Formative assessment (FA) is a term describing teachers’ use of evaluative skills and strategies at the classroom level to improve student learning, and has garnered increased attention through the current educational culture’s focus on accountability. However, FA in K-12 education has been studied more frequently in science and math, where the learning progression is more linear, and empirical research is lacking in more subjective fields such as English/language arts (ELA), especially at the secondary level. In order to better understand the concept of “formative assessment” in this context, an exploratory qualitative study was conducted with administrators and instructors in a concurrent enrollment ELA program. In part, this population was chosen because of its qualities as an exemplary community of practice. Lessons learned from this study have implications for future research into FA, and also have broader applications to teacher evaluations and studies of instructional and assessment practices in K-12 education.#2015Conference #Prek-12EducationalEvaluation