What have the students learned today? Eleven Attributes of Formative Assessment Using Assessment FOR Learning D.C. Everest Social Studies D.C. Everest

What have the students learned

today?

Eleven Attributes of Formative Assessment

Using Assessment FOR Learning

D.C. Everest Social Studies D.C. Everest Area Schools Weston, WI 54476

http://www.dce.k12.wi.us/jrhigh/socialstudies/

http://www.dce.k12.wi.us/jrhigh/socialstudies/

Definition

Formative assessment a process used by teachers and students

during instruction that provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve students’ achievement of intended instructional outcomes.

The term's newfound popularity notwithstanding, the concept of formative assessment is as old as teaching itself. - Tim Wiley


Research on Formative Assessment

Black and William (1998a) conducted an extensive research review of 250 journal articles and book chapters to determine whether formative assessment raises academic standards in the classroom. They concluded that efforts to strengthen formative assessment produce significant learning gains as measured by comparing the average improvements in the test scores of the students involved…

Black, P., and Wiliam, D. (1998a). Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in Education, 5 (1): 7-74.

An analysis of the research reveals that helping teachers develop minute-by-minute and day-by-day formative assessment practices is more cost effective than any other strategy. – Dylan Wiliams


Attributes of Formative Assessment1. Partnership with students2. Learning outcomes3. Success criteria4. Collaboration with colleagues5. Daily assessment embedded in lesson6. High level questioning/discussions7. Teacher as observer and data collector8. Data is used to modify instruction9. Quality feedback to students 10. Students actually use the feedback 11. Student self-evaluation and peer evaluation

“Inside the Black Box” provides strong evidence from an extensive literature review to show that classroom "formative" assessment, properly implemented, is a powerful means to improve student learning - Phi Delta Kappan



Attributes of Formative Assessment#1

Partnership with Students

Formative assessment involves teachers and students working together to improve student learning (and teacher instruction).

[Formative assessment is] the bidirectional process between teacher and student to enhance, recognize and respond to the learning. – Cowie and Bell



Learning Outcomes

Learning outcomes (also called learning targets) are what the students should accomplish during the lesson. Learning outcomes make sure that the learners have a clear view of what they should achieve.

[Educators should] discuss the goals and criteria for success with learners using terms they can understand, providing examples of how the criteria for success can be met. -FAST SCASS

Success Criteria

Students must know what the success criteria is for the learning outcome. Teachers should provide models/exemplars for students. Students should be involved in the discussion of the success criteria.


Sometimes teachers hesitate to involve student in co-constructing [success] criteria. Co-constructing criteria with students is a powerful strategy because it starts with student ideas. – Anne Davies


Collaboration with Colleagues

Teachers collaboratively determine the power standards, essential understandings and develop assessments for the learning outcomes. Teachers collaboratively gather data and develop plans for remediation.



Grade-level or department data teams plan how to deliver interventions and accelerated learning to meet the diverse needs of their students. Larry Ainsworth


Daily Assessment Embedded in Lesson–Formative assessment takes place on a daily basis and is a part of the daily lesson.


To adapt teaching and learningUsing evidence of learning

To meet immediate learning needs

Students and teachers

Minute to minute and day-by-day- Dylan Wiliam



High Level Questioning/Discussions

Teachers should use questioning which goes beyond the recall and comprehension levels by using Bloom’s taxonomy. They should collaborate with colleagues to develop high level questions which will elicit intellectual discussions.

Use open ended questions phrased to invite students to explore their ideas and their reasoning. – Paul Black and Dylan Wiliams


• Knowledge: arrange, define, duplicate, label, list, memorize, name, order, recognize, relate, recall, repeat, reproduce state.

• Comprehension: classify, describe, discuss, explain, express, identify, indicate, locate, recognize, report, restate, review, select, translate,

• Application: apply, choose, demonstrate, dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate, practice, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write.

• Analysis: analyze, appraise, calculate, categorize, compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate, discriminate,

distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test.

• Synthesis: arrange, assemble, collect, compose, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, manage, organize, plan, prepare, propose, set up, write.

• Evaluation: appraise, argue, assess, attach, choose, compare, defend estimate, judge, predict, rate, core, select, support, value, evaluate.

Bloom found that over 95 % of the test questions students encounter require them to think only at the lowest possible level ... the recall of information.

Levels of Questioning

Hey, don’t forget about me – Benjamin Bloom! I’ve got this great little taxonomy you can use when coming up with questions to ask the students! You know, I think that Madeline Hunter was on to something when she said we need to check for understanding in every lesson!

• How is ___________ similar to/different from ___________? • What are the characteristics/parts of __________? • In what other way might we show/illustrate ________? • What is the big idea/key concept in __________? • How does _________ relate to _________? • What ideas/details can you add to _________? • Give an example of ___________. • What is wrong with __________? • What might you infer from _________? • What conclusions might be drawn from ___________? • What questions are we trying to answer? What problem are we trying to solve? • What are you assuming about ___________? • What might happen if ____________? • What criteria might you use to judge/evaluate ____________? • What evidence supports ______________? • How might we prove/confirm ____________? • How might this be viewed from the perspective of ___________? • What alternatives should be considered? • What approach/strategy could you use to ___________? • How else might you say ___________?

More Questions Possibilities

Taken from the Michigan State University ASSIST Program

Students tend to read and think based on the kinds of questions they anticipate receiving from the teacher. - Anthony FredericksD.C. Everest Social Studies D.C. Everest Area Schools Weston, WI 54476


Teachers as Observers and Data Collectors Formative assessment involves teachers observing students on a daily basis. It also involves collecting data about students’ learning and responding to the data.


Assessment encompasses teacher observation, classroom discussion, and analysis of student work, including homework and tests. – Carol Boston


Data is Used to Modify Instruction

Teachers use the data from assessments to

alter their instruction (provide corrective instruction) to assist students in learning. Assessments are only considered “formative” if the information is used to

adapt teaching and learning.


“If we are not going to try to improve what we do, there is little sense in assessing it.” - William Glaser



Quality Feedback to Students

Students need feedback that will help them close the gap between their work and the learning outcome. Feedback should be about the qualities of a student’s work.

Feedback in [formative assessment] occurs while there is still time to take action. - ASCD

Quality Feedback

Feedback given as part of formative assessment helps learners become aware of any gaps that exist between their desired goal and their current knowledge, understanding, or skill and guides them through actions necessary to obtain the goal.

Wiliam (1999)

Findings from Ruth Butler’s research on 132 year 7 students:

• Students given only marks made no gain from the first to the second lesson.

• Students given only comments scored on average 30% higher.

• Giving marks alongside comments cancelled the beneficial effects of the comments.

Research conclusion:If you are going to grade or mark a piece of work, you are wasting your time writing careful diagnostic comments.


Strengths

Ways to Improve

(Distance marking to close the gap)

Students Actually Use the Feedback

Students are given time to read teacher feedback comments. Students must act upon the feedback to close the gap.


When teachers assess student learning for purely formative purposes, there is no final mark on the paper and no summative grade in the grade book. Rather, assessment serves as practice for students…This is formative assessment at its most valuable. - Stephen Chappuis and Jan Chappuis



Student self-evaluation and peer evaluation

Students analyze either their own work or a peer’s work in relationship to the success criteria. Students self-reflect on themselves as learners.

Providing time for students to pause and think, to look for proof and to connect to criteria allows teachers to slow down their pace of their teaching and match the speed of student learning. - Carol Cameron


Documents

What have the students learned today? Eleven Attributes of Formative Assessment Using Assessment FOR Learning D.C. Everest Social Studies D.C. Everest