Literature Review - Transformative Assessments

Transformative Assessments by W.J Popham did a wonderful job setting up what formative assessments are and why they are beneficial to the classroom. Popham says (2008) “Formative assessments is a planned process in which assessment elicited evidence of students' status is used by teachers to adjust their ongoing instructional procedures or by students to adjust their current learning tactics." (Popham, p.6) Popham insists on the idea that the formative assessment is a process meaning a way of making informed decisions about instructional procedures not just for the following year but for the current teaching moment. Popham describes formative assessments in four levels to help distinguish the different uses of formative assessments:
Level 1: Teacher use of formative assessments for use in instructional activities
Level 2: Student use of formative assessments for assessing their own learning
Level 3: Change in classroom environment with regards to classroom assessment
Level 4: School-wide adoption of formative assessments at any of the other levels
For the purpose of my research I am currently looking at Level 1 formative assessments to make a change in how I design and use formative assessments in my classroom to inform my decisions. Within this level there are four steps according to Popham: Step 1 is to "identify assessment occasions"; step 2 is to "select assessment procedures"; step 3 says “establishes adjustment triggers”; and step 4 is “makes instructional adjustments." I would like to move along in the levels but feel like I need to make one step at a time and these four steps of level 1 are enough for me to concentrate on at this time.
A favorite quote of mine from the transformative assessment was (2008) "Don't let pursuit of the instructionally perfect prevent you from reaping the rewards of the instructionally possible." (Popham, p. ix) While I feel like I have not even scratched the surface of what can be learned from formative assessment it is important to keep trying and learning to make my classroom a better learning environment.

Popham, W.J. (2008). Transformative Assessments. Alexandria, Virginia. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.