[ GLOSSARY ]
What is formative feedback?
Definition
Learning scienceFormative feedback
Formative feedback is information on a student's own work, given during learning to guide the next attempt rather than to grade it.
Why it matters for schools
Feedback improves learning, d = 0.48 across 435 studies, with wide variation; informative feedback works best (Wisniewski, Zierer and Hattie, 2020). A stricter meta-analysis of formative assessment estimated about 0.20 SD. AI feedback can help too: in one study, AI feedback on English essays improved revisions (d = 0.19), though humans beat ChatGPT on four of five feedback quality measures in another.
In practice
Ask AI for feedback on a specific part of the student's draft, and have the student decide which feedback to use and why.
[ FAQ ]
Questions and answers
Is AI feedback as good as teacher feedback?
Not yet. Humans beat ChatGPT on four of five quality measures for 200 secondary essays, by modest margins.
How big is the effect of feedback on learning?
d = 0.48 across 435 studies, with wide variation.
What makes feedback formative?
It is about the student's own attempt and points to a next step, rather than only giving a grade.
[ SOURCES ]
Sources
Facts checked Oct 18, 2026.
- 1Wisniewski, Zierer and Hattie, feedback meta-analysis, Frontiers in PsychologyJan 22, 2020 · doi.org
- 2Kingston and Nash, formative assessment meta-analysis2011 · doi.org
- 3Meyer et al., LLM feedback on English essays, Computers and Education: AIDec 29, 2023 · doi.org
- 4
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