Formative assessment in English language teaching: exploring the enactment practices of teachers within three primary schools in Singapore

Abstract

This article explores formative assessment enactment practices of six lower primary teachers within three primary schools in Singapore. Using a case study approach, data from interviews and lesson observations were examined to determine teachers’ formative assessment enactment practices and the influences to their enactment attempts. Findings from the study suggest formative assessment implementation to be complex when the teachers conceptualized and then enacted their practice. The teachers were found to play out processes and practices related to formative assessment based on interpretations they held. The teachers’ institutional, social and cultural settings were also found to influence their enactment practices. The study discusses evidences drawn before outlining implications for formative assessment implementation in schools.