Impact of Formative Assessment on Students Performance in Public Private Partnership Schools: A Developing Country Perspective

Abstract

The study explored the impact of formative assessments on students’ performance in Public Private Partnership (PPP) schools in a developing country. A quantitative, causal-comparative research design was employed. A sample of 36 PPP schools from Lahore, Pakistan was drawn using cluster sampling.1200 students from Grade 8 studying in these PPP schools were part of this study. Two groups were formed: a “pre-assessment group” student who took a centralized test before the final exam/ middle school examination, and a “no pre-assessment group” student who did not appear in this test before exam. This centralized test served as the formative assessment. Students' assessment scores and final examination scores were collected and analyzed using SPSS. Descriptive statistics were run along with Pearson correlation and Independent sample t-test. Analyses revealed a statistically significant positive correlation between formative assessment scores and final examination scores (r = 0.796, p 0.00). The pre-assessment group achieved a higher mean score in the final examination (m=332.56, SD = 44.85) compared to the no pre-assessment group (m=297.41, SD = 35.56). Independent t-test confirmed a significant difference between the groups' mean scores (p < .001). The study concluded that Formative assessment had a significant positive impact on students’ performance in Lahore’s PPP schools’ exams. These findings support the theoretical premise that assessments promote student engagement and learning, leading to improved performance. Formative assessment in PPP schools enhances student learning, leading to improved educational outcomes. Further research could explore deeper into the mechanisms underlying the positive impact of assessments on student performance in developing countries.