D. Royce Sadler of Australia's University of Queensland notes that "even when teachers provide students with valid and reliable judgments ... improvement does not necessarily follow." Formative assessment doesn't just give learners a description of their achievement--it allows them to plan their next learning steps.
A 2010 research project by Susan Heidi Porter at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, showed that formative assessments "reduced feelings of helplessness and avoidance," as students used technology to access criteria for success, and mapped their progress against that of their classmates.
Teachers use formative assessment incorrectly, Marge Scherer, author of "Challenging The Whole Child" explains, when they "administer (tests), report the results, and then continue with instruction as previously planned." After sharing assessment criteria, teachers should adapt their teaching accordingly.
Students become self-managers, actively assessing their learning via tools provided by the teacher, rather than guessing or waiting for the teacher to do it.
Christopher Chapman, writer of "Radical Reforms," believes formative assessment leads to a "significant increase in the dialogue around the assessment process." This could mean providing learners with simple bullet points or, for mature learners, the entire marking scheme of the assessment criteria.