Educational institutions are considered a keystone for the establishment of a meritocratic society. They supposedly serve two functions: an educational function that promotes learning for all, and a selection function that sorts individuals into different programs, and ultimately social positions, based on individual merit. We study how the function of selection relates to support for assessmen...

A blended learning model was developed to enhance lecture delivery in a large, diverse introductory psychology unit, introducing the use of an online, personalized learning system for lecture preparation and using lecture time to extend students’ understanding. Changes to the assessment included diagnostic, formative and summative online quizzes. Using hierarchical multiple regression to accoun...

Finding effective ways of improving university quality assurance requires, as well, a retraining of the staff. This article illustrates an Online Programme of Excellence Model (OPEM), based on the European quality assurance model, for improving participants’ formative programme standards. The results of applying this OPEM indicate the necessity of quality policies that support the evaluators’ c...

Formative assessment is designed to provide information about students' learning to help them and their teachers to identify deficiencies and misconceptions. It differs from summative assessment, which aims to rank students according to their achievements to determine which students pass or fail or to assign grades to students. This article reports on a symposium concerned with evidence for the...

Assessment and feedback can make strange bedfellows. Their goals sometimes lie at cross purposes. Summative assessment, for example, is judgmental, telling us whether or not learners have reached a necessary standard; as Konopasek observes, “when practicing summative assessment, we are acting far more as regulators than educators” [1]. Feedback, on the other hand, is developmental, facilitating...

Traditional standardized educational tests often serve a summative purpose, reporting what students know after the learning phase has been completed. In this sense, they serve as an assessment of learning, with little or no implication for future instruction. By contrast, assessments may be used formatively; that is, they may be used to change the course of instruction as part of the assessment...

The present study aimed at investigating whether two types of assessment strategies, namely Dynamic Assessment and Non-Dynamic Assessment had any significant impact on elementary and pre-intermediate Iranian EFL learners' performance on their final achievement test including reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, and language functions. The participants of the study were 81 learners studyi...

Monitoring of student learning through systematic formative assessment is important for adjusting pedagogical strategies. However, traditional formative assessments, such as quizzes and written assignments, may not be sufficiently timely for making adjustments to a learning process. Technology supported formative assessment tools assess student knowledge, allow for immediate feedback, facilitat...