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Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards Through Classroom Assessment

Paul Black, Dylan Wiliam1998Phi Delta Kappan, 80(2), 139–144

We checked this card's citation and the finding we state against the source's own page or record in October 2026.

What it found

The authors argued from their review of the research that formative assessment is an essential part of classroom work and that improving it can raise achievement, and set out what teacher development would need to look like to get there.

What kind of study it is

Design
Review
Weight
Adds context: a review or a weaker design, which doesn't move a card's rating on its own.
Who
School-age children (K–12)
Limits
A short article for teachers, not a new study. The large effect sizes often quoted for formative assessment are disputed (see Kingston & Nash, 2011, and Bennett, 2011).

Read it

eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ575146

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Cited in the Library

Cite this study

Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Inside the black box: Raising standards through classroom assessment. Phi Delta Kappan, 80(2), 139–144. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ575146

Checked against the source in October 2026. All studies · How we rate the evidence · Something wrong? Tell us.