Classroom Assessment Is Not (Necessarily) Formative Assessment (and Vice‐versa)

The terms ‘classroom assessment’ and ‘formative assessment’ are often used synonymously, but as the chapters in this collection show, the fact that an assessment happens in the classroom, as opposed to elsewhere, says very little, either about the nature of the assessment, or about the functions that it can serve. Classroom assessments may provide a sound basis for summative assessments, and those conducted outside the classroom may provide valuable insights into how to take learning forward. As well as the locus of the assessment, we think that it is also important to attend to the issues of authority, resources, interactivity and scoring. Each of these is discussed.