Current Developments in Assessment for Learning in Universities and High Schools in Michigan: Problems and Perspectives in Mathematics and Science Education

Abstract

Assessment for Learning (AfL) or formative assessment has the potential for raising standards and student achievement. This article describes research conducted by graduate students in an NSF-funded capacity-building project with goals to increase research in the disciplines of science and mathematics education. As background, a literature review shows parallels between assessment for learning research developed over the past two decades in England with assessment reform efforts in school mathematics and science in the U.S. A series of five research projects, conducted by Western Michigan University (WMU) AfL project scholars in fall 2008, examines (1) the prominence of assessment for learning in university course syllabi at WMU and (2) at public universities across the state of Michigan, (3) its prominence in policy statements in a sample of Michigan high schools, (4) the development of benchmarking practices with preservice teachers, and (5) a comparison of existing AfL observation protocols used in classroom research. These reports represent the range of potentially important areas that may prove fruitful for moving research on assessment in mathematics and science education forward.