1 Using formative assessment to improve writing skills Joanne Khaw Methodist Girls’ Primary School, Singapore Susan Gwee English Language Institute of Singapore Singapore Introduction Formative assessment has been increasingly used in school to improve student learning. In par- ticular, research on the use of rubrics for formative assessment has received more interest in re- cent years (Panadero & Jonsson, 2013). The use of rubrics as an instructional tool enables teach- ers to support student learning as well as assess student work (H. Andrade, 1999). Rubrics help students know what teachers expect in terms of quality of work as they provide gradations of quality for each criterion. Andrade (2001) noted that instructional rubrics had the following fea- tures that support student learning: a) they are written in Ianguage that students can understand; b) they define and describe quality work; c) they refer to common weaknesses found in students’ work and show how such weaknesses can be avoided; and d) they can be used by students to assess their own work as they write and thus they guide revi- sion and improvement. In a review of the use of rubrics for formative assessment purposes, Panadero and Jonsson (2013) have found that rubrics have a potentially positive effect on student learning. However, they noted that most studies examining the use of rubrics in the classroom have also combined Abstract Using a quasi-experimental design, this study examines the effect of using formative assess- ment, specifically the use of rubrics, to improve the writing and writing self-efficacy of Primary 3 female students in Singapore. Findings indicated that the intervention group students had higher self-efficacy scores compared to the comparison group students. Significantly higher scores were reported for confidence in writing an interesting story, in using details to support ideas, and in correctly using writing conventions. Positive changes in content writing scores were found among the intervention group students. Findings from interviews with the stu- dents showed that they supported the use of rubrics. Future research could investigate the use of rubrics to improve the writing self-efficacy and performance of boys, and boys and girls from different primary schools. February 2016