Exploring the Impact Of Formative Assessment Techniques in Improving Students’ Higher Order Thinking Skills at Secondary Level

Abstract

This paper looks into the way formative assessment practices can improve the ability to think at a higher level by students in a secondary school (HOTS) especially at the levels of the Bloom taxonomy dealing with the analysis, evaluation and creation of information. A sample of 36 secondary students underwent exposure to formative strategies of feedback, self-assessment, peer-assessment and reflective questioning over the course of a structured period of intervention using a pre-test post-test experimental design. These results confirmed the positive effect of formative assessment on the development of HOTS because they demonstrated statistically significant improvements (p <.05) in the abilities of students to think analytically, evaluatively and creatively. These findings are in line with the recent works in education, which point out the importance of formative assessment in developing metacognition, critical thinking, and creative problem-solving. The paper underlines the importance of considering formative strategies in the instructional design to facilitate the development of learner autonomy and greater cognitive involvement in the secondary education. Among the recommendations there are curriculum alignment, teacher preparation and the integration of formative assessment practices into policy.

.