Education Research Reading Room · Ollie Lovell: Teacher, author, podcaster, blogger, PhD candidate. @ollie_lovell

ERRR #064. Paul Spenceley on Formative Assessment

·1 hr 45 min·5 clips

Paul Spensley reveals why 'describe photosynthesis' fails students and how numbering transforms learning objectives.

Education Research Reading Room host Olly Lovell speaks with Paul Spenceley, who spent over three decades teaching science at a comprehensive school and later a selective girls grammar school in England, and was directly involved in the 1998 Black and Wiliam King's College formative assessment research project that produced the influential Inside the Black Box paper. Spenceley's book Successful Science Teaching synthesizes formative assessment principles developed over his career into practical classroom strategies. On learning objectives, Spenceley argues that most teacher-written objectives are vague aims for the teacher, rather than crystal-clear success criteria for students. He contrasts describe adaptations of polar bears with a numbered two-part objective: state at least three adaptations, then explain how each helps survival. The numbering format gives students a measurable self-assessment framework, creates visible progress during lessons, and removes ambiguity about what mastery looks like. He emphasizes this approach has been adopted successfully across subjects including history and maths, not just science. Spenceley discusses how formative assessment fundamentally requires teachers to constantly gather evidence of student understanding during lessons rather than waiting for summative assessments. He describes classroom discussion techniques that increase engagement and diagnostic information, including techniques from William's formative assessment framework. The conversation also covers exam strategy, where Spenceley found students often lost marks not from lack of knowledge but from poor technique in answering questions. He draws on his experience observing hundreds of lessons and delivering whole-school CPD sessions to illustrate common patterns. Tone is practical, teacher-focused, and example-driven. Best suited for educators, teacher-trainers, and education researchers interested in formative assessment and science education.

As heard by us

Formative assessment is framed as skilled judgment, with boundaries, flexibility, and a clear rejection of one-size-fits-all planning.

Paul Spensley's case for formative assessment treats teaching as judgment in motion, not a fixed script. The discussion keeps circling back to boundaries, flexibility, and the simple fact that a lesson has to meet the group in front of you.

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Why you'd press play

You want formative assessment that still leaves room for teacher judgment.

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