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Sixty Formative Assessment Strategies for the Classroom

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Sixty Formative Assessment Strategies for the Classroom

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A Look at Formative Assessment in a Real Classroom

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A Look at Formative Assessment in a Real Classroom

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Why and When to use Formative Assessment

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Why and When to use Formative Assessment

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Formative Assessments: Why, When & Top 5 Examples

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Creating mind or concept maps to convey the understanding of a topic

Summarizing the topic of a lesson into concise sentences

Impromptu quizzes

Lesson exit ticket activities

Small assessment pieces that have the students relate the content of the lesson to something in their own lives

Having students use their fingers on a raised hand to indicate their level of understanding from 1-5

Having students self-assess their understanding using a physical ranking board or chart

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What is Formative Assessment, and Why is it Used?

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What is Formative Assessment, and Why is it Used?

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The goal of formative assessment is to monitor student learning and to provide ongoing feedback that can be used by teachers to improve their teaching, and by students to improve their learning.

Formative assessment should be used to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a student's knowledge of the lesson content, and to discover areas that may require additional attention.

Formative assessment can be used to assist teachers with quickly identifying gaps in student knowledge to see if modifications, adaptions, or repetition of the content may be required.

Formative assessment should be short in duration, concise, and completed during the lesson time.

Formative assessment is conducted during the class for the purpose of measuring student understanding, and thus it should not affect student grades.

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Performance

Presentation

Experiment

Report

Storybook

Essay

Portfolio

Etc.

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Self Assessments

Peer Assessments

Self-reflection

Ipsative Assessments (The practice of determining a student's progress based on their earlier work) For example portfolios and project based learning.

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What is Assessment as Learning, and why is it used?

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What is Assessment as Learning, and why is it used?

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Students be come their own assessors.

It is used to give students the opportunity to monitor their own learning progress and future learning goals.

Encourages students to become self-reflective and work out what they have and haven't learnt.

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Summative Assessment: Overview & Examples

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Mid-term/End of term tests

End of Unit tests

Standardized tests used for pupil admissions (SATs , A-Levels, etc.)

Cumulative work; a final project or portfolio.

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What is Summative Assessment and Why is it used?

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What is Summative Assessment and Why is it used?

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Used to evaluate student learning and a benchmark for academic achievement.

These assessments usually take place under controlled conditions and often happen at the end of a block of learning.

Widely recognized throughout your school or country.

They help assess the learning needs of large group and individuals.

Encourage students to take their work seriuosly

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The Importance of Diagnostic Tests in an ESL Classroom | ITTT | TEFL Blog

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* Non graded quizzes

* Survey

* Pre Tests

* Journals

* Informal Reading Assessments

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Diagnostic Assessment: Examples & Overview

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Indicate students' prior knowledge.

Assess the learning that has occurred during a teaching/learning session.

Can help instructors adjust content and activities to encourage more effective learning.

May make the teaching/learning process more efficient and effective by zeroing in on content that needs to be taught and mastered.

Can help students understand the value of a lesson, module, or entire course.

Can point out to students the gaps in student’s reasoning and misperceptions about subject matter.

May motivate students to seek accurate information and practice.

Demonstrate to students that their instructors care about them as people and about their success as learners.

https://courses.dcs.wisc.edu/design-teaching/PlanDesign_Fall2016/2-Online-Course-Design/3_Learning-Assessments/5_assessment_diagnostic.html

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What is Diagnostic Assessment and Why is it used?

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What is Diagnostic Assessment and Why is it used?

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Diagnostic assessments (also known as pre-assessments) provide instructors with information about student's prior knowledge and misconceptions before beginning a learning activity and also diagnose students’ strengths and areas of need.

These assessments also provide a baseline for understanding how much learning has taken place after the learning activity is completed.  A diagnostic pre-assessment provides an opportunity to determine if students remember the concepts they need. If some students don't remember important concepts, then a refresher will make the current activity more meaningful and improve learning outcomes for students.

https://courses.dcs.wisc.edu/design-teaching/PlanDesign_Fall2016/2-Online-Course-Design/3_Learning-Assessments/5_assessment_diagnostic.html

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Differences between Assessments for, as, and of Learning

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Differences between Assessments for, as, and of Learning

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Assessment FOR, OF, AS Learning| Purposes of Assessment|Assessment in Learning

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Explanation of Assessment for, as, and of learning.

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Assessment for learning, assessment as learning and assessment of learning are approaches that can be used individually or together, formally or informally, to gather evidence about student achievement and to improve student learning.

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Differences between assessment for learning and assessment of learning. (Formative vs Summative)

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Assessment FOR Learning vs. Assessment OF Learning | Pearson

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Learn the difference between assessments FOR learning & assessments OF learning. Both forms of assessments serve a distinct and powerful purpose!

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Examples of assessment for learning.

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Formative assessment-discovering what students know while they're still in the process of learning it-can be tricky. Designing just the right assessment can feel high stakes-for teachers, not students-because we're using it to figure out what comes next. Are we ready to move on? Do our students need a different path into the concepts? Or, more likely, which students are ready to move on and which need a different path?

When it comes to figuring out what our students really know, we have to look at more than one kind of information. A single data point-no matter how well designed the quiz, presentation, or problem behind it-isn't enough information to help us plan the next step in our instruction.

Add to that the fact that different learning tasks are best measured in different ways, and we can see why we need a variety of formative assessment tools we can deploy quickly, seamlessly, and in a low-stakes way-all while not creating an unmanageable workload. That's why it's important to keep it simple: Formative assessments generally just need to be checked, not graded, as the point is to get a basic read on the progress of individuals, or the class as a whole.

7 Approaches to Formative Assessment

1. Entry and exit slips: Those marginal minutes at the beginning and end of class can provide some great opportunities to find out what kids remember. Start the class off with a quick question about the previous day's work while students are getting settled-you can ask differentiated questions written out on chart paper or projected on the board, for example.

A quick way to see the big picture if you use paper exit tickets is to sort the papers into three piles: Students got the point; they sort of got it; and they didn't get it. The size of the stacks is your clue about what to do next.

No matter the tool, the key to keeping students engaged in the process of just-walked-in or almost-out-the-door formative assessment is the questions. Ask students to write for one minute on the most meaningful thing they learned. You can try prompts like:

What are three things you learned, two things you're still curious about, and one thing you don't understand?

How would you have done things differently today, if you had the choice?

What I found interesting about this work was...

Right now I'm feeling...

Today was hard because...

Or skip the words completely and have students draw or circle emojis to represent their assessment of their understanding.

2. Low-stakes quizzes and polls: If you want to find out whether your students really know as much as you think they know, polls and quizzes created with Socrative or Quizlet or in-class games and tools like Quizalize, Kahoot, FlipQuiz, Gimkit, Plickers, and Flippity can help you get a better sense of how much they really understand. (Grading quizzes but assigning low point values is a great way to make sure students really try: The quizzes matter, but an individual low score can't kill a student's grade.) Kids in many classes are always logged in to these tools, so formative assessments can be done very quickly. Teachers can see each kid's response, and determine both individually and in aggregate how students are doing.

Because you can design the questions yourself, you determine the level of complexity. Ask questions at the bottom of Bloom's taxonomy and you'll get insight into what facts, vocabulary terms, or processes kids remember. Ask more complicated questions ("What advice do you think Katniss Everdeen would offer Scout Finch if the two of them were talking at the end of chapter 3?"), and you'll get more sophisticated insights.

3. Dipsticks: So-called alternative formative assessments are meant to be as easy and quick as checking the oil in your car, so they're sometimes referred to as dipsticks. These can be things like asking students to:

write a letter explaining a key idea to a friend,

draw a sketch to visually represent new knowledge, or

do a think, pair, share exercise with a partner.

Your own observations of students at work in class can provide valuable data as well, but they can be tricky to keep track of. Taking quick notes on a tablet or smartphone, or using a copy of your roster, is one approach. A focused observation form is more formal and can help you narrow your note-taking focus as you watch students work.

4. Interview assessments: If you want to dig a little deeper into students' understanding of content, try discussion-based assessment methods. Casual chats with students in the classroom can help them feel at ease even as you get a sense of what they know, and you may find that five-minute interview assessments work really well. Five minutes per student would take quite a bit of time, but you don't have to talk to every student about every project or lesson.

You can also shift some of this work to students using a peer-feedback process called TAG feedback (Tell your peer something they did well, Ask a thoughtful question, Give a positive suggestion). When you have students share the feedback they have for a peer, you gain insight into both students' learning.

For more introverted students-or for more private assessments-use Flipgrid, Explain Everything, or Seesaw to have students record their answers to prompts and demonstrate what they can do.

5. Methods that incorporate art: Consider using visual art or photography or videography as an assessment tool. Whether students draw, create a collage, or sculpt, you may find that the assessment helps them synthesize their learning. Or think beyond the visual and have kids act out their understanding of the content. They can create a dance to model cell mitosis or act out stories like Ernest Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants" to explore the subtext.

6. Misconceptions and errors: Sometimes it's helpful to see if students understand why something is incorrect or why a concept is hard. Ask students to explain the " muddiest point" in the lesson-the place where things got confusing or particularly difficult or where they still lack clarity. Or do a misconception check: Present students with a common misunderstanding and ask them to apply previous knowledge to correct the mistake, or ask them to decide if a statement contains any mistakes at all, and then discuss their answers.

You can use sticky notes to get a quick insight into what areas your kids think they need to work on. Ask them to pick their own trouble spot from three or four areas where you think the class as a whole needs work, and write those areas in separate columns on a whiteboard. Have you students answer on a sticky note and then put the note in the correct column-you can see the results at a glance.

Several self-assessments let the teacher see what every kid thinks very quickly. For example, you can use colored stacking cups that allow kids to flag that they're all set (green cup), working through some confusion (yellow), or really confused and in need of help (red).

Similar strategies involve using participation cards for discussions (each student has three cards-"I agree," "I disagree," and "I don't know how to respond") and thumbs-up responses (instead of raising a hand, students hold a fist at their belly and put their thumb up when they're ready to contribute). Students can instead use six hand gestures to silently signal that they agree, disagree, have something to add, and more. All of these strategies give teachers an unobtrusive way to see what students are thinking.

No matter which tools you select, make time to do your own reflection to ensure that you're only assessing the content and not getting lost in the assessment fog. If a tool is too complicated, is not reliable or accessible, or takes up a disproportionate amount of time, it's OK to put it aside and try something different.

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7 Smart, Fast Ways to Do Formative Assessment

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Within these methods you'll find close to 40 tools and tricks for finding out what your students know while they're still learning.

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Entry and exit tickets

Quizzes on platforms like Kahoot or Bamboozle

Polls

Dipsticks

Focused observation forms

Interview assessments, discussions, and chats

Self-assessments

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What is assessment for learning, and how is it used?

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What is assessment for learning, and how is it used?

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Teachers use assessments for learning to check up on their teaching methods. Evidence of students’ knowledge of various topics and skills is gathered by teachers and is then analyzed by the teacher. The teacher is able to see how effective their teaching methods are for a particular group of students. Using this type of assessment allows teachers to identify struggling students. Adjustments can be made so that all students have equal opportunity and understanding of the learning objectives.

AKA formative assessment.

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End-of-semester exam

End-of-term exam

Midterms and Finals

Benchmark assessments

Periodical exams

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What is Assessment of Learning, and why is it used?

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What is Assessment of Learning, and why is it used?

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Assessment of learning is used by teachers to gather evidence of student knowledge and achievement. The knowledge can be assessed against learning standards and outcomes. These standards and outcomes can be sized by class, county, state, nation, etc. Assessment scores can be gathered and used for grading and/or ranking students. Comparisons of scores can be done to see if a student is below, at, or above an average.

AKA summative assessment.

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Project-based learning is nothing new. More than 100 years ago, progressive educator William Heard Kilpatrick published "The Project Method," a monograph that took the first stab at defining alternatives to direct instruction. Predictably, the document sparked a squabble over definitions and methods-between Kilpatrick and his friend and colleague John Dewey.

Not much has changed. Today, despite major advances in ways to measure learning, we still don't have common definitions for project-based learning or performance assessment.

Sometimes, for example, performance assessment is framed as the opposite of the dreaded year-end, state-required multiple-choice tests used to report on schools' progress. But in fact, many performance assessments are standardized and can-and do-produce valid and reliable results.

Experts also emphasize the "authentic" nature of performance assessment and project-based learning, although "authentic" doesn't always mean lifelike: A good performance assessment can use simulations, as long as they are faithful to real-world situations. (An example: In science class, technology can simulate plant growth or land erosion, processes that take too long for a hands-on experiment.)

In the absence of agreed-upon definitions for this evolving field, Education Week reporters developed a glossary based on interviews with teachers, assessment experts, and policy analysts. They've organized the terms here generally from less specific to more specific. These terms aren't mutually exclusive. (A performance assessment, for instance, may be one element of a competency-based education program.)

Proficiency-based or competency-based learning: These terms are interchangeable. They refer to the practice of allowing students to progress in their learning as they master a set of standards or competencies. Students can advance at different rates. Typically, there is an attempt to build students' ownership and understanding of their learning goals and often a focus on "personalizing" students' learning based on their needs and interests.

Project-based learning: Students learn through an extended project, which may have a number of checkpoints or assessments along the way. Key features are inquiry, exploration, the extended duration of the project, and iteration (requiring students to revise and reflect, for example). A subset of project-based learning is problem-based learning, which focuses on a specific challenge for which students must find a solution.

Standards-based grading: This refers to the practice of giving students nuanced and detailed descriptions of their performance against specific criteria or standards, not on a bell curve. It can stand alone or exist alongside traditional letter grading.

Performance assessment: This assessment measures how well students apply their knowledge, skills, and abilities to authentic problems. The key feature is that it requires the student to produce something, such as a report, experiment, or performance, which is scored against specific criteria.

Portfolio: This assessment consists of a body of student work collected over an extended period, from a few weeks to a year or more. This work can be produced in response to a test prompt or assignment but is often simply drawn from everyday classroom tasks. Frequently, portfolios also contain an element of student reflection.

Exhibition: A type of performance assessment that requires a public presentation, as in the sciences or performing arts. Other fields can also require an exhibition component. Students might be required, for instance, to justify their position in an oral presentation or debate.

Performance task: A piece of work students are asked to do to show how well they apply their knowledge, skills, or abilities-from writing an essay to diagnosing and fixing a broken circuit. A performance assessment typically consists of several performance tasks. Performance tasks also may be included in traditional multiple-choice tests.
With thanks to: Paul Leather, director for state and local partnerships at the Center for Innovation in Education; Mark Barnes, founder of Times 10 Publications; Peter Ross, principal at Education First; Scott Marion, executive director at the Center for Assessment; Sean P. "Jack" Buckley, president, Imbellus; Starr Sackstein, an educator and opinion blogger at edweek.org; and Steve Ferrara, senior adviser at Measured Progress.
Have we missed any terms that confuse you? Why not write and tell us?

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Here's a handy glossary on terms like project-based learning, competency-based learning, and standards-based grading.

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An example of performance assessment in an elementary literacy class could be creating a storybook. Students would need to use their knowledge of phonics, sentence writing, and story structure to produce an original story. This assessment would push the students to use higher orders of thinking than a traditional assessment, because they would need to use the skills that they learned in class to create something new. The assessment could be broken up into a few smaller assignments to make it less intimidating.

There could also be easy accommodations made, such as a shorter story, more time, or the use of helpful technologies, for ESL students or students with special needs.

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What Performance Assessment and Why is it used?

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What Performance Assessment and Why is it used?

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Performance assessment is a type of assessment where students need to create something in order to prove their understanding. It is often closely associated with project based learning, as the performance assessment is often deemed a project, instead of a test or quiz, but a performance assessment does not have to be a long project. This type of assessment requires students to apply their knowledge and skills to real world problems. Performance assessments should be graded on a detailed yet flexible rubric to account for the creativity and variance that each student can have in the assessment.

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Katelyn Mollath

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Andrew Tame