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- Vol 2 RE: App D
- Vol 4 RE: App C
- Vol 5 RE: Chapters 2, 3, 4, 10, 15
- Vol 5 TE: App C
formative assessmentlearning intentionssuccess criteriafeedback for learningclassroom discussionpeer assessmentstudent self-regulationinstructional decision makingBook Evidence summaryAt a glance
Wiliam treats formative assessment as a process for improving decisions during learning, not as a particular test or an extra event after teaching. Evidence becomes formative when teachers, learners, or peers elicit and interpret it and use it to choose better next steps than they would otherwise have taken.
Key ideas
The book organises practice around five strategies: clarify learning intentions and success criteria; engineer discussions and tasks that reveal understanding; provide feedback that moves learning forward; activate students as instructional resources for one another; and develop students as owners of their learning. Practical techniques—including diagnostic questions, all-student response systems, peer assessment, and comments focused on improvement—serve these strategies rather than functioning as universal recipes. Their value depends on what evidence they produce and how instruction changes in response. The book synthesises research and classroom practice; it is not one controlled trial of all its techniques.
Why it matters
For teachers, the central design question is what students are thinking now. Useful routines make that thinking visible, involve every learner, create actionable information, and preserve responsibility for the intellectual work with students.
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Edition abbreviations
- TE
- Teacher Edition
- PE
- Practice Edition
- RE
- Research Edition
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