Formative assessment has been recognized as an important part of helping students to enhance their learning. Research has shown that formative assessment can help increase student performance and grades. Brown, Hinze, and Pellegrino state, “There is now a substantial body of evidence from K-12 classrooms showing that quality formative assessment practices enhance teaching effectiveness and produce student academic achievement gains (2008, p. 246).” Because formative assessment has proven to help increase student learning, technology has began to catch up to formative assessment. Brown, Hinze, and Pellegrino state, “The importance of formative assessment in instructional practice, coupled with the requirements of NCLB and data-driven decision making, has given rise to a wave of commercially available technology-based assessment products that are being heavily marketed to school districts (2008, p. 249).” There are many different tools for formative assessment that are now becoming available for school districts and they need to be taken advantage of. This article details various tools that are available to schools. These various tools can help to meet the needs of various users of assessment including districts, schools, students, and parents. The most important conclusion that is drawn by this article is that technology can be an important part of assessment. Brown, Hinze, and Pellegrino state: “With technology, assessment can become richer, more timely, and more seamlessly interwoven with multiple aspects of curriculum and instruction (2008, p. 253).” Formative assessment can become much more valuable with the use of technology.
Brown, J., Hinze, S., & Pellegrino, J. W. (2008). Technology and formative assessment. 21st Century education, 2, 245-255.