Some quotes from Dweck, Wiliam and Hattie on the importance of formative assessment.

1. Teaching Students to Learn

3.  “A focus on standards and accountability
that ignores the processes of teaching and
learning in classrooms will not provide the
direction that teachers need in their quest
to improve” (Black and Wiliam 1998),

4.  “What is needed is a classroom culture of
questioning and deep thinking, in which
pupils learn from shared discussions with
teachers and peers.”
 “What emerges very clearly here is the
indivisibility of instruction and formative
assessment.” (Black and Wiliam 1998)

6.  “An effect size of 0.4 would mean that the
average pupil would record the same
achievement as a pupil in the top 35% of
those not so involved.”
 “An effect size gain of 0.7 would raise the
score of a nation in the middle of the pack
of countries [on PISA] to one of the top
five.” (Black and Wiliam 1998)

7.  “The way in which test results are reported
to pupils so that they can identify their own
strengths and weaknesses is critical.”
 “For formative purposes, a test at the end of
a unit or teaching module is pointless; it is
too late to work with the results.” (Black and
Wiliam 1998)

9.  “Students in a fixed mindset thought one
disappointing grade measured their ability
and their performance never recovered.”
 “Students with a growth mindset believe
that their abilities can be developed, and
so their major goal is to learn.” (Dweck
2007a)

10.  “Students with a growth mindset were
significantly more oriented toward learning
goals. Although they cared about their
grades, they cared even more about
learning.”
 “Students with a growth mindset showed a
far stronger belief in the power of effort.
They believed that effort promoted ability
and that was effective regardless of current
ability.” (Dweck 2008)

12.  “In a survey we gave to parents, over 80%
of them thought that it was necessary to
praise their children’s intelligence in order
to give them confidence in their abilities
and motivate them to succeed.”
 “Our research shows that this is wrong.”
(Dweck 2007a)

13. Students who were praised for
‘intelligence’ became overly concerned
with how smart they were, seeking tasks
that would prove their intelligence and
avoiding ones that might not
 Students who were praised for ‘effort’
remained confident and persisted through
difficult tasks more effectively (Dweck
2007b)

15.  “In the majority of examples we studied
marking was usually conscientious but
often failed to offer guidance on how work
can be improved.”
 “In a significant minority of cases, marking
reinforces underachievement and under-expectation
by being too generous or
unfocused.” (Black and Wiliam 1998

16.  “While formative assessment can help all
pupils, it yields particularly good results
with low achievers by concentrating on
specific problems with their work and
giving them a clear understanding of what
is wrong and how to put it right.” (Black
and Wiliam 1998)