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Formative assessment refers to a wide variety of methods that teachers use to conduct in-process evaluations of student comprehension, learning needs, and academic progress during a lesson, unit, or course. Formative assessments help teachers identify concepts that students are struggling to understand, skills they are having difficulty acquiring, or learning standards they have not yet achieved so that adjustments can be made to lessons, instructional techniques, and academic support.

The general goal of formative assessment is to collect detailed information that can be used to improve instruction and student learning while it’s happening. What makes an assessment “formative” is not the design of a test, technique, or self-evaluation, per se, but the way it is used—i.e., to inform in-process teaching and learning modifications.

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Formative assessment refers to the ongoing process students and teachers engage in when they

1. Focus on learning goals.

2. Take stock of where current work is in relation to the goal.

3. Take action to move closer to the goal.

Formative assessment information can come from questioning and discussion with students, from their work (quizzes, assignments, homework), or from direct observation of students doing their work.

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Formative assessment is not used for grading. Students need—and deserve—an opportunity to learn before they are graded on how well they have learned. Formative assessment is used before instruction, to find out where students are, and during instruction, to find out how they are progressing. The fact that the results of formative assessment are not used for grading makes it even more useful for learning, especially for less-able students. They are free to pay attention to figuring out how they are doing and what they need to work on without worrying about a grade.

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Resources for more information on Formative Assessment:

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Resources for more information on Formative Assessment:

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Book: Formative Assessment Strategies for Every Classroom: An ASCD Action Tool, 2nd Edition by Susan M. Brookhart

Google Slide Presentation: 56 Examples of Formative Assessments

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1nzhdnyMQmio5lNT75ITB45rHyLISHEEHZlHTWJRqLmQ/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000&slide=id.g583166bc_0_20

PDF of 60 Formative Assessment Tools:

http://www.levy.k12.fl.us/instruction/Instructional_Tools/60FormativeAssessment.pdf

Youtube video: Rick Wormeli: Formative and Summative Assessment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJxFXjfB_B4

Formative Assessment strategies with videos from the TeachingChannel

https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2015/03/04/formative-assessment-resources/

Formative Assessment for Middle School: Gathering and Analyzing Evidence Video Lecture

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhL_sQwGl5c

What is Formative Assessment? Video with Strategies

http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-formative-assessment-strategies-examples.html

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http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/111005/chapters/Section-1@-What-Is-Formative-Assessment¢.aspx

http://edglossary.org/formative-assessment/