Formative assessment has been badly used and purposefully ignored by education institutions. The video linked below explains why it matters; here is my view on why it has been sidelined.
Why Institutions Avoid It
Perhaps because it is tough on instructors: it needs hard work and a long commitment to continuous feedback, which can be torture for teachers with large classes. For administrators and educational managers, it is not cost-effective, because it forces them to limit class sizes, even as they boast about student-centred approaches. The contradiction is plain: how can an instructor give full commitment to a hundred students through active pedagogies and, by extension, formative assessment? It is time for higher education bodies to rethink their assessment tools and methods and humanise the educational experience for the next generation.
What Needs to Change
The hype and fear surrounding "common exams", "mid-terms" and "finals" needs to stop. Instead, we need to train and recruit responsible, well-rounded faculty with sound ethical and professional stamina. A PhD in some content area will never be a fair or sufficient standard on its own. Genuine professional, pedagogical and curriculum know-what and know-how are key. Only those with pedagogical know-how and a real feel for professional practice can design innovative, practical and well-monitored assessment tools.
Higher education policy must change too:
- reduce class sizes;
- rethink recruitment standards;
- discard the whimsical, amateurish and self-serving political considerations that creep into recruitment;
- treat faculty as professionals, not as puppets or mere transmitters of textbook content who can teach "whatever course" and handle "whatever class size".
Here is the link: Assessing Student Learning Online (Johns Hopkins Engineering for Professionals)
