Impact of Formative Assessment Instructional Approach on Students’ Mathematics Achievement and their Metacognitive Awareness

Abstract

In the present study, the impact of formative assessment on secondary school students’ mathematics achievement and their metacognitive awareness was examined. The participants included 164 (84 boys) grade 11 students and four mathematics teachers from four secondary schools in Kenya. A quasiexperimental pretest-posttest non-equivalent group design was used to determine if there was any significant difference in the students' mathematics achievement scores and their metacognitive awareness after a formative assessment intervention. The influence of gender on mathematics achievement and metacognitive awareness was also examined. Formative assessment was conceptualized as an instructional approach consisting of five strategies. After controlling for pretest scores, the results revealed that students who were taught using formative assessment instructional approach outperformed those taught using conventional approach for both mathematics achievement (p = 0.014, η2 = 0.38) and metacognitive awareness (p < 0.001, η2 = 0.47). Analysis based on gender did not reveal any gender influence on students’ mathematics achievement (p = 0.571, η2 = 0.002) and their metacognitive awareness (p = 0.287, η2 = 0.008). The current study adds knowledge to the limited empirical evidence regarding the impact of formative assessment conceptualized as an instructional approach on students’ mathematic’s achievement and their metacognitive awareness.