Best Practices: Formative Assessment Strategies

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. (Popham, 2008)

+ Encourages student/teacher reflection + Clears up student misconception + Gives students additional time and support for learning + Gives students the tools to identify error and improve their work + Provides enrichment for students who have mastered the learning targets

 Planned for feedback  Question/answer session during a lesson  Observing students during an activity  Listening to impromptu conversations  Asking students to provide examples

 Purposely developed prior to a lesson  Short test/quizzes  Homework exercises  Observation protocols  In-class assignments  Out-of-class projects

Lesson #1 Formative Assessment Mastery Non-Mastery Enrichment Scaffold - Corrective Enrichment Second Formative Assessment Mastery Lesson #2 (Malchesky, 2009)

Four parts to the formative assessment cycle  Goals  Instruction  Measuring  Feedback (WIDA, 2009)

 Goals – based on relevant learning targets  Instruction – based on pre-set learning goals and objectives  Measuring – refers to the collection of information about student learning  Feedback – provided to students to promote action to set new goals or to re-teach for mastery (WIDA, 2009)

 Plan classroom activities to allow feedback opportunities  Formulate feedback so that it guides improvement in learning  Use activities that demand collaboration so that everyone is included  Challenge and train students to listen to and respect one another’s ideas  Be sure that students are active participants in the lessons and their own learning (Black, Harrison, Lee, Marshall & Wiliam, 2004)

 Change the classroom culture so everyone is working towards improvement in learning  Empower students to become active learners  Incorporate teacher’s role changes one step at a time  Develop sustained attention to and reflection on ways in which assessment can support learning (Black, Harrison, Lee, Marshall & Wiliam, 2004)

Assessment activities can help learning if they provide information that teachers and students can use as feedback in assessing themselves and the learning activities in which they are engaged. Such assessments become formative assessment when the evidence is used to adapt the teaching work to meet learning needs. (Black, Harrison, Lee, Marshall & Wiliam, 2004)

 Organize pacing guides into small units of instruction  Begin new learning unit with pre-assessment  Target instruction around indicator/target  Use formative assessment to assess the progress of students throughout the unit (Malchesky, 2009)

 Respond to student non-mastery by scaffolding tasks to correct misconceptions  Students can refine their work to show mastery  Use formatives to confirm student mastery after correctives/responsive teaching has been given (Malchesky, 2009)

 What do you expect students to learn and why?  What do you want students to do?  How will you know when students have learned it?  How will you respond when students don’t learn? (Malchesky, 2009)

 Do you have a clear understanding of what is to be understood?  Do you “Start with the end in mind.” -Grant Wiggins, Joy McTighe

 I ntegrated –part of a balanced assessment system  D ynamic – embedded in the instruction  E nlightening – should measure what it is designed to measure; be reliable and consistent  A ttainable – should be a seamless transition between instruction and assessment  L inked – available professional development; opportunity to exchange information; related series of rubrics, checklists, and rating scales (WIDA, 2009)

Range finding questions Wait time Hinge-point questions White board responses Think-Pair-Share Socratic Seminar ABCD Cards Ready-Go-Show

 ‘I Can’ Statements  Red-Yellow-Green Light Strategies  Rubrics  Graphic Organizers  Visual Formative Assessments  Three-Two-One Summaries  Exemplars of Performance Samples  Value Line-Ups  Audience Response Systems

 Class Constructed Rubrics  Self-Selected Work Portfolios  Corrected Feed-Back  Effort related Praise Vs. Ability Praise  Feedback Sheet  Resubmission of Student Corrected Work  Two-Stage Assignments  One-Minute Question Strategy

 Schedule time for PLC collaboration  Allow teachers to report to faculty and staff meetings  Integrate formative assessments into school improvement plans  Visit classroom as learners

 Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B., Wiliam, D. (2004). Working inside the black box: Assessment for learning in the classroom. Phi Delta Kappan, Retrieved July 23, 2010, from EBSCO.  Clymer, J., & Wiliam, D. (2007). Improving the way we grade science. Educational Leadership, Retrieved July 23,  Crane, L., & Winterbottom, M. (2008). Plants and photosynthesis: peer assessment to help students learn. Educational Research, 42(4), Retrieved July 23, 2010, from EBSCO.  Federal Way Public Schools. (2008). Teaching for Learning: RTI. Retrieved July 23, 2010, from EBSCO.  Klenowski, V. Student self-evaluation processes in student centered teaching and learning contexts of Australia and England. Assessment in Education, Retrieved July 23, 2010, from EBSCO.  Leahy, S., Lyon, C., Thompson, M., & Wiliam, D. (2005). Assessment minute by minute, day by day. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Retrieved July 31,  Malchesky, B. (Ed.D). (2009). Formative Assessment. Retrieved July 23, 2010, from EBSCO.  McDonald, B., & Boud, D. (2003). The impact of self-assessment on achievement: The effects of self- assessment training on performance in external examinations. Assessment in Education, 10(2), Retrieved July 23, 2010 from EBSCO.  Nicol, D., & MacFarlane-Dick, D. (2006). Formative Assessment and self-regulated learning: A model and seven principles of good feedback practice. Studies in Higher Education, 31(2), Retrieved July 23, 2010, from EBSCO. ( / ).  WIDA Consortium. (2009). WIDA FOCUS on Formative Assessment, 1(2). Retrieved July 23, 2010, from EBSCO.