Formative assessment (FA) has been a popular discourse in education, but its potential benefit is fundamentally dependent on teachers’ willingness to make changes to their classroom practices. These changes bring about much assessment tension (AT). This paper argues that how well teachers experience and manage AT determines the efficacy of their FA practices. Past studies have warned that AT experienced by teachers is complex and problematic. Therefore, it would be useful to investigate the variation of AT experienced by teachers, and how well they are dealing with these tensions. This phenomenographic research examines the use of FA in the context of different ways that AT is experienced. Findings on teachers’ conceptions of AT are presented, and each is then discussed for insights into teachers’ meanings and practices of assessment. In particular, instances of how AT hindered or helped FA are identified to highlight more productive ways of understanding and using assessment to support students’ learning. Implications of the research findings for the Singapore Teaching Practice (STP) will be discussed.

形成性评估 (FA) 一直是教育界的热门话题，但其潜在的好处从根本上取决于教师改变课堂实践的意愿。这些变化带来了很大的评估张力（AT）。本文认为，教师体验和管理 AT 的程度决定了他们的 FA 实践的有效性。过去的研究警告说，教师所经历的 AT 是复杂且有问题的。因此，调查教师所经历的 AT 的变化以及他们如何处理这些紧张局势将是有用的。这项现象学研究检查了在 AT 体验的不同方式背景下使用 FA。介绍了教师对 AT 概念的调查结果，然后对每一项调查结果进行讨论，以深入了解教师的意义和评估实践。特别是，确定了 AT 如何阻碍或帮助 FA 的实例，以突出更有效的理解和使用评估来支持学生学习的方式。将讨论研究结果对新加坡教学实践（STP）的影响。