Content Then Process: Teacher Learning Communities in the Service of Formative Assessment

Wiliam, D. (2007). Content then process: Teacher learning communities in the service of formative assessment. In D. B. Reeves (Ed.), Ahead of the curve: the power of assessment to transform teaching and learning (pp. 183-204). Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree. Retrieved from: https://speck-8.wikispaces.com/file/view/Content+Then+Process.pdf

The importance of formative assessments in the classroom and how they can drive instruction to help student achievement is clear. Classrooms that use formative assessments are more effective and are more capable of assisting students reach their learning goals. A study performed by Black and Wiliam showed that classrooms that utilized formative assessments raised student achievement by a standard deviation of .4 to .7. That would be enough to move the United States into one of the top five countries based on achievement (Wiliam, 2007). Another study showed the significance of having formative assessments in the classroom by proving that by using these types assessments, there was a gain of 6 to 9 month of student learning (Wiliam, 2007). These studies have proven the essence of having formative assessments in the classroom, so how do we prepare assessments that are viable and useful? In order to have effective formative assessments, collaboration between co-workers must take place. The sharing and introduction of ideas to create or locate a set of aligned formative assessments is imperative in the success of the school having effective classrooms, which translates into higher student achievement.

This article presents the result that student achievement could have on our future economy. A calculation done by Eric Hanushek, a leading economist of education, showed that by raising a student’s achievement by one standard deviation (one standard deviation would raise a student from the 50^th to the 84^th percentile), over the next 30 years, would grow the economy by 10%. The additional taxes paid by that 10% could pay for the entire K-12 education (Wiliam, 2007). As we look at student achievement through our economy, the need to perform becomes more obvious and pertinent. The question arises as to how we increase student achievement, and the answer is through effective classrooms with quality teachers.

            There have been various stages that research has taken to find what qualifies a school as being effective. Initial research focused on output. Those schools that achieved “good results” were labeled as effective. As research continued, it focused on demographics. This research concluded that those schools with “good results” were from affluent areas, so demographics was the factor in being an effective school. The most recent research is based on student’s initial knowledge as compared to the knowledge they gained by the end of the year. This study showed that it didn’t matter what school the student attended (demographics), but rather, what classroom they were in. The results showed that students in the most effective classrooms learned four times faster than those in the least effective classrooms (Hanushek, 2004). The most effective classrooms are taught by effective teachers. Wiliam summed up his the findings by saying, “We need to raise student achievement for the future of society. To raise student achievement, we need to improve teacher quality. If we are serious about student achievement, we have to invest in professional development for teachers” (Wiliam, 2007).

            The evidence has shown that students who are in effective classrooms are most likely to achieve their learning goals. Effective classrooms are comprised of effective teachers. The most effective teachers use formative assessments in their classrooms. By working together, collaborating and learning from each other, teachers can create or locate formative assessments that are consistent throughout the classrooms to produce more effective classrooms throughout the school.