Yan 2022 - Assessing Tecahers F Assessment
Assessing Teachers’ Strategies in Formative Assessment: The Teacher Formative Assessment Practice Scale
Introduction
Significance of Formative Assessment
Formative assessment is crucial for enhancing the teaching and learning process.
Major principles emphasize feedback and students’ metacognition.
Recognized for improving student learning but often under-implemented by teachers.
Challenges in Formative Assessment
Lack of suitable instruments for assessing teachers' practices.
Variability in practices due to differing contexts and cultural influences.
Development of TFAPS
Teacher Formative Assessment Practice Scale (TFAPS)
Developed based on two samples of teachers: Hong Kong (N = 449) and Italy (N = 309).
Utilizes exploratory factor analysis to identify distinct factors in practice:
Teacher-directed Formative Assessment (TdFA) - 6 items
Student-directed Formative Assessment (SdFA) - 4 items
Instruments validated through confirmatory factor analysis and Rasch analysis, confirming the instrument's validity and reliability.
Formative Assessment Practices
Definition
Formative assessment involves activities conducted by teachers/students to collect information for feedback to modify teaching and learning.
Focuses on identifying learning gaps and promoting self-regulation in students.
Framework for Practicing Formative Assessment
Five key strategies (Wiliam & Thompson, 2008):
Clarifying learning intentions and success criteria.
Engineering effective discussions, questions, and learning tasks.
Providing feedback that advances student learning.
Activating students as instructional resources for each other.
Encouraging students to own their learning.
Methodology
Data Collection
Diverse contexts: Data collected from teachers in Hong Kong and Italy to study cross-cultural influences on formative assessment practices.
Sample included teachers from both primary and secondary schools, recognizing that assessment practices differ with educational level.
Item Development and Validation
Focus group consultations led to the initial item pool based on formative assessment strategies.
Expert reviews determined item relevance and categorization, leading to 10 validated items for the TFAPS.
Data Analysis
Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis
Conducted to confirm the dimensional structure of the TFAPS.
Evaluation of the model fit included multiple indices (CFI, TLI, RMSEA).
Rasch Analysis
Utilized to examine item fit and functioning within the scale; ensures validity across different contexts.
Results
Factor Structure
Confirmed a two-factor structure: TdFA and SdFA, with correlations noted between factors.
Rasch analysis confirmed appropriateness of items; one item indicated a need for review due to fit statistics.
Reliability
Adequate reliability demonstrated through Cronbach’s alpha and Rasch reliability measures across different samples.
Discussion
Implications for Teacher Development
TFAPS shows potential to improve understanding and practice of formative assessment in teachers.
Provides a basis for targeted professional development and evaluation of training program effectiveness.
Cultural Influences
Differences in practices across contexts (Hong Kong vs. Italy) imply a need for culturally responsive assessment methods.
Conclusion
Valuable Contribution to Educational Assessment
TFAPS fills a critical gap in the assessment of formative practices, aiding teacher professional development.
Future Directions
Further research is encouraged to explore sociocultural factors impacting assessment strategies.