Formative AssessmentsTina Keller

Midwestern Intermediate UnitMay 5, 2010

Welcome!!

Group Norms

Be a learner—be open to new ideas.Respect others—listen to understand.Ask questions—seek clarification.Keep things confidential within the group.Have fun!

Great Formative Assessment Resources

Please Access our Session Wiki Page

http://formativeassessmentworkshop.wikispaces.com

Click on the LINKS tab

How To Vote via Texting

1. Standard texting rates only (worst cast US $0.20)2. We have no access to your phone number3. Capitalization doesn’t matter, but spaces and spelling do

TIPS

EXAMPLE

How To Vote via Poll4.com

Capitalization doesn’t matter, but spaces and spelling doTIP

EXAMPLE

http://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple_choice_polls/MTcxNTA2NDM2Nw

• http://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple_choice_polls/LTE3Njc5MzY5NjY

Session Target Goals

Participants will:• articulate the differences between formative & summative assessment

• Identify strategies that could be used during pre-learning assessment, assessment during learning & assessments after learning

• recognize the impact of effective formative assessment

• list three formative assessment techniques that they plan to use in their classroom based upon the lesson plan that they provided.

Traffic LightRead the Formative Assessment Target Goals posted on the easel

sheets throughout the room.

• Place a green dot on the left side of the easel sheet for any goals that you feel you have already mastered.

• Place a yellow dot on the left side of the easel sheet for any goals that you know something about but have not yet mastered.

• Place a red dot on the left side of the easel sheet for any goals that you have either never heard of or that you know virtually nothing about.

How do we assess students?

Formative AssessmentAssessment for Learning

Summative AssessmentAssessment of Learning

Card Sort

• Use the large label cards to create the headings for two columns - one for “Formative Assessment” and one for “Summative Assessment”

• Sort the cards and place each one under the most appropriate heading in your chart

17

18

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

Windshield Checks are useful during a lesson or unit of study to check for understanding.

CLEAR( Hold up 1 finger)= I get it!

BUGS(Hold up 2 fingers) = I get it for the most part, but some things are still unclear.

MUD (Hold up 3 fingers)= I still don’t get it!

Do you feel that you understand the difference between formative and summative assessments?

What is Formative Assessment?

Numbered Heads Together

What is Formative Assessment?(Definitions from the experts)

“… often means no more than that the assessment is carried out frequently and is planned at the same time as teaching.” (Black and Wiliam, 1999)

“…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 instructional outcomes.” State Collaborative on Assessment and Student Standards (SCASS), 2006

“…is 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 current learning tactics.” (James Popham)

Formative Assessment

• Formative--Helps to form or mold the learner (beginning teacher) and the learning

• Informs the learner (beginning teacher) and the teacher (mentor teacher)

• Is not done to the learner, but is done by the learner and the teacher—collaboratively

• Helps to focus future learning targets and strategies

What Does the Research Say?

In a researched review based on 250 empirical students of classroom assessment that had been drawn from more than 680 published investigations, Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam concluded:

“The research reported here shows conclusively that formative assessment does improve learning.” (Assessment in Education, 1998)

What Does the Research Say?Teacher Action Result on Student Achievement

Just telling students # correct and incorrect

Negative influence on achievement

Clarifying the scoring criteria Increase of 16 percentile points

Providing explanations as to why their responses are correct or incorrest

Increase of 20 percentile points

Asking students to continue responding to an assessment until they correctly answer the items

Increase of 20 precentile points

Graphically portraying student achievement

Increase of 26 percentile points

Mazano, CAGTW, pgs 5-6

Article ReviewEven Tables choose an even numbered article, Odd Tables choose an odd numbered article. Each table should read the same article

Choose a card from the baggie on your table.

Every five minutes I will say stop.

At that point, using a whip around technique, everyone will complete the phrase his/her card with the information learned thus far in the article.

Participants may switch cards if they like, or keep their original card.

This will continue every five minutes.

Be prepared to share one concept/idea that was discussed at our table

Sharing Out

Revise your original definition based on the article.

Assessment is not Grading

The Old Way of Connecting Data to Learning

• 1. What is the next chapter in the book?• 2. How much content do I need to cover?

New Way of Connecting Data to Learning

The new questions are the following:• 1. What should my students know and be able to do?• 2. How will I know they “get it”?• 3. What strategies should I use to motivate my students

to learn?• 4. What learning processes will I teach?• 5. Given what I know about my students, what

strategies, materials, grouping, and amount of time may result in the greatest learning?

• 6. What will I do if that doesn’t work?

Gregory, G. and Kuzmich, L. (2004). Data Drive Differentiation in theStandards-Based Classroom. Corwin Press.

Clarifying Learning Targets

• What is it I want my students to understand and be able to do?

• How will I know when they understand and can do those things?

• What instructional activities will best teach my students these things?

• Knowing what is to be learned is the starting point! (Backward Design)

View Video: Formative Assessment in the Content Areas

Count off by 3s

• #1 will conduct a chat about key ideas from the video

• #2 will complete the My Top Ten List

• #3 will complete the One Minute Paper

Cover it Live

Sharing• Meeting in groups of three(One person from

each previous activity) discuss the following:

• 1. Describe your formative assessment technique, what you liked/disliked. How could you use this in your classroom?

• 2. Discuss the content of the video. What techniques were new to you? What techniques have you already used in your classroom?

Seven Strategies of Formative Assessment

Where am I going? 1. Provide a clear and understandable version of the learning targets.

2. Use examples of strong and weak work.

Where am I now? 3. Offer regular descriptive feedback.

4. Teach students to self-assess and set goals.

How can I close the gap?

5. Design lessons to focus on one aspect of quality at a time.

6. Teach students focused revision.

7. Engage students in self-reflection and let them document and share their learning.

Shifts in Assessment

37

To assessing to learn what students understand

To using results to inform instruction

To students engaged in ongoing assessment of their work and others

To descriptive feedback that empowers and motivates students

From assessing to learn what students do not know

From using results to calculate grades

From end-of-term assessments by teachers

From judgmental feedback that may harm student motivation

Why these shifts in assessment?

A change in the mission of schools:

– A shift from a focus on sorting and ranking students to a focus on leaving no child behind.

A strong research base:

– Evidence of the substantial impact on student achievement

38

Formative Assessment Strategies

Each table reads/skims their corresponding chapter.

-Informally Discuss/Complete the strategy chart in your training materials section of your binder.

-Create a poster answering the following questions 1. What new insight did you gain from this chapter?2. What were three key ideas/strategies of your chapter?

Conduct a Gallery Walk

• Take a stack of post-it notes and begin to rotate around the room, reading the posters and leaving comments. Please leave at least one comment on each poster.

• Once you have made your rounds, have a seat.• The original group will look over the feedback

and share a two minute summary of their chapter with the whole group.

Speedometer of Understanding

Did the gallery walk help you gain greater insight into formative assessment?

ASSESSMENT PROCESS

Post LearningPre – Learning

During Learning

Used Formatively

Pre-Learning

Pre-assessment:

a way to determine what students know about a topic before it is taught.

It should be used :• regularly in all curricular areas • to make instructional decisions about student strengths

and needs • to determine flexible grouping patterns • to determine which students are ready for advance

instruction

• When teaching with high achievement as a goal, one important aspect of assessing learners is finding out what the students already know.

• This knowledge is based on their prior learning and experiences.

• By doing a pre-assessment of knowledge, teachers can plan curriculum and designs instruction to meet the needs of the total class as well as individuals.

Pre-Learning Assessment Strategies

Pre-Assessment Strategies

• Graph Me/Vocabulary Terms• Knowledge Rating Chart• Squaring Off/Four Corners• Boxing• Yes/No Cards• Graffiti Wall• Learning Probes

Knowledge Rating Chart

1. I’ve never heard of this before2. I’ve heard of this, but I am not sure how it works3. I know about this and how to use

____ Direct Object____ Direct Object Pronoun____ Indirect Object____ Indirect Object Pronoun____ Object of Preposition____ Adjective____ Interrogative Adjective

Example of Pre-assessment Readiness

Your Turn to be Pre-Assessed

Odd Numbered Tables will :Create your own Graffiti Wall at your table

Even Numbered Tables will: Go to the following website and complete an online graffiti wall

http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/assessmentduring

How do you assess during the instruction?

The Key Thing to Remember

It is not the assessment that is formative..it is what you do after the assessment that impacts student learning

• What the student already knows about what is beingplanned• What standards, objectives, concepts & skills theindividual student understands• What further instruction and opportunities for masteryare needed• What requires re-teaching or enhancement• What areas of interests and feelings are in thedifferent areas of the study• How to set up flexible groups: whole, individual,partner, or small group

What can teachers learn from Pre-Learning Assessments?

During Learning

These are assessments that:– are conducted throughout teaching and learning to

diagnose student needs– plan the next steps in instruction – provide students with feedback they can use to

improve the quality of their work– help students see and feel how they are in control of

their journey to success

Assessments FOR learning happens while learning is still underway.

This Type of Assessment is NOT

about accountability…

it is about GETTING BETTER!!

During Learning Assessment Strategies

Formative Assessment Strategies

• Conference• Cooperative Learning

Activities• Demonstrations• Exit Card• Graphic Organizers• “I Learned” Statements• Interviews• Journal Entry• KWLs

• Learning Logs• Oral Attitude Surveys• Oral Presentations• Peer Evaluations• Problem Solving Activities• Products• Questioning• Quiz• Response Groups• Self-Evaluations

THINKING ABOUT ON-GOING ASSESSMENT

STUDENT DATA SOURCES1. Journal entry2. Short answer test3. Open response test4. Home learning5. Notebook6. Oral response7. Portfolio entry8. Exhibition9. Culminating product10. Question writing11. Problem solving

TEACHER DATA MECHANISMS1. Anecdotal records2. Observation by checklist3. Skills checklist4. Class discussion5. Small group interaction6. Teacher – student

conference7. Assessment stations8. Exit cards9. Problem posing10. Performance tasks and

rubrics

Response Cards

• Pre-printedYes/No True/FalseTraffic signPunctuation marksContent Specific (ex. Solids liquids gas)

• Pinch CardsUse thumbUse velcro/clothespin

• Write-onWhiteboardsPlastic plates

How engaged are students in assessing their own work, setting their own goals, and regulating their own actions?

Think, Ink, Pair, Share

popsicle stick names

Exit Cards: Decimals and Fractions

Name:___________• How is a decimal like a fraction?

• How are they different?

• What’s a light bulb moment for you as you’ve thought about fractions and decimals?

The Key Thing to Remember

It is not the assessment that is formative..it is what you do after the assessment that impacts student learning

Post Learning

Examples

• State assessments • District benchmark or interim assessments

• End-of-unit or chapter tests • End-of-term or semester exams • Scores that are used for accountability for schools (AYP) and students (report card grades).

Discussion:

How do you use Summative Assessments?

for studentsfor yourself

for the curriculumFor ???

Discussion

Clickers

Rubric Video

Post Learning Assessment Strategies

Summative Assessment Strategies

• Self Assessment Rubric• Performance Task• Product/Exhibit• Demonstration• Portfolio Review

The Key Thing to Remember

It is not the assessment that is formative..it is what you do after the assessment that impacts student learning

Feedback

How does feedback connect to Formative Assessment?

“… provides feedback which leads to students recognising the (learning) gap and closing it … it is forward looking …” (Harlen, 1998)

“ … includes both feedback and self-monitoring.” (Sadler, 1989)

“… is used essentially to feed back into the teaching and learning process.” (Tunstall and Gipps, 1996)

77

•Clarifying, understanding, and sharing learning intentions– curriculum philosophy

•Engineering effective classroom discussions, tasks and activities that elicit evidence of learning

– classroom discourse, interactive whole-class teaching•Providing feedback that moves learners forward

– feedback•Activating students as learning resources for one another

– collaborative learning, reciprocal teaching, peer-assessment•Activating students as owners of their own learning

– metacognition, motivation, interest, attribution, self-assessment

(Wiliam & Thompson, 2007)

Five “key strategies”…

78

79

Mark each example of descriptive feedback with a D and each example of evaluative feedback with an E. If you believe it is neither, mark it with an X.

Good job!

Sloppy work How did you reach that conclusion? Where’s your data

Proficient

Your calculations are accurate. Take another look at appropriate units for density.

C- Excellent!

You need to try harder next time. You can do it!

The students at station two are ready for the lab, they have their books cleared and their safety glasses on. You need to label the x-axis, include units with your label, choose an appropriate scale, show the points you plotted, and give the graph a title.

81%

80

Mark each example of descriptive feedback with a D and each example of evaluative feedback with an E. If you believe it is neither, mark it with an X.

E Good job!

E Sloppy work

D How did you reach that conclusion? Where’s your data?

E Proficient E D Your calculations are accurate. Take another look at appropriate units for density.

E C-

E Excellent!

E You need to try harder next time. You can do it!

D The students at station two are ready for the lab, they have their books cleared and their safety glasses on. E

X You need to label the x-axis, include units with your label, choose an appropriate scale, show the points you plotted, and give the graph a title.

E or D 81%

81

I did these really well:1. 2.

I could have:1.2.

Next time I need to focus on:1.2.

Teacher learning takes timeTo put new knowledge to work, to make it meaningful and accessible when you need it, requires practice.A teacher doesn’t come at this as a blank slate. Not only do teachers have their current habits and ways of teaching—

they’ve lived inside the old culture of classrooms all their lives: every teacher started out as a student!

New knowledge doesn’t just have to get learned and practiced, it has to go up against long-established, familiar, comfortable ways of doing things that may not be as effective, but fit within everyone’s expectations of how a classroom should work.

It takes time and practice to undo old habits and become graceful at new ones. Thus… Professional development must be sustained over time

Dylan Wiliam

Lesson Plan

Session Target Goals

Participants will:• articulate the differences between formative & summative assessment

• Identify strategies that could be used during pre-learning assessment, assessment during learning & assessments after learning

• recognize the impact of effective formative assessment

• list three formative assessment techniques that they plan to use in their classroom based upon the lesson plan that they provided.

Traffic LightRead the Formative Assessment Target Goals posted on the easel

sheets throughout the room.

• Place a green dot on the right side of the easel sheet for any goals that you feel you have already mastered.

• Place a yellow dot on the right side of the easel sheet for any goals that you know something about but have not yet mastered.

• Place a red dot on the right side of the easel sheet for any goals that you have either never heard of or that you know virtually nothing about.

3-2-1 Exit Card

Thank You