Formative Assessment and its Relevance to Retention

Formative assessment is of critical importance to student learning. With learning and teaching, and also retention, high on the agenda of higher education, the professionalism of academics as educators is of increasing significance. A key component of educators' professionalism—formative assessment—is weakly conceptualised, and hence it is likely that the contribution of formative assessment to student learning and retention is not being optimised. The first, larger part of this article discusses formative assessment in the context of the current political and structural environment of higher education. The second part considers how formative assessment might better contribute to student development and retention, particularly in the critically important first year of a higher education program.