Abstract:

The current form of formative assessment in Czech primary and lower secondary schools is facing criticism. This is evidenced by the reports of the Czech School Inspectorate and some research findings of the authors. Despite the proven benefits of formative assessment not only abroad, teachers in Czech primary and lower secondary schools, according to current research, still prefer summative assessment. There is not much evidence of the current form of formative assessment in Czech schools because only a small amount of research deals with the issue of formative assessment. Furthermore, formative assessment has not yet been properly grasped in the national curricula. However, the general assumption is that teachers do work with formative assessment, but it has not yet been revealed in what form and extent.

The article and the research present the results of the analysis of ten online lessons at primary and lower secondary school within the educational area of Language and Communication through Language. The analysis was performed using a tool based on the concept of formative assessment by McMillan. This concept was adjusted and edited by the authors of this paper to be based on the current educational reality of Czech primary and lower secondary schools. The tool works with three levels of formative assessment which can reveal the final form of formative assessment in teaching. The main goal is to present a research tool and the results of 10 analyzed online lessons. Online lessons were recorded and their results were thoroughly analyzed by more observers. We monitored the degree of consensus between the two observers.

It was found that the teaching of primary and lower secondary school teachers reflects a low level of formative assessment with a slight overlap to a moderate level. The results of this study thus confirm the current criticism of schools that primary and lower secondary school teachers rather prefer summative assessment. The results will serve the primary and lower secondary school in the effective implementation of formative assessment in teaching (the goal is to achieve a higher level of formative assessment). The results can also be of value to the researchers who deal with the issue of implementing formative assessment into teaching.

Keywords:

Formative assessment, online teaching, Language and Communication through Language, form and level of formative assessment, teacher, pupil, Czech schools.