FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

Assessment in education is the process of gathering, interpreting, recording, and using information about pupils’ responses to an educational task.

??? ask before assessing Why am I assessing?

What do I want my students to know?

How will I find out if they know it?

How will I communicate the results of my assessment?

Who should be involved?

Why do we assess students?

•To gather evidence of student learning •To inform instruction •To motivate students and increase student achievement

How do we assess students? Formative Assessment

Summative Assessment

Differences between formative and summative assessment

Assessment for Learning Assessment of Learning

Teachers, students and parents are the primary users

Teachers, principals, supervisors, program planners, and policy makers are the primary

users During learning After learning

Used to provide information on what and how to improve achievement

Used to certify student competence

Used by teachers to identify and respond to student needs

Used to rank and sort students

Purpose: improve learning Purpose: document achievement of standards

Primary motivator: belief that success is achievable

Primary motivator: threat of punishment, promise of reward

Continuous Periodic

Examples: peer assessment, using rubrics with students, descriptive feedback

Examples: final exams, placement tests, state assessments, unit tests

What is Formative Assessment?Formative assessment is a process used by teachers and students during instruction that provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve students’ achievement of intended instruction outcomes . Formative Assessment gives teachers

information that they can use to inform their

teaching and improve learning.

Five Attributes of Effective Formative Assessments

1. Learning Progressions2. Learning Goals and Criteria

for Success3. Descriptive Feedback4. Self and Peer-Assessment5. Collaboration

Advantages of Formative Assessment

•Focuses instruction on informed priorities•Allows for customized learning•Encourages teachers and students to work together toward achievement•Increases student engagement and motivation•Increases coherence between curriculum, instruction and assessment

The Cycle of Formative Assessment

Identification of

Objectives, Goals,

Standards

Targeted Instructio

n

Data Gathering

Data Analysis

Responding to Data

Why did we decide to incorporate formative assessment?

Formative Assessment help us: Consider each student’s learning

needs and styles and adapt instruction

Track individual student achievement Provide appropriately challenging

instructional activities Design student assessmentsOffer all

students opportunities for improvement through descriptive feedback

Examples of typical methods used

Traffic lights Sticks Postman Thermometer

Outcomes BasedFormative AssessmentEmphasizes learning outcomesMakes goals and objectives transparent to students

Provides clear assessment criteriaCloses the gap between what students know and desired outcomes

Provides feedback that is relevant, comprehensible, actionable

Provides valuable diagnostic information by generating informative data