Rich Formative Assessment:
Critical Component
of Instruction
Denise White
WVDE Office of Instruction
Anticipation Guide
• On your table you will find a half
sheet of paper.
• Read the statements and respond by
marking A (Agree) or D (Disagree)
• Keep your answers private – no
discussions
• Turn your papers over when finished
Discussion
As a table group, please discuss the
following questions:
• When were you assessed and it was a
negative experience? What made it
so?
• When were you assessed and it was a
positive experience? What made it
so?
What is formative
assessment?
Formative Assessment
Formative Assessment
• takes place during the learning
process
• informs both teachers and students
• allows teachers to adjust instruction
• involves students
• cannot be separated from the
instructional process
• is Classroom Assessment for
Learning
Formative Assessment gives
teachers information that they can
use to inform their teaching and
improve learning while it is in
progress and while the outcome of
the race can still be influenced.
Laura Greenstein
What Teachers Really Need to Know
about Formative Assessment
Formative Assessment:
• Focuses instruction on informed
priorities
• Allows for customized learning
• Encourages teachers and students to
work together toward achievement
• Increases student engagement and
motivation
• Increases coherence between
curriculum, instruction and assessment
The Cycle of
Formative Assessment
Identification
of Objectives,
Goals,
Standards
Responding
to Data
Data Analysis
Targeted
Instruction
Data
Gathering
Essential Principles
Formative Assessment is
–Student Focused
–Instructionally Informative
–Outcomes Based
Student Focused
Formative Assessment helps teachers
 Consider each student’s learning needs
and styles and adapt instruction
 Track individual student achievement
 Provide appropriately challenging
instructional activities
 Design student assessments
 Offer all students opportunities for
improvement through descriptive
feedback
Instructionally Informative
Formative Assessment
 Provides a way to align standards,
content, and assessment
 Allows for purposeful selection of
strategies
 Embeds assessment in instruction
 Guides instructional decisions
Outcomes Based
Formative Assessment
 Emphasizes learning outcomes
 Makes goals and objectives transparent
to students
 Provides clear assessment criteria
 Closes the gap between what students
know and desired outcomes
 Provides feedback that is relevant,
comprehensible, actionable
 Provides valuable diagnostic information
by generating informative data
Formative Assessment
focuses on achieving goals
rather than determining if a
goal was or was not met.
Research
“Formative Assessment shows
an effect size of between .4
and .7, the equivalent of
going from the 50th percentile
to the 65th percentile.”
Paul Black & Dylan Wiliam, 1998
“Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards
Through Classroom Assessment”
Why Involve Students?
• Formative Assessment can
– Boost student achievement
– Increase student motivation
• High School Survey of Student Engagement
– 80,000 students from 19 states
– Less than 50% discussed grades and/or
assignments with a teacher
– Almost half did not receive prompt feedback
– Only 57% contributed to class discussions
– Only half got to make choices about what they
study
– Findings: Providing frequent feedback and
choices through formative assessment can help
students see progress and feel supported, often
changing their motivation. (Heritage, 2007)
Seven Strategies
• Where am I going?
1. Provide clear Learning Target
2. Use exemplars of strong and weak work
• Where am I now?
3. Provide descriptive feedback
4. Teach students to self-assess & set goals
• How can I close the gap?
5. Design lessons to focus on one aspect
6. Teach students focused revision
7. Engage students in self-reflection, let them
keep track of and share their learning
Stiggins, 2006
Anticipation Guide
• Look at the statements again
• Change any Agrees or
Disagrees based on new
information you have gained
• Discuss your answers with a
partner
1. Formative assessment is done at the
end of the learning process.
2. Formative assessment is used only
for the teacher to adjust instruction.
3. Students are graded on every
formative assessment.
4. Formative instruction and instruction
go hand-in-hand.
5. Formative assessment can help
teachers differentiate instruction.
6. Formative assessment can affect
scores on summative assessments.
Where Can Teachers Find
More about Formative
Assessments?
http://wvde.state.wv.us/teach21
Frayer Model
•
•
•
•
Take a blank sheet of paper
Fold it in half, then in half again
Bend the corner in
Open it flat and write Formative
Assessment in the center diamond
• Label sections as shown on next slide
Definition in your own words:
Examples:
Facts/ Characteristics:
Formative
Assessment
Nonexamples:
Inside Outside Circle
• Count off 1, 2, 1, 2 …….
• 1s form a circle with your back to the
inside
• 2s find a partner who is a 1 and face
them forming an outside circle
• Be prepared to discuss with your
partner when the teacher directs
3-2-1 Exit Slip
• Take an index card from the table
• 3 Things you learned about Formative
Assessment
• 2 Strategies that you think will be
valuable to teachers
• 1 Question you still may have
Formative Assessment used
during this presentation
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•
•
•
•
•
•
Anticipation Guide
Think-Pair-Share
Discussion
Frayer Model
Inside – Outside Circle
Observation
Exit Slip
Questions
about
Formative
Assessment