Teachers’ self-efficacy and formative assessment of students: Moderating role of school goal structure

Although the importance of formative assessment of student progress has been well covered in previous studies, implementing formative assessment in the classroom requires targeted tools and educational policies. Therefore, we examined the factors that affect teachers’ use of formative assessment practices and analyzed the moderating effect of the school’s mastery goal structure in the relationship between teachers’ self-efficacy and their use of formative assessment practices. Participants were 507 Chinese primary school teachers, who completed a survey. Structural equation modeling results reveal that teachers’ self-efficacy regarding formative assessment and perception of a school mastery goal structure each positively predicted the use of formative assessment practices. The moderating effect of the school mastery goal structure in the relationship between teachers’ self-efficacy and their use of formative assessment practices was also statistically significant. Our findings have implications for policy making and practice as well as for further studies regarding formative assessment of students.