Formative Assessment in Brazil: Teachers’ Perceptions, Practices, and Challenges

• In Event: Exploring Formative Assessment Practices and Policies in Latin American and European Countries: A Cross-national Comparative Overview

Abstract

The contribution of formative assessment (FA) to improving student learning is well established in a wide body of research, consistently demonstrating its positive effects. Feedback is recognized as a crucial element in this process (Bennett, 2011; Heritage, 2007; Black & Wiliam, 1998; Sadler, 1989, among others).

In Brazil, FA appears only occasionally in official educational policies over the past 30 years (BNCC, 2019; DCN, 2013; PCN, 1997; LDBEN, 1996), and none of these documents has established a systematic connection between FA, pedagogical practices, and teacher education. The National Guidelines for Teacher Education (2001, 2002, 2015) do not explicitly mention FA. Only in 2019, a Resolution CNE/CP No. 2 proposed the inclusion of FA as part of teachers’ pre-service education, although this resolution was never enacted. In 2024, it was replaced by Resolution No. 4, which omitted any directed reference to FA in official teacher education policy. Nevertheless, FA is part of the professional vocabulary of many teachers, who report already using it in their classroom practice.

In this context, this study investigates:
1. What are in-service teachers’ perceptions and knowledge of formative assessment?
2. How do they apply FA in their classrooms? and
3. What challenges do they face in implementing it?

Perspective: This research is grounded in the perspective that FA positively influences student learning, functioning as a sociocognitive process in which feedback plays a central role in supporting and advancing learning. According to Black and Wiliam (1998), students exposed to FA learn more effectively, benefit more when facing learning difficulties, and outperform peers on external exams compared to those assessed only summatively.

Methods: This study employed a mixed-methods design (Creswell & Clark, 2013). In the first phase, we conducted interviews with 34 teachers, gathering sociodemographic data and information about their understanding, use, and challenges related to FA. Based on these findings, we developed a Google Forms questionnaire and collected responses from 357 teachers during 2024 and 2025, across seven major Brazilian states, one from each region: São Paulo, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Mato Grosso, Sergipe, Amazonas, and Acre.

Findings: Teachers in Basic Education (students aged 4 to 17) demonstrated limited knowledge of FA, often associating it with continuous methods or processes, and rarely referring to its core element: feedback. Their conceptions were superficial and varied depending on years of teaching experience and the educational level in which they work (early childhood education, primary, or secondary education). Most teachers reported using FA infrequently and identified barriers such as lack of time and effective strategies. A possible explanation lies in the absence of FA content in initial teacher education courses on assessment.

Significance: These findings help to clarify what teachers from seven Brazilian states actually think about formative assessment, how they apply it, and the challenges they face in implementing it in the classroom. They also provide important input for the development of teacher education policies, support for teacher educators, and guidance for future research on the topic in Brazil.

Author

• Paulo Sérgio Garcia, Universidade de São Caetano do Sul (USCS)