This article examines the methodological foundations for developing students’ critical thinking competence through formative assessment in physics education. In contemporary education, learners are expected not merely to acquire ready-made knowledge, but also to analyse physical phenomena, identify cause-and-effect relationships, draw evidence-based conclusions, justify their opinions, and make independent decisions in problem situations. From this perspective, formative assessment is interpreted not only as a tool for evaluating final learning outcomes, but also as a pedagogical and methodological mechanism that reveals, supports, and develops the learner’s thinking process.

The article analyses the significance of critical thinking in physics education, as well as the diagnostic, developmental, reflective and evidence-oriented characteristics of formative assessment. It also presents a comparative analysis of traditional and formative assessment, formative assessment tasks based on physics topics, a methodological model aimed at developing students’ critical thinking, expected pedagogical outcomes, and practical recommendations for physics teachers.