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Formative Assessment Process:
Layering Planning, Assessment, and Action
NCSM Annual Conference 2016
Tuesday, April 12
Katey Arrington
Manager, K–12 System Services
Tweet @UTDCKatey or @utdanacenter #NCSM2016
Introduction to the Charles A. Dana Center
What we do
•  Advance effective math and science education for all
students, from kindergarten to college
•  Provide innovative resources that promote student
engagement, motivation, and persistence in support of
academic achievement
•  Work alongside teachers, administrators, and
policymakers at the local, state, and national level to
support education systems that put students on a path
to success
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The assessment continuum
Where do typical assessments fall on the continuum?
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Assessment Design
Standard
Task
Standard
Task
Standard
Task
Standard
Task
Standard
Task
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Assessment Design
Standards for
Mathematical Practice
Domain
Task
Cluster Heading
Standard
Standard
Standard
Task
Task
Cluster Heading
Task
Standard
Standard
Standard
Task
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Why new assessments? Shifts in the CCSS-M
From
To
Modeling
Using algorithms to
solve a set of standard
problems
Using mathematics to solve a broader
array of problems, including problems
from real-world settings
Coherence
Learning topics in
isolation
Learning mathematics in the context of
natural cross-grade-level progressions
Focus
Learning mathematics
at a surface level
Learning fewer topics in greater depth for
true mastery (fewer, clearer, higher)
Rigor
Emphasizing mostly
Developing broad math proficiency and
procedural competence habits of mind (SMP)
Modernization
Using a 19th-century
algebra-based
curriculum
Using a broader 21st-century curriculum
(focus on math and statistics central to
making sense of uncertainty and using
technology to solve real-world and
theoretical problems)
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Goal of the Formative Assessment Collaborative
To provide teachers teams with tools and strategies for
implementing formative assessment processes in
mathematics to strengthen instruction and support student
learning
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Desired Outcomes of the Collaborative
Participants will:
•  Understand the role of formative assessment in effective
teaching.
•  Understand some key findings from research around
formative assessment.
•  Select key assessment points within a unit of study, choose
appropriate assessment strategies to elicit evidence of
understanding from students, and adjust instruction
accordingly.
•  Be prepared to implement formative assessment tasks and
strategies within units of study throughout the year.
•  Strengthen the implementation of the CCSS-M.
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What is Formative Assessment?
Formative assessment is…
“…a planned process in which assessment-elicited
evidence of students’ status is used by teachers to
adjust their ongoing instructional procedures or by
students to adjust their current learning tactics.”
W. James Popham. (2008). Transformative Assessment.
Alexandria, VA: ASCD, page 6.
http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/108018/chapters/FormativeAssessment@-Why,-What,-and-Whether.aspx
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What is Formative Assessment?
Formative assessment is…
“…a planned process in which assessmentelicited evidence of students’ status is used by
teachers to adjust their ongoing instructional
procedures or by students to adjust their current
learning tactics.”
W. James Popham. (2008). Transformative Assessment.
Alexandria, VA: ASCD, page 6.
http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/108018/chapters/FormativeAssessment@-Why,-What,-and-Whether.aspx
Formative assessment depends on carefully choosing and
collecting data and taking action based on the data.
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Applications of Formative Assessment
The Formative Assessment Process
Classroom
Climate
Immediate
Instructional
Adjustment
Shifts
Students’
Near-Future
Instructional
Adjustment
Last-Chance
Instructional
Adjustment
Learning Tactic
Adjustments
Adapted from W. James Popham. (2011). Transformative Assessment in Action: An Inside Look at Applying the Process. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
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Applications of Formative Assessment
The Formative Assessment Process
Teachers’ Instructional
Adjustments
Immediate
Instructional
Adjustment
Near-Future
Instructional
Adjustment
Last-Chance
Instructional
Adjustment
Adapted from W. James Popham. (2011). Transformative Assessment in Action: An Inside Look at Applying the Process. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
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Applications of Formative Assessment
The Formative Assessment Process
Intended Outcomes of
Effective Formative
Assessment
Classroom
Climate
Shifts
Students’
Learning Tactic
Adjustments
Adapted from W. James Popham. (2011). Transformative Assessment in Action: An Inside Look at Applying the Process. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
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Applications of Formative Assessment
The Formative Assessment Process
Classroom
Climate
Immediate
Instructional
Adjustment
Shifts
Students’
Near-Future
Instructional
Adjustment
Last-Chance
Instructional
Adjustment
Learning Tactic
Adjustments
Adapted from W. James Popham. (2011). Transformative Assessment in Action: An Inside Look at Applying the Process. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
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What is Formative Assessment?
Formative assessment is…
“…a planned process in which assessmentelicited evidence of students’ status is used by
teachers to adjust their ongoing instructional
procedures or by students to adjust their current
learning tactics.”
W. James Popham. (2008). Transformative Assessment.
Alexandria, VA: ASCD, page 6.
http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/108018/chapters/FormativeAssessment@-Why,-What,-and-Whether.aspx
Formative assessment depends on carefully choosing and
collecting data and taking action based on the data.
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Formative Assessment Cycle
Study
Standards
Make
Instructional
Adjustments
Determine
Criteria
Develop
Learning
Progression
Interpret
Evidence
Capture
Evidence
Plan the
Assessment(s)
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Examples
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.OA.B.6
Understand division as an unknown-factor problem.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSA.REI.D.10
Understand that the graph of an equation in two variables is
the set of all its solutions plotted in the coordinate plane, often
forming a curve (which could be a line).
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Formative Assessment Cycle
Study
Standards
Make
Instructional
Adjustments
Determine
Criteria
Develop
Learning
Progression
Interpret
Evidence
Capture
Evidence
Plan the
Assessment(s)
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Learning Progressions
Formative assessment is a planned process, and a key
component of this planning is the learning progression.
“A learning progression is a sequenced set of subskills or
bodies of enabling knowledge that, it is thought, students
must master en route to mastering a more remote target
curricular aim.”
W. James Popham. (2008). Transformative Assessment.
Alexandria, VA: ASCD, page 24.
Learning progressions indicate to teachers when to collect
assessment evidence.
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Building a Learning Progression
Target Curricular Aim
Building
Block
Knowledge
Knowledge
Skill
Skill
Building
Block
Building
Block
Skill
Skill
Knowledge
Knowledge
Knowledge
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Planning for assessments includes…
Plan for adjustments!!
•  What do I anticipate getting as responses, correct and
incorrect?
•  How will I discuss results with students?
•  How will I respond to anticipated responses—to individuals
and to groups of students?
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Formative Assessment Cycle
Study
Standards
Make
Instructional
Adjustments
Determine
Criteria
Develop
Learning
Progression
Interpret
Evidence
Capture
Evidence
Plan the
Assessment(s)
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Learning Progressions and Assessment Design
Target Curricular Aim
Knowledge
Skill
Skill
Building Block #1
Formative
Assessment
Knowledge
Skill
Knowledge
Building Block #2
Formative
Assessment
Skill
Knowledge
Knowledge
Building Block #3
Formative
Assessment
Summative
Assessment
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Connect to NCTM Mathematics Teaching Practices
Establish Mathematics Goals to Focus
Learning
“The mathematical purpose of a lesson should
not be a mystery to students. Classrooms in
which students understand the learning
expectations for their work perform at higher
levels than classrooms where the expectations
are unclear.”
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2014). Principles to Actions:
Ensuring Mathematical Success for All. Reston, VA: NCTM., page 13.
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Connect to NCTM Mathematics Teaching Practices
Implement tasks that promote reasoning and
problem solving.
“Effective teaching of mathematics engages
students in solving and discussing tasks that
promote mathematical reasoning and problem
solving and allow multiple entry points and varied
solution strategies.”
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2014). Principles to Actions:
Ensuring Mathematical Success for All. Reston, VA: NCTM., page 17.
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25 Connect to NCTM Mathematics Teaching Practices
Through implementing tasks that promote reasoning and
problem solving, you provide the opportunity to use other
effective mathematics teaching practices:
•  Use and connect mathematical representations
•  Facilitate meaningful mathematical discourse
•  Pose purposeful questions
•  Build procedural fluency through conceptual understanding
•  Support productive struggle
•  Elicit and use evidence of student thinking
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The assessment continuum
Where do typical assessments fall on the continuum?
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Want to learn more?
Katey Arrington, Manager, K–12 System Services
katey.arrington@austin.utexas.edu
http://www.utdanacenter.org/dc-at-ncsm2016/
Tweet us at @UTDCKatey or @utdanacenter #NCSM2016
Please rate this conference presentation on the NCSM App by
answering four short questions.
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