Understanding Formative
and Summative
Assessment Strategies
Strand: Assessment0
PDX 113830
Following is a general overview of this workshop, including desired participant outcomes, an explanation of the workshop’s alignment with Learning Forward Standards
for Professional Learning, and resources that are included in print and electronic form.
Category: Assessment
Duration: Full workshop – 3 hours
Desired Outcomes:
Participants will…
• Differentiate formative from summative assessments.
• Describe the different formative and summative assessment tools.
• Explain ways of enhancing formative and summative assessments to increase student learning.
• Understand the significance of formative and summative assessments in the teaching-learning process.
Learning Forward Standards for Professional Learning:
• Learning Communities: Occurs within learning communities committed to
continuous improvement, collective responsibility, and goal alignment.
• Leadership: Requires skillful leaders who develop capacity, advocate, and create support systems for professional learning.
• Resources: Requires prioritizing, monitoring, and coordinating resources for
educator learning.
• Data: Uses a variety of sources and types of student, educator, and system data
to plan, assess, and evaluate professional learning.
• Learning Designs: Integrates theories, research, and models of human learning
to achieve its intended outcomes.
• Implementation: Applies research on change and sustains support for implementation of professional learning for long term change.
• Outcomes: Aligns its outcomes with educator performance and student curriculum standards.
Understanding Formative and Summative Assessment Strategies
Workshop Overview
Resources in This Binder:
• Handouts
• Workshop Agenda
• Attendee Notes
• 3-2-1 Evaluation Form
• Certificate of Completion
• “Think About It” Exercise
• Ready, Set, Go Planning Activity
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©THE MASTER TEACHER
Section I: Pre-Class Preparation Materials
Topic Outline
Understanding the general flow of topics to be covered is an important part
of giving a strong presentation. This allows the presenter(s) to lead effective
group discussions and speak extemporaneously. Following are the main topics covered
in this PowerPoint presentation. As you prepare to give the workshop, you may want
to refer to this page often.
Main Topics
1. Understanding Formative and Summative Assessments
2. Assessment Tools for Measuring Learning
3. Enhancing Assessments to Increase Student Learning
Subtopics
1. Understanding Formative and Summative Assessments
a. When to Check Understanding
b. What to Do with the Information
c. What Question Is Answered
2. Assessment Tools for Measuring Learning
a. Formative Assessment Tools
b. Summative Assessment Tools
c. Assessments Magnifying Growth
3. Enhancing Assessments to Increase Student Learning
a. Who Is a Good Assessor?
b. Achieving Student Success
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©THE MASTER TEACHER
Section III: Presenter Materials and Notes
Presentation Outline
This outline is designed for you to see the PowerPoint presentation at a
glance. Note that slide numbers and the approximate amount of time needed
per slide are shown in the right two columns. The times in bold show the approximate total time needed for that topic which includes the recommended times
for activities, shown in parentheses. You might consider keeping this page within
reach during the presentation.
Section of Presentation
Slide #
Timing (mins)
Intro Introduce self, co-teacher, participants
Explain materials issued to participants
Cover objectives (from Workshop Overview)
1-2
10
Topic 1—Understanding Formative and
Summative Assessments
3-6
20
Topic 2—Assessment Tools for Measuring Learning
7-17
60
16
(15)
Topic 3—Enhancing Assessments
to Increase Student Learning
18-27
70
Activity—Paired Problem Solving
25
(20)
28
5
Activity—Think, Pair, Share
2
Break
Closing Remarks
Total of 2 hours and 45 minutes (not including break)
Helpful tip!
This workshop can be broken out into
shorter sessions that could be offered
over the course of several days. For
example, you could present one of the
topics during a 1-hour session, or present
several topics during a longer session,
Adapt this presentation as needed based
on the time you have available to offer
professional development.
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©THE MASTER TEACHER
Identifies the learning targets. A good assessor gives students a vivid picture of the
expected learning targets before instruction begins. The assessor asks these questions:
Do I lay out challenging and measurable goals for each assignment and student?
Are my assessments in sync with my teaching?
Have I aligned learning outcomes with the standards?
Provides descriptive feedback. A good assessor provides every student with ongoing,
descriptive feedback that accurately relates to the intended learning target. We should
use assessment feedback to help students adjust as they learn.
Understanding Formative and Summative Assessment Strategies
Slide 19
Leads students in self-assessment and goal-setting exercises. A good assessor helps
students identify their own strengths and weaknesses.
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©The MASTER Teacher
Activity: Paired Problem Solving
All 15-20 minutes for this activity.
Give participants 2-3 minutes to write on a notepad or the PowerPoint handout a specific problem they have had with assessing student learning. Maybe they weren’t sure
about how to assess a certain skill, or they weren’t sure what to do after seeing low
scores on a particular test.
Then, have participants pair with a partner. One partner reads his or her problem, and
the other partner suggests ways to solve the problem. They then exchange roles. Give
pairs 5 minutes for this discussion.
Understanding Formative and Summative Assessment Strategies
Slide 25
Then, have pairs briefly share their problems and solutions with the whole group.
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©The MASTER Teacher
Section V: Post-Class Materials
“Think About It” Exercise
Have staff complete this exercise to begin implementing what they learned
during the workshop. Distribute this document to staff by attaching the file to
the Next Day Follow-Up Email, or make copies for the staff.
1. Circle the assessment tools in the list below that you have used in
your classroom.
Pretests
Writing Prompts
Role Play
Graphic Organizers
Oral Interviews
End-of-Chapter Exams
Performance Tasks
Story Summaries
2. Are there any aspects of formative and summative assessments that
the training did not cover? What are they and how do you propose
addressing these aspects?
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3. Which formative and assessment tools presented in the training
would be applicable to the subject(s) you teach? How are you
going to carry out these assessment tools in the classroom?
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Copyright 2009 THE MASTER TEACHER. All rights reserved. Reprinted from PDXPERT: Understanding Formative and Summative Assessment
Strategies. Manhattan, KS: THE MASTER TEACHER, www.masterteacher.com. Purchasers of PDXPERT: Understanding Formative and Summative
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