Formative Assessment is a process used by teachers and students during instruction that provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning.
Before Instruction
Admit slips
collaborative
pretest
A PreTest is a test given to students before beginning a new concept (lesson/unit). A PreTest informs students of what they will be learning and helps them prepare for the material that is about to be taught. A PreTest also provides teachers with an understanding of where students are in regards to the material about to be taught: what they have already learned, what background skills and knowledge they lack, what information will require the bulk of the instruction time. Often a PreTest is identical or very similar to the lesson/unit test.
Pretesting: Steps for Creating a Pretest
Pretesting: Steps for Creating a Pretest
- Determine the goals of the lesson or unit.
- Create questions that target the goals of the lesson/unit and elicit direct observational evidence from the students
- Clarity the purpose of the pretest to the students
- Administer the pretest
- Analyze the results of the pretest and use this information to information lesson planning.
During Instruction
observation checklist
questioning
graphic organizers
Graphic organizers can be used as powerful tools for probing and analyzing student thinking and learning. Graphic organizers focus on specific ideas and provide students a clear layout for documenting their thoughts. Graphic organizers assess ongoing learning that typically fall into four categories: conceptual, hierarchical, cyclical, and sequential.
- Conceptual graphic organizers assess students’ understanding of a concept or a central idea. For these organizers, students provide supporting evidence, such as facts, characteristics, or descriptions. Some examples of conceptual graphic organizers are the Concept Map, Concept of a Definition, Compare/Contrast, KWL, Noting What I’ve Learned, and Venn Diagram.
- Hierarchical graphic organizers assess students’ understanding of a concept or topic by asking them to break down the concept into subconcepts or levels. The sub-concepts or levels could also be ranked by relevance or importance and arranged from top to bottom or bottom to top depending on their relation to the main concept. Some hierarchical graphic organizers include the Arch Diagram, Branching Diagram, Classifying Chart, and Topic/Subtopic Web.
- Cyclical graphic organizers assess students’ comprehension of natural cycles. Cyclical graphic organizers include the Circle Organizer and Circle Diagram.
- To assess students’ knowledge of a sequence of events, sequential graphic organizers are used. Some sequential graphic organizers are Cause/Effect, Problem/Solution, T-Chart, Story Board, and Sequencing Chart.
Resources related to Graphic Organizers:
- Venn Diagram
- Circle Map
- T Chart
- Clock
- KWL, KWLS, KWHL, KNWS
- Problem/Solution Chart
- Sequence Chart
- Sense-O-Gram
- Summary Star
- Knowledge Rating Scale
- Word Detective
- Inverted Triangle
- Brainstorming Web
- Decision Making Chart
- Map the Character
- Deductive Reasoning
- Concept Wheel
- Cycle Multi-Step
- Cause/Effect
- Cause/Effect 2
- E Chart
- Alpha Box
- Mind Maps
- Double Entry Journal
- Chain of Events
- Frayer Model
- Concept Map
- Make a Math Connection
- Story Map
- Somebody Wanted But So
- Pyramid Charts
- Matrix
- Procedural Writing
visual representation
collaborative
writing activities
- Conferencing Questions
- The Answer to Better Writing: Better Questioning
- Student Checklist
- Student Self Edit Checklist
- Promoting Student Self-Assessment: Strategy Guide
- Editing Checklists for Self and Peer Assessment
- Peer Editing Lesson Plans: Grades 3-5
- Learning Logs - Reading
- Reader's Response to Literature Journals
- Double Entry Journals
- Summarizing Strategies
- Writing Conferences
- Writing Workshop Video
- Research: Formative Assessment in Writing
quiz
Periodic quizzes can be used during the formative assessment process to monitor student learning and adjust instruction during a lesson or unit. By using quizzes to furnish students with immediate feedback, the teacher can quickly determine the status of each student in relation to the learning targets, and students can learn more during the discussions that immediately follow the quizzes, instead of having to wait until the next day to see the results of the assessment. The teacher should use the results of these quizzes to adjust instruction immediately based on student outcomes.
A well designed quiz will help motivate your students, highlighting the subject areas and skill-sets in which they are particularly strong, while pointing out those in which they would benefit by spending more time.
Here are a few guidelines you may find useful :
1. Match the quiz material to your teaching content
2. Keep it simple. Even thoughtful, one question quizzes can be informative
3. Think about the utility of pop-quizzes versus those given with advance notice
4. Assess net gains in knowledge by quizzing both before and after new material is presented
5. Provide timely and constructive feedback
6. Design quizzes that evaluate more than just student-recall
Quizzing Resources:
A well designed quiz will help motivate your students, highlighting the subject areas and skill-sets in which they are particularly strong, while pointing out those in which they would benefit by spending more time.
Here are a few guidelines you may find useful :
1. Match the quiz material to your teaching content
2. Keep it simple. Even thoughtful, one question quizzes can be informative
3. Think about the utility of pop-quizzes versus those given with advance notice
4. Assess net gains in knowledge by quizzing both before and after new material is presented
5. Provide timely and constructive feedback
6. Design quizzes that evaluate more than just student-recall
Quizzing Resources:
After Instruction
Exit slips
Exit Slips are written responses to questions the teacher poses at the end of a lesson or class to assess student understanding of key concepts. By assessing the responses on the Exit Slips the teacher can better adjust the instruction in order to accommodate students' needs for the next class.
collaborative
visual representation
writing activities
- Conferencing Questions
- The Answer to Better Writing: Better Questioning
- Student Checklist
- Student Self Edit Checklist
- Promoting Student Self-Assessment: Strategy Guide
- Editing Checklists for Self and Peer Assessment
- Peer Editing Lesson Plans: Grades 3-5
- Learning Logs - Reading
- Reader's Response to Literature Journals
- Double Entry Journals
- Summarizing Strategies
- Writing Conferences
- Writing Workshop Video
- Research: Formative Assessment in Writing
graphic organizers
quiz
Periodic quizzes can be used during the formative assessment process to monitor student learning and adjust instruction during a lesson or unit. By using quizzes to furnish students with immediate feedback, the teacher can quickly determine the status of each student in relation to the learning targets, and students can learn more during the discussions that immediately follow the quizzes, instead of having to wait until the next day to see the results of the assessment. The teacher should use the results of these quizzes to adjust instruction immediately based on student outcomes.
A well designed quiz will help motivate your students, highlighting the subject areas and skill-sets in which they are particularly strong, while pointing out those in which they would benefit by spending more time.
Here are a few guidelines you may find useful :
1. Match the quiz material to your teaching content
2. Keep it simple. Even thoughtful, one question quizzes can be informative
3. Think about the utility of pop-quizzes versus those given with advance notice
4. Assess net gains in knowledge by quizzing both before and after new material is presented
5. Provide timely and constructive feedback
6. Design quizzes that evaluate more than just student-recall
Quizzing Resources:
A well designed quiz will help motivate your students, highlighting the subject areas and skill-sets in which they are particularly strong, while pointing out those in which they would benefit by spending more time.
Here are a few guidelines you may find useful :
1. Match the quiz material to your teaching content
2. Keep it simple. Even thoughtful, one question quizzes can be informative
3. Think about the utility of pop-quizzes versus those given with advance notice
4. Assess net gains in knowledge by quizzing both before and after new material is presented
5. Provide timely and constructive feedback
6. Design quizzes that evaluate more than just student-recall
Quizzing Resources:
Technological Resources and Research
technology integrated resources
Incorporating technology into formative assessment strategies will increase student engagement and allow students to share their understanding through digital media.
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research
| Formative Assessment Guiding Principles |