Formative Assessment

What is Formative Assessment?

• A systematic, on-going process used by teachers and students to:
• Gather evidence of learning
• Give and receive feedback
• Engage students in assessment
• Use data to improve teaching and learning
• Close the gap between what students know and can do and what we want them to know and do
• A repertoire of in-the-moment tools that teachers can use regularly to inform and guide their instruction.
• A low-stakes way of gaining insight into students’ content knowledge and literacy processes to inform teachers about their students’ progress toward the objectives of the class. 
• A form of assessment that is not included in students’ grades or used to evaluate the teacher.

Why do we Assess Formatively?

• To help students to become better readers and writers! 
• At the beginning of instruction: Provides a baseline to measure progress as well as a description of the student’s abilities, needs, and interests, which allows the teacher to match texts and tasks to the student. 
• During instruction: Allows the teacher to identify teachable moments, the student’s zone of proximal development, and the student’s progress in reference to curricular benchmarks related to both content knowledge and literacy processes. 
• At the end of instruction: Serves to certify levels of accomplishment and demonstrate accountability, as well as to measure change in terms of knowledge, skill, and other affective factors.

What do we do as a Result of Formative Assessment?

Before Instruction:

• Group students based on data and learning outcomes
• Begin instruction based on student’s entry knowledge
• Provide additional support and scaffolds (small group or individual) as necessary

During Instruction:

• Clarify misunderstandings 
• Re-teach, using alternate modality 
• Use different instructional strategies 
• Provide scaffolding 
• Differentiate instruction 
• Re-group students 
• Provide support

After Instruction and Before Summative Assessment:

• Identify prevalent points of confusion 
• Review key/common errors 
• Institute peer review/assistance 
• Utilize support services 
• Prepare for summative assessment 
• Differentiate assessment/levels of rubric 
• Reconsider standards

Resources

What are Formative Assessments and Why Should We Use Them?

Tools for Formative Assessment: 50+ Techniques to Check for Understanding

The Quest for Quality
Article By Stephen Chappuis, Jan Chappuis and Rick Stiggins
Assessment quality and assessment balance—only these can ensure that multiple
measures give stable estimates of student achievement.

Twitter-Style Exit Tickets
https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/quick-student-assessment

Checklist during Discussions
https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/assess-listening-speaking-skills-ousd

Providing Personalized Feedback on Student Writing
https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/personalize-feedback-for-students

The Ultimate Formative Assessment Resource: Teaching Channel's "Deep Dive" Collection of Videos, Links, and other Resources on Formative Assessment
https://www.teachingchannel.org/formative-assessment