FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT Assessment in education is the process

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? q Formative Assessment q 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 Progressions 2. Learning Goals and Criteria for Success 3. Descriptive Feedback 4. Self and Peer-Assessment 5. 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 Responding to Data Analysis Targeted Instruction Data Gathering

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 assessments. Offer all students opportunities for improvement through descriptive feedback

Examples of typical methods used § Traffic lights § Sticks § Postman § Thermometer

Outcomes Based Formative Assessment §Emphasizes learning outcomes §Makes goals and objectives transparent to students §Provides clear assessment criteria §Closes the gap between what students know and desired outcomes §Provides feedback that is relevant, comprehensible, actionable §Provides valuable diagnostic information by generating informative data