Second, third and fourth grade teachers were asked to respond to an initial survey and to a set of student profiles developed from Computer Curriculum Corporation's Successmaker courseware in math. The two surveys provided statistical descriptions of the thirty original participants and queried the teachers' ability to respond to reports generated from student responses to computer assisted drill and practice in mathematics. The data revealed that there is variability in teachers' accuracy in using and interpretin , g individual and aggregate student data from a computer assisted mathematics . There was little consistency in teacher responses to queries of the importance of selected data. Analysis revealed that teachers who used formative assessment were in the minority of the teachers in the study.
Most teachers use assessment data to audit student performance rather than to infon-n instruction.
Those that use assessment data to infon-n instruction have apparently developed those skills as a result of their own initiative. Themes emerged from in-depth interviews regarding bariiers to teachers' use of formative classroom assessment. The first was that teachers have limited access to instruction in using assessment in the classroom. Other themes that teachers identified included large class size, lack of an easy to use data management system, lack of teacher time, consistency of goals and objectives taught and lack of instruction in how to use the data and reports. Implications for developing teachers' skills in formative assessment and the impact on a school district's preparation for responding to academic standards are discussed.