Formative assessments play a crucial role in teaching and learning by providing continuous feedback to guide instruction and support learner progress. Literature indicates that high-quality formative assessments must exhibit key features such as content validity, authenticity, and alignment with both curriculum goals and cognitive levels. When these elements are lacking, particularly when assessments rely heavily on rote learning or fail to engage learners meaningfully, it could result in diminished critical thinking, poor knowledge transfer, and limited scientific literacy, especially in subjects like Physical Sciences.

This study investigated the quality of Physical Sciences formative assessments and their alignment with the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) in selected South African high schools. It was prompted by the continued poor performance of learners in formative assessments, raising concerns about how such assessments are designed and applied in classrooms. The research employed a qualitative case study design, underpinned by Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy and Biggs’ Constructive Alignment Theory, which provided an analytical framework for evaluating the cognitive demand and curriculum alignment of the assessments. Nine formative assessment tasks comprising written tests, practical work, classroom exercises, and assignments were purposively selected from three high schools were analysed.

The investigation was guided by two research questions:
(1) What is the quality of selected South African Physical Sciences formative assessments? and
(2) To what extent do these assessments align with the objectives outlined in the CAPS curriculum?

The findings revealed several concerns. Regarding content validity, most assessments met the acceptable threshold, with a Content Validity Index (CVI) of 0.7 or higher. However, one Grade 12 assessment recorded a low CVI of 0.2, indicating a poor alignment with the intended content. Authenticity was consistently low across all assessments, as the tasks lacked real-world context and relevance. Based on Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy, the analysis showed that most assessment items involved lower-order cognitive levels (primarily remembering and understanding), with very few requiring learners to engage in higher-order thinking skills such as analysis, evaluation, or creation. In terms of alignment with CAPS objectives, most assessments focused on objectives related to content acquisition and the recall facts, principles and theories. However, objectives involving higher-order thinking and applied knowledge were largely underrepresented, suggesting a limited and imbalanced approach to curriculum implementation.

Based on these findings, we recommend the training of educators to design tasks that reflect the full spectrum of CAPS objectives and to engage learners in deeper cognitive processes. District assessment teams must also ensure that assessments go beyond basic recall and are aligned with the broader aims of the Physical Sciences curriculum. Enhancing the quality of formative assessments is essential for improving learner performance and scientific reasoning.

Keywords: Formative assessment, Physical Sciences, curriculum alignment, CAPS, cognitive levels, authenticity, content validity.