Teachers who have switched the emphasis away from marking and grading to give comments and feedback are finding that their pupils try harder and do better. Public exams like GCSEs and A-levels give pupils a final grade, known as summative assessment. But recent research has focussed more on formative assessment and how it can be implemented more effectively in the classroom, because this happens every day, not just in a single ritual. Assessment in general, and formative assessment in particular, has been a huge area in educational research for nearly twenty years. Professor Bethan Marshall from King's College, London is a lecturer specialising in the field of assessment and English education and is extending the work of Paul Black in his seminal report Inside the Black Box.

Video Series: Hot Research
Release Date 2005