Teachers Know What Students Need. But Do They Have the Tools to Deliver It?

Every day, teachers make hundreds of decisions – when to pause and reteach, when to push forward, when to offer encouragement, and when to challenge. These decisions are grounded in their professional judgement, built from experience and their understanding of each student. It’s a superpower that no tool can replace. However, they also need the right data and insights to inform those judgements.

Formative assessment is a critical teaching component in obtaining data and insights. In our recent global survey, we set out to explore how teachers use assessment in schools today and what they need to make it more effective. The goal? To better understand how formative assessment is actually playing out in classrooms, what the challenges are and whether technology can better support what teachers do best: help students learn.

What we heard from educators around Australia and New Zealand was clear. They value assessment deeply. But they’re under enormous pressure—and they don’t have the time, tools, or training to do it the way they know they should.

In this blog, we examine the data at a high level to determine what it tells us about assessment ahead of a more detailed report on the full survey.

The Reality for Teachers

When it comes to student progress, teachers are confident in their ability to help students grow. The challenge lies in knowing exactly where each student is at any given moment. The ‘knowing’ part has also become harder. Relationships with students are becoming more complex, time pressures are increasing, and class sizes remain large. Teachers are looking for ways to better “know” their learners—data can help, but only if it’s trustworthy and actionable.

Teachers know that regular formative assessment is best practice. It’s not up for debate. But the reality is that for many, it’s just not always possible. 

More than 70% of teachers in our survey said the biggest challenge they face in using formative assessment is the time it takes to create and manage it. Yet less than 30% strongly agreed that they can easily use the data they receive to plan their teaching. This disconnect—between what teachers know works and what they can feasibly do—is a major roadblock.

Despite these challenges, the intent is there. The majority of teachers said they are already using quizzes, discussions, and self-assessments regularly. They’re finding ways to make it work—but the cracks are starting to show. All teachers surveyed said they use formative assessments, with the greatest number reporting that they use them on an ongoing basis. Yet, without curriculum alignment, the resulting data often becomes subjective and harder to act on.

The Right Technology, Implemented the Right Way

When asked what could help, the message was unanimous: teachers want tools that are easy to implement and aligned with the curriculum. Tools that can reduce their workload, not add to it. Technology that works with them, not around them.

In practice, this means looking for tools that:

• are curriculum aligned
• can consolidate student data from multiple places e.g. across subjects, so you get a more holistic view
• provide data that is actionable

When we looked at validating our ideas with our own customer base in separate surveys, over 90% of Education Perfect (EP) customers reported that using EP has improved their teaching practice. They spoke about how it streamlines formative assessment, providing fast, relevant data “at their fingertips” that they can actually use. Another educator noted that EP Assessments “provided us with quick and easy formative assessment data to better work with those students who have not yet learned the content and to further extend those students who have.”

This isn’t about replacing teacher judgement with algorithms, far from it. It’s about recognising that judgment is more powerful when rich, accurate, and timely insights are available to support it. That’s why curriculum-aligned, easy-to-use tools that provide immediate insight are so critical. It’s not just about having data. It’s about having the right data—clearly presented and ready to inform the next step. In 2024, 94.7% of EP customers said the platform gave them data and insights that improved their teaching practice. It’s not a replacement for teacher expertise. It’s a foundation for it.

In Conclusion

Teachers don’t need more reminders of what best practice looks like. They need time, space, and tools to implement it. The right technology—grounded in learning science, aligned to curriculum, and designed to support teacher judgement—can help make that possible.

At Education Perfect, we believe that empowering teachers with clear, actionable insights is the key to unlocking better outcomes for students. It’s time to move from knowing what works to being able to do it—every day, for every learner.

Want to see how EP can support your formative assessment practice? Check out our Assessment offerings or get in touch to  start your free trial today.