5 Formative Assessments for Any Classroom!

Formative Assessment is also known as Assessment for Learning and Short Cycle Assessment. According to Dylan Wiliam, these types of assessments are the most effective way to increase learning and achievement. This type of assessment gives the teacher necessary information about the level of understanding students possess during the lesson or unit. Both students and teachers benefit because they find out where the problems are before the final assessment!

If you are interested in assessments that really impact learning...give yourself (and maybe your principal) a present--a copy of Ahead of the Curve: The Power of Assessment to Transform Teaching and Learning, Douglas Reeves, editor.
-One sentence summaries: “Everyone grab a marker and write a one sentence summary of what we have just read.” Two minutes later have students hold paper up over their head so everyone can see. The teacher gets a quick view of level of understanding and all students see the main point restated in a variety of ways. Possible idea: invest in a couple of rolls of cash register tape--you can snip it off easily for students to use for sentences. # 1 Factors are the numbers we multiply to get another number.

# 2 Two minute summary: a one or two minute quick write Write all you can remember about photosynthesis Make a list of every Spanish word you know List the parts of a science lab report Create 5 algebraic expressions The above examples are all recall. Use verbs like diagram, organize, compare, contrast, categorize, prioritize, rate, or select to craft 2 minute summaries that require a higher level of thinking: Categorize these 8 animals as vertebrates or invertebrates. List all the ways fractions and decimals are similar.

# 3 Exit Slip, Ticket Out the Door, or Passport: Last five minutes of class, ask students to summarize the learning for the day. Examples: a) 3-2-1 Write - 3 facts about Thomas Jefferson - 2 controversies between the Federalists and Democratic - Republicans -1 similarity between this era and our own b) Solve this problem Reverse the process and call them Entrance Slips--start the class with them.

# 4 Hinge Questions (Dylan Wiliam) They are used halfway way through lesson. Students need to be able to answer them within 2 minutes. Hinge Questions focus on important concepts and require an answer that demonstrates understanding, not just recall. Teachers should be able to process the student answers within 30 seconds. 2 Ways to Incorporate Hinge Questions ABCD cards: (Dylan Wiliam): each student has a packet of ABCD cards. The teacher puts a problem or hinge question on the overhead/LCD projector with four possible responses--A, B, C, or D. Students hold up their card(s) to share their response. Needless to say, this strategy provides a wonderful opportunity for the teacher to further check for understanding or misconceptions by asking students to explain why they chose a particular answer. A B C D Mini-white boards: each student has a mini-white board to use for a response. The teacher asks a hinge question, students respond on their white boards and hold up their answers while the teacher visually sweeps the room checking answers.

# 5 Traffic light (Dylan Wiliam): Students receive red, yellow, and green dots. When they peer edit or assess, they use the green dots to indicate which parts of the piece are meeting the standards described in the rubric, yellow dots to show which parts are close but still need some work, and red ones to mark those sections which areas do not meet standards. Students also jot down or share suggestions for improvement. The teacher can also use this system. Students receive feedback so they know what next steps to take before the final grading process occurs.

Bonus! Small group brain drain: If the class is sitting in table groups, have chart paper and markers at each table. After a reading or reading/ discussion, ask each group to list everything they can recall and underline the three most important ideas or facts. Remember to ask them to reflect on WHY they think something is important! Jill Spencer Learning Capacity Unlimited spencerj51@yahoo.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9fLcU0hiPY&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

Embedded Formative Assessment

Seven Strategies of Assessment

for Learning

The seven strategies fulfill Sadler’s three conditions, phrased as questions from

the student’s point of view:

Where am I going?; Where am I now?; and How

can I close the gap?

As you read through these strategies, note that many are

not new—they reflect practices that have been around for years (Figure 1.4).

What may be new is their

intentional use, focusing on the student as the most

influential decision maker in your classroom.

Where Am I Going?

Strategy 1: Provide students with a clear and understandable vision of the

learning target.

Motivation and achievement both increase when instruction is guided by clearly

defined targets. Activities that help students answer the question, “What’s the

learning?” set the stage for all further formative assessment actions.

12

Seven Strategies

of Assessment for Learning

Figure 1.4

Seven Strategies of Assessment

for Learning

Source:

Adapted with permission from R. J. Stiggins, J. A. Arter, J. Chappuis, and S. Chappuis, Classroom

Assessment

for Student Learning: Doing It Right—Using It Well (Portland, OR: ETS Assessment Training Institute,

2004), p. 42.

Where Am I Going?

Strategy 1: Provide students with a clear and understandable vision of the learning target.

Strategy 2: Use examples and models of strong and weak work.

Where Am I Now?

Strategy 3: Offer regular descriptive feedback.

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

How Can I Close the Gap?

Strategy 5: Design lessons to focus on one learning target or aspect of quality at a time.

Strategy 6: Teach students focused revision.

Strategy 7: Engage students in self-reflection, and let them keep track of and share their

learning.

Strategy 2: Use examples and models of strong and weak work.

Carefully chosen examples of the range of quality can create and refine students’

understanding of the learning goal by helping students answer the questions,

“What defines quality work?” and “What are some problems to avoid?”

Where Am I Now?

Strategy 3: Offer regular descriptive feedback.

Effective feedback shows students where they are on their path to attaining

the intended learning. It answers for students the questions, “What are my

strengths?”; “What do I need to work on?”; and “Where did I go wrong and what

can I do about it?”

CHAPTER 1:

Formative Assessment and Assessment for Learning

13

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

The information provided in effective feedback models the kind of evaluative

thinking we want students to be able to do themselves. Strategy 4 teaches

students to identify their strengths and weaknesses and to set goals for further

learning. It helps them answer the questions, “What am I good at?”; “What do I

need to work on?”; and “What should I do next?”

How Can I Close the Gap?

Strategy 5: Design lessons to focus on one learning target or aspect of

quality at a time.

When assessment information identifies a need, we can adjust instruction to

target that need. In this strategy, we scaffold learning by narrowing the focus of

a lesson to help students master a specific learning goal or to address specific

misconceptions or problems.

Strategy 6: Teach students focused revision.

This is a companion to Strategy 5—when a concept, skill, or competence

proves difficult for students, we can let them practice it in smaller segments,

and give them feedback on just the aspects they are practicing. This strategy

allows students to revise their initial work with a focus on a manageable number

of learning targets or aspects of quality.

Strategy 7: Engage students in self-reflection, and let them keep track of

and share their learning.

Long-term retention and motivation increase when students track, reflect on,

and communicate about their learning. In this strategy, students look back on

their journey, reflecting on their learning and sharing their achievement with

others.

The seven strategies are not a recipe to be followed step by step, although

they do build on one another. Rather, they are a collection of actions that will

strengthen students’ sense of self-efficacy (belief that effort will lead to improvement),

their motivation to try, and ultimately, their achievement. They

represent a use of assessment information that differs from the traditional

practice of associating

assessment with test, and test with grade. These assessment

practices will not result in more grades in the gradebook. Rather, they

ask us to think more broadly about what assessment is and what it is capable of

accomplishing.

How much should homework count?

Late Work