Investigating Teacher Assessment in Infant Classrooms: methodological problems and emerging issues

The paper outlines the development of teacher assessment and the role of formative assessment in National Curriculum Assessment in England and Wales. Theories of and evidence for formative assessment are briefly reviewed in order to provide a context for the research reported. The paper then presents work in progress from an ESRC‐funded study of Teacher Assessment at Key Stage 1. Using insights gained from classroom interaction studies, the project is investigating both the process of assessment and the purposes to which it is put. The paper uses the description of an incident from initial fieldwork to raise issues of methodology and substance.