On behalf of all the members of our project entitled “Promoting Formative Assessment: From Theory to Policy and Practice” (FORMAS), I would like to welcome you to our project's webpage.

This project is funded by the Erasmus+ Programme - Key Action 3 (Support for Policy Reform Forward Looking Cooperation Projects) of the European Commission. It is a three-year project starting on January 2018 and involves eight organizations from four European countries: Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, and the Netherlands. Cyprus and specifically the University of Cyprus is the coordinating country.

The growing accountability framework, the need for higher learning outcomes, and the recognition of formative assessment as a key factor for teacher effectiveness have increased the need for teacher competency in student assessment. Although secondary teachers spend a large amount of time in assessment-related activities, they appear to lack the necessary knowledge and skills, using assessment practices for summative rather than for formative purposes. This project argues for an evidence-based and theory-driven approach to national policy on assessment which will not only generate guidelines on how to use assessment for formative reasons but also develop Teacher Professional Development (TPD) mechanisms that can help teachers promote assessment for learning. To achieve this aim we will:

• Develop a framework for measuring teacher assessment skills and use it to define professional standards in formative assessment.
• Establish valid instruments to measure teachers’ professional needs in different contexts.
• Design a TPD course and material on assessment in English, Dutch and Greek. The course will be based on the main assumptions of the Dynamic Approach which recognizes the importance of differentiating the TPD courses according to the needs of each teacher and supporting them develop and implement their own action plans. Critical reflection upon practice becomes more focused and takes into account the knowledge-base on formative assessment.
• Evaluate the impact of the course on improving teachers’ skills in assessment and student outcomes (cognitive and meta-cognitive).

We will also search for differential effects (especially since formative assessment may be more beneficial for students who are under risk) and specific challenges that are faced in using this approach in countries with different contexts. Implications of findings for policy and practice in countries with similar characteristics will be drawn and possibilities for expanding this approach will be explored.

Our webpage is systematically updated and anyone interested in our work will have the opportunity to be informed about the activities and the results of the project at each of its phases.

I would like to invite you to browse our webpage to get a better idea of our project's activities. If you have any questions or would like to have more information about the project, please do not hesitate to contact us.

The project coordinator,

Dr Leonidas Kyriakides

Professor of Educational Research and Evaluation,