THE TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT OF READING COMPREHENSION

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CHAPTER 2 A CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ON FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

 INTRODUCTION

Chapter 1 presented an overview of formative assessment to contextualise the study. In Chapter 2 the literature on formative assessment is reviewed. Examples are cited from countries where this approach is well-established. A summary of empirical studies related to aspects of formative assessment in the international context is presented; these examples may positively influence teachers’ use of formative assessment in their teaching of reading comprehension. Some of the current debates on this topic are discussed and aspects of formative assessment relevant to this study are identified. Gaps in the literature are also mentioned.
The components of formative assessment and the challenges related to the practice of formative assessment are discussed, and the chapter is concluded with literature on teachers’ professional development regarding the theory and practice of formative assessment in the international and South African contexts.

THE CONCEPT OF FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

The literature contains various definitions of formative assessment, and as yet there is no exclusive and widely accepted definition of formative assessment (Black & Wiliam, 2006). However, various researchers share the view that when assessment is used to support teaching and improve learning, it plays a formative role during the learning process (Taras, 2009). Teachers should provide effective feedback to the learners to support learning (Black & Wiliam, 2006). In other words, the main purpose of formative assessment is to provide effective feedback which will help learners improve their learning.
Harlen  (2006)  refers  to  formative  assessment  as  “assessment  for  learning”. According to him formative assessment and “assessment for learning” are the same and can be used interchangeably. Nevertheless, he prefers the term “assessment for  learning”, claiming that formative assessment can give the impression that it is a specific type of assessment whereas “assessment for learning” emphasizes its function during the learning process. Black and Wiliam (2003) also assert that formative assessment does not refer to assessment itself, but to the function it serves in supporting learners’ learning, and shows that it is used to enhance teaching by meeting learners’ needs.
On the other hand, Swaffield (2011) argues that formative assessment and “assessment for learning” are two different things. In his view, the main distinctions between the two terms is that “assessment for learning” is an activity which should take place during the learning-teaching process and is concerned with the immediate future. Formative assessment, on the other hand, refers to the purpose of assessment and focuses on the curriculum goals. The implication is that “assessment for learning” takes place during the actual learning process to address specific learning objectives, while formative assessment does not take place in one lesson and does not focus on specific learning objectives.
In this study, the term formative assessment is used. This decision is influenced by the fact that the term “formative assessment” is widely used in the international literature to refer to assessment that takes place during the learning process to improve learners’ learning. In the context of this study, formative assessment therefore refers to all learning activities undertaken by teachers and learners while reading comprehension is being taught with the intention to improve learners’ comprehension skills, i.e. their ability to make sense of the written text. These activities may involve discussions, learners performing the work, the level of learners’ involvement during the learning activities, the nature of classwork given to learners, teacher’s analysis of classwork and homework, the support given by the teacher and feedback given to the learners. This study focuses on teachers’ use of formative assessment to support the teaching of reading comprehension. In the next chapter a critical review of the literature on reading comprehension is offered.

IMPLEMENTATION OF FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT WORLDWIDE

Worldwide, there has been a growing interest in the use of assessment by teachers to enhance learners’ learning and to improve classroom instructions (Taras, 2009). The use of assessment to improve learners’ learning was influenced by an analysis by Black and Wiliam (1998) of 250 research studies which confirmed that when teachers use formative assessment to guide their instructions, learners’ work improves (Taras, 2009; Stobart, 2008; Brown et al., 2009; Swaffield, 2011). The suggestion made by Black and Wiliam (1998) that formative assessment should be developed to support classroom practice elicited a positive response from various people and institutions internationally. The review of the literature indicates that formative assessment has become a common theme at educational conferences and a focus for teacher development programmes (Bennett, 2011).
The United Kingdom (UK) has devoted much intellectual and emotional energy to supporting teachers with the implementation of formative assessment. Two major projects, namely King’s-Medway-Oxfordshire Formative Assessment Project (KMOFAP) and Learning How To Learn (LHTL) were launched in the UK to support the development of formative assessment. The purpose of the two projects was to explore how ideas from research could be practised in real situations (Wiliam et al., 2004). The literature shows that individual teachers who adopted and adapted ideas from the KMOFAP and LHTL could improve their classroom practice. These countries have shown significant changes in classroom practices and they have shown major improvements in learners’ performance (Swaffield, 2011)
According to Taras (2009), formative assessment was first popularised in the UK around the 1980s. It began as a distinct movement based on the principles of supporting learners through assessment. The important feature of formative assessment in the United Kingdom, as reported by Taras (2009), was that it emphasised individualised learning. In the United Kingdom, individualised learning depends on teachers knowing the strengths and weaknesses of each learner through the use of formative assessment (Taras, 2009). Here formative assessment also emphasised quality feedback to learners. Teachers were expected to provide supportive feedback to learners on their daily work (Torrance & Pryor, 1998).
In the UK, formative assessment has been used in institutions of further and higher education learning to enhance learning. Teachers are taught to incorporate practices of formative assessment in their teaching practice (Daly, Pachler, Mor & Mellar, 2010). Formative assessment also forms part of the curriculum for the postgraduate certificate in education (Daly et al., 2010). The book by Black and Wiliam (2003) about the principles and practices of formative assessment to enhance learning is used as a basic text in the postgraduate certificate programme (Daly et al., 2010).
The potential of formative assessment to support learning has been recognised in countries such as Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and United States of America. These countries make much use of formative assessment in their education systems, having adopted principles of formative assessment from the Assessment Reform Group (Torrance & Pryor, 1998). According to Brown et al. (2009), countries who have adopted the principles of formative assessment from the Assessment Reform Group in their curriculum policies and classroom practice are likely to follow good international practice.
From the review of international literature on formative assessment it is apparent that countries have various reasons for introducing formative assessment into their policies and programmes and for supporting formative assessment practices. The literature also shows that countries differ on how they implement formative assessment in their schooling system.
In Hong Kong, prior to 1999, the education system was dominated by excessive testing and examining (Carless, 2005; Brown et al., 2009). From 1999 to 2001, educational reform was carried out through a project entitled “Learning How to Learn”, which had the specific goal of introducing formative assessment into classroom practice in primary and secondary schools (Carless, 2005). The main reasons for introducing formative assessment into their curriculum were to reduce excessive testing and examining and to provide information for both learners and teachers to improve learning and support teaching (Carless, 2005; Brown et al., 2009). The project was influenced by Black and Wiliam’s 1998 seminal review with the intention of putting the research into practice.

DEDICATION .
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 
DECLARATION
ABSTRACT
KEYWORDS
LIST OF ACRONYMS 
CHAPTER 1 ORIENTATION TO THE STUDY
1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.2 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
1.3 RATIONALE FOR THIS STUDY.
1.4 AIM OF THE STUDY
1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1.6 CLARIFICATION OF THE KEY CONCEPTS OF THE TITLE
1.7 READING COMPREHENSION AND ASSESSMENT IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT
1.8 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
1.9 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
1.10 DATA ANALYSIS
1.11 OUTLINE OF THE CHAPTERS
CHAPTER 2 A CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ON FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT 
2.1 INTRODUCTION
2.2 THE CONCEPT OF FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
2.3 IMPLEMENTATION OF FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT WORLDWIDE
2.4 STUDIES ON FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
2.5 OVERVIEW OF THE COMPONENTS OF FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
2.6 CHALLENGES REGARDING THE PRACTICE OF FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
2.7 TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT .
2.8 FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT
2.9 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 3 A CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ON THE TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT OF READING COMPREHENSION
3.1 INTRODUCTION
3.2 THE CONCEPT OF “READING COMPREHENSION”
3.3 SOUTH AFRICAN LITERATURE ON READING, READING COMPREHENSION AND ASSESSMENT OF READING
3.4 TEACHING READING COMPREHENSION
3.5 ASSESSMENT OF READING COMPREHENSION
3.6 CRITICAL ANALYSIS
3.7 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 4 THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
4.1 INTRODUCTION
4.2 THEORIES UNDERPINNING THE STUDY
4.3 ZIMMERMAN’S IDEA OF SELF-REGULATED LEARNING
4.4 THE FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT PROCESS
4.5 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR THIS STUDY
4.6 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 5 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
5.1 INTRODUCTION
5.2 RESEARCH PARADIGM
5.3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
5.4 CONTEXT OF THE STUDY
5.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
5.6 DATA COLLECTION PROCESS
5.7 DATA ANALYSIS
5.8 ENSURING THE QUALITY OF THE RESEARCH STUDY
5.9 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS .
5.10 CONCLUSION .
CHAPTER 6 DATA ANALYSIS AND REPORTING OF THE FINDINGS .
6.1 INTRODUCTION
6.2 DATA ANALYSIS PROCESSES .
6.3 DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ..
6.4 PROFILE OF THE PARTICIPANTS ..
6.5 CODING SYSTEM APPLIED DURING THE INVESTIGATION
6.6 THEMATIC DISCUSSION OF THE RESEARCH
6.7 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 7 SYNTHESIS, DISCUSSION AND INTERPRETATION OF THE FINDINGS 
7.1 INTRODUCTION
7.2 OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
7.3 LITERATURE CONTROL
7.4 DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS IN TERMS OF THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS
7.5 REFLECTIONS ON THE THEORY AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
7.6 MY CONTRIBUTION TO KNOWLEDGE
7.7 RECOMMENDATIONS
7.8 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH .
7.9 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
7.10 CONCLUSION
LIST OF REFERENCES
ADDENDUM
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