The Value in Formative Assessment

Prepared By: Jen Ramos

Outcomes

• Understand the functions of formative assessment and how they connect with instruction

• Understand the recursive nature of formative assessment

• Understand appropriate formative assessment techniques for the literacy block

Check-In

• What is formative assessment?• How/when do use it? • Examples?

When implemented well, formative assessment can double the speed of

student learning.

(Wiliam, 2007)

Formative Assessment

• Assessment that promotes learning• Not used for grading• Part of the opportunity to learn• Used before instruction to find out where

students are• Used during instruction to find out how

students are progressing• Recursive process-Does NOT mark the end

of learning• Takes both teacher and student

perspective into account (ASCD, 2008)

Formative Assessment

• Ongoing process students and teachers engage in when they:– Focus on learning goals– Take stock of where current work is in

relation to the goal– Take action to move closer to the goal

• The best formative assessment involves both teachers and students in a recursive process

Formative vs. Summative

Formative-Assessment for Learning

Summative-Assessment OF Learning

SERVE THE SAME LEARNING GOALS!(ASCD, 2008)

Six Step Recursive Process

• Understand the learning target• Produce work related to the target• Compare the work with the target• Evaluate strengths and weaknesses-

Prescribe action for improvement• Give clear and specific feedback for

improvement• Take action for improvement (to move

closer to the learning target) by adjusting instruction

Formative Assessment

• Teacher:– How the students

understand the learning goal

– Which aspects of the goals are strengths or weaknesses

– What to do next– Usually results in a new

learning goal– Cycle begins again– Teacher must

understand the process from both perspectives

• Student:– What is my learning

goal?– Where is my work now

in relation to my goal?– What should I do to

move closer to the goal?

– Students involved in their own learning increases motivation and achievement

(ASCD, 2008)

The Power of Formative Assessment

• Instructional assignments and activities are the main vehicle for communicating the learning goals

• Students will focus on what you ask them to do MORE than what you claim your lesson is about

• Formative assessment should give the teachers the information they need to adjust instruction in a “just-in-time” fashion AND give students the information they need to focus their attention most productively

(ASCD, 2008)

Formative Assessment

• Formative assessment is a planned process in which teachers or students use assessment-based evidence to adjust what they are currently doing (Popham, J., 2008).

• What formative assessment procedures are we using?

• What do we need to strengthen?

When is Formative Assessment Used?

• When an assignment is given• During direct instruction• During group work or individual work

on projects• Before summative assessment• After summative assessment

(ASCD, 2008)

Explicit Direct Instruction Checklist

Handout

Formative Assessment in Action

Formative Assessment is not a test, but a planned process involving a number of

activities

One of those activities is the use of assessments, both formal and informal, to elicit evidence regarding the degree to which a particular student has mastered a particular body of

knowledge

Based on this evidence, teachers adjust their ongoing instructional activities(Popham, J., 2008).(Popham, J., 2008).

Instructional Adjustments

• Because the formative assessment process deals with ongoing instruction, any modifications to instructional activities or delivery must focus on students’ mastery of the curriculum currently being pursued

• “It is not a matter of looking at test data and deciding to try a new approach next time; it’s a matter of doing something different now”.

(Popham, J., 2008)

Formative Assessment to Enhance Instruction

• Formative assessment must lead to instructional adjustment

• Adjustments affect activities or efforts already in progress

• The decision to adjust or not to adjust, and the decisions about how to adjust need to be made on the spot when there is still instructional and learning time available

• Is an adjustment needed, if so what would the adjustment be?

(Popham, J., 2008).(Popham, J., 2008).

Instructional Adjustments

• Step 1: Identify adjustment occasions– Teacher decides when, during the instructional

sequence, adjustment decisions should be made

• Step 2: Select assessments– The teacher chooses the formal or informal

assessment procedures to be used for each adjustment occasion

• Step 3: Establish adjust triggers– The teacher determines, in advance, what level of

students performance will necessitate an instructional adjustment

• Step 4: Make instructional adjustments– The teacher makes instructional adjustments

(Popham, J., 2008).(Popham, J., 2008).

Instructional Adjustments During the Literacy Block

• Sample lesson• What key components of formative

assessment can be identified in the plan?

• What formative assessments are used?

• When might an instructional adjustment take place?

• What might the adjustment be?

Feedback: The Key Difference

• Feedback in formative assessment contexts occurs while there is still time to take action

• Offers descriptive information about the work, product, or performance related to the learning goals

• Avoids marks or comments that judge the level of achievement or imply learning is complete

Chappuis, S. & Chappuis, J. (2008).

Effective Feedback

• Focuses on the intended learning• Identifies specific strengths• Points to areas needing improvement• Suggests a route of action students can

take to close the gap between where they are and where they need to be

• Takes into account the amount of corrective feedback the learner can act on at one time

• Models the kind of thinking students will engage in when they self-assess

Chappuis, S. & Chappuis, J. (2008).

Examples

• What you have written is a hypothesis because it is a proposed explanation. You can improve it by writing it as an “if…then…” statement.

• The good stories we have been reading have a beginning, middle, and end. I see that your story has a beginning and middle, just like those good stories do. Can you draw or write an ending?

Chappuis, S. & Chappuis, J. (2008).

Effective Formative Assessment

• 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 the owners of their own learning

• Encourage students to be instructional resources for one another

(Wiliam, 2007)

Qualities of Good Classroom Assignments

• Content match with learning target– Does the assignment require the student to use

the content specified by the learning target?• Cognitive process match with learning target

– Does the assignment require the student to use the cognitive processes specified by the learning target?

• Clear to students– Would the student know what to do for all

aspects of the assignment?• Criteria for Evaluation

– Are the criteria for evaluating the assignment given, and are they clear?

(ASCD, 2008)

What formative assessment techniques support instruction during

the literacy block?

Check-Out

• How has your understanding of formative assessment changed?

• How will this impact your instruction/planning?

Curriculum, instruction, and assessment creates learners.

Doug Fisher, 2008

References

• Chappuis, S. & Chappuis, J. (2008). The best value in formative assessment. Educational Leadership (2007-2008).

• William, D. (2007). Content then process: Teacher learning communities in the service of formative assessment. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree (pp. 183-204).

• ASCD. (2008). The power of formative assessment. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

• ASCD. (2008). The power of formative assessment. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.