Self-Assessment
cial comparison, [ego goals], and anxiety, and pro- Formative assessment allows a high level of stu-
motes group stereotypes. In contrast, formative assess- dent self-assessment. Student self-assessment involves
ment strategies measure progress from and improve- much more than simply checking answers; rather, it
ment over past performance. This type of assessment is is a process in which students monitor and evaluate
based on specific and absolute standards and rewards the nature of their thinking to identify strategies that
students who collaborate across groups. Evaluative cri- improve understanding (McMillan and Hearn 2008).
teria should employ a variety of practices that reduce Self-assessment is a three-step process in which stu-
feelings of fear of failure and reward students who learn dents judge their own work (self-monitor), identify dis-
from their mistakes (Kaplan and Maehr 1999). Stiggins crepancies between current and desired performance
 Techniques to Support Student Motivation and Achievement 5

(self-evaluation), and identify and implement further self-efficacy can occur when students receive rewards
learning activities to enhance their understanding or that are contingent on performance rather than on task
skills. While teachers provide feedback, they can en- engagement, because performance indicates task mas-
courage self-assessment by asking students questions tery (Shunk 1991).
that help them focus on self-monitoring (e.g., “What are
you thinking now about how well you are learning?”).
Teachers can then lead students to analyze the most Conclusions
and least effective aspects of their work (McTighe and
Formative assessment and, in particular, feedback and
O’Connor 2005). Examples include “How does your
instructional correctives, can be a powerful technique to
conclusion compare to the rubric?” and “What study
support student motivation and achievement. As teach-
strategy do you think worked best?”
ers incorporate more formative assessment techniques
Students receive the most benefit from individual ac-
into their day-to-day instruction, they will have infor-
tivities if they are encouraged to correct their work be-
mation which they can use to modify their instruction.
fore turning it in (Bruce 2001). They can also learn
Teachers can also use this information about student
to self-assess from models provided by teachers (Black
understanding to help students self-assess and improve
and Wiliam 1998b; Sadler 1989; Chappuis 2005) and
their own performance. When students focus on im-
by practicing peer assessment (Black et al. 2004; Leahy
provement and progress, they are more likely to adopt
et al. 2005). Bruce (2001) and Chappuis (2005) also
mastery goals and develop high self-efficacy and expec-
note that student self-reflection and goal setting are key
tations for success. When students and teachers attribute
aspects of self-assessment. With time and training, stu-
student successes to effort, this attributions supports
dents will gradually assume more responsibility for eval-
future successes. Formative assessment’s emphasis on
uating how close they are to the learning target, identi-
instructional modifications and student improvement
fying what they need to improve, and selecting learning
supports student motivation and enables them to main-
tactics to reach the target.
tain high engagement and achievement. Using forma-
Self-assessment also supports mastery goals through
tive assessments effectively is indeed key to student mo-
the notion of developing student autonomy. Students
tivation and achievement.
who practice self-assessment are in control of their
learning, and that too can support the development of
mastery goals. In addition, self-assessment helps stu-
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