Formative and Summative Assessment in the Classroom

Balanced Assessment System Types of Assessment Summative Assessment Balanced Assessment System Formative Assessment

Characteristics of Summative Assessment Used after instruction Help determine what students know regarding content relative to curriculum goals so that a grade or placement can be decided Used at national, state, district and classroom level Examples: State Assessments (i.e. ITBS, ITED) National Assessments (i.e. NAEP) End-of –unit tests End-of-term/semester exams District Assessments common across schools

Characteristics of Formative Assessments Used during instruction Help determine what students know regarding content relative to curriculum goals so that adjustments to instruction can be made No grade is given – only feedback (used for practice) Students are involved (self-assessment, monitor their learning/growth, etc) Students have multiple opportunities to demonstrate what they know

Examples of Formative Assessment Informal Observation of students Dialogue with students Student questions/teacher questioning strategies Formal Self & peer assessment Student record keeping Paper/pencil tasks Performance tasks Learning logs/journals Portfolios

Using Formative and Summative Assessment Day of Unit Task Purpose Day 1 – Beginning of class Pre-assessment: A & D statements Figure out student pre-conceptions regarding topic Day 2 – End of class Ticket out the door: Muddiest Point Find out what students have learned so far and what major question they have Day 4 – Beginning of class Quiz Determine what students know with respect to the concept studied on days 1-3 Day 5 – Beginning of class Quiz feedback & planning next steps Help students use feedback from quiz to plan their activity for the day

Using Formative and Summative Assessment Day of Unit Task Purpose Day 6 – End of class Four Corners See what students think about a question with four choices for possible outcomes/answers Day 8 – Beginning of class Quiz Determine what students know with respect to the concepts studied from days 1-7 Day 9 – Beginning of class Feedback from quiz & plan for end-of-unit assessment Help students use feedback from their quiz to plan for the end-of-unit assessment Day 11 – Beginning of class Re-take A & D Statements from day 1 Help students see how their ideas have changed Day 12 – Entire class End-of-Unit Assessment Determine what students have learned with respect to curriculum goals

Quality Assessments Aligned to the learning goals of the curriculum Essential Question Enduring Understanding Knowledge Skills Why do “identical” twins look different enough to tell them apart? How can two unrelated people share similar physical characteristics? Students will come to understand that an organism’s characteristics can arise from genetics, the environment, or a unique combination of the two. DNA How DNA is organized and passed down from parent to offspring Organization of chromosomes and genes Causes of mutations Influence of environmental factors on DNA and physical characteristics Explain the genetic basis of biological heredity Explain the influence of genetics and the environment on an organism’s characteristics

Quality Assessments – Unpacking Skills Explain the genetic basis of biological heredity Explain implies that students will have to come up with an original answer at some point – more than just multiple choice is required for a student to demonstrate understanding of this skill. Genetic basis of biological heredity – requires knowledge of how DNA is organized, replicated, and passed down from parents to offspring; requires knowledge of the genetic influence on physical characteristics

Quality Assessments – Questions to Ask Yourself Do the items cover the range of understanding required by the skill? Look at the verb (i.e. explain, identify, recognize, evaluate, etc) Is there a variety of test/assessment items so that students get a chance to demonstrate their understanding at the level the verb expects? Do the assessment items ask for more than recall? Is there some inference or conclusion students must draw? Is there information students must apply in order to get the right answer? Is there only one arguably correct response?

Quality Assessments – Questions to Ask Yourself Are assessment items clear and concise? Avoid use of opposites as answer choices (multiple choice) Avoid using one option that is much longer, shorter, or complex than the others (multiple choice) Avoid using clues to the answer in the question Avoid negatives in the question stem or the options (i.e. “Which one of these is not…”) Avoid answers using “all of the above” or “none of the above” (multiple choice) Avoid “-ould” words (i.e. would, could, should, etc) Make sure all choices are in the same format (phrases, names, numbers, etc), and are grammatically correct (multiple choice) Avoid outrageous distracters

Evaluating an Assessment Genetics example…