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Formative Assessment

Charles A. Dana Center Bill Hopkins, Research Associate Ann Roman, Senior Program Coordinator Emma Trevino, Program Coordinator

Monitor and Adjust Instruction for Student Success

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Creating a vision for assessment

•  What does formative assessment look like in your district? •  Create a graphic organizer to summarize your table

discussion.

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Types of Assessment

•  Formative assessment

•  Summative assessment

What’s the difference?

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The assessment continuum Where do typical assessments fall on the continuum?

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A Look at Research

We use the general term assessment to refer to all those activities undertaken by teachers—and by their students in assessing themselves—that provide information to be used as feedback to modify teaching and learning activities. Such assessment becomes formative assessment when the evidence is actually used to adapt the teaching to meet student needs.

Black and Wiliam (1998). Inside the Black Box. Phi Delta Kappan, 2, 139-144.

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What is Formative Assessment? Formative assessment is…

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“…a planned process in which assessment-elicited evidence of students’ status is used by teachers to adjust their ongoing instructional procedures or by students to adjust their learning tactics.”

W. James Popham, Transformative Assessment, ASCD, 2008, page 6

Formative assessment depends on collecting data and on taking action based on the data collected.

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Applications of Formative Assessment

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The Formative Assessment Process

Immediate Instructional Adjustment

Near-Future Instructional Adjustment Last-Chance

Instructional Adjustment

Students’ Learning Tactic

Adjustments

Classroom Climate

Shifts

Adapted from Popham, Tranformative Assessment in Action

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Applications of Formative Assessment

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The Formative Assessment Process

Immediate Instructional Adjustment

Near-Future Instructional Adjustment Last-Chance

Instructional Adjustment

Adapted from Popham, Tranformative Assessment in Action

Teachers’ Instructional Adjustments

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Applications of Formative Assessment

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The Formative Assessment Process

Students’ Learning Tactic

Adjustments

Classroom Climate

Shifts

Adapted from Popham, Tranformative Assessment in Action

Intended Outcomes of Effective Formative

Assessment

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Applications of Formative Assessment

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The Formative Assessment Process

Immediate Instructional Adjustment

Near-Future Instructional Adjustment Last-Chance

Instructional Adjustment

Students’ Learning Tactic

Adjustments

Classroom Climate

Shifts

Adapted from Popham, Tranformative Assessment in Action

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The Teacher’s Role in Formative Assessment

To tap the full potential of formative assessments, teachers must: •  Clarify and share learning intentions and criteria for success

with students. •  Engineer effective classroom discussions, questions, and

learning tasks. •  Provide feedback that moves learners forward. •  Activate students as owners of their own learning. •  Encourage students to be instructional resources for one

another. D. Wiliam, “Changing Classroom Practice”

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Revisit your assessment vision

Based on our discussions: •  What would you change about your graphic organizer? •  How would you revise the assessment continuum?

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Moving into action

•  How are you thinking about assessment in your district based on the research?

•  What would you change? •  What is your role in this change?

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Learning Progressions

Formative assessment is a planned process, and a key component of this planning is the learning progression. “A learning progression is a sequenced set of sub-skills or bodies of enabling knowledge that, it is thought, students must master en route to mastering a more remote target curricular aim.”

W. James Popham, Transformative Assessment, ASCD, 2008, page 25

Learning progressions indicate to teachers when to collect assessment evidence.

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Components of a Learning Progression

There are two key components in a learning progression:

•  Target curricular aim – an important curricular goal that is preferably a higher level cognitive skill. It can be an objective for an extended duration teaching unit or a key learning goal for an entire course.

•  Building blocks – knowledge and skills that students must master before they can reach the target curricular aim (i.e., what students must know and be able to do)

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Building a Learning Progression

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Building Block

Knowledge

Target Curricular Aim

Skill

Knowledge Skill

Skill

Building Block

Building Block

Knowledge Knowledge Skill

Knowledge

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Knowledge Skill Skill

Building Block #1

Learning Progressions and Assessment Design

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Knowledge Skill Knowledge

Building Block #2

Skill Knowledge Knowledge

Building Block #3

Formative Assessment

Formative Assessment

Formative Assessment

Summative Assessment

Target Curricular Aim

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Formative Assessment Cycle

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Determine Criteria

Study Standards

Develop Learning

Progression

Plan the Assessment

Capture Evidence

Interpret Evidence

Make Instructional Adjustments

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Reflection

What insights did you gain from this discussion that may have applications for your district?

What questions do you have about our work for formative assessment?

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