High Quality Formative Assessment

1. What is formative assessment?

-Formative assessment is an assessment for learning , not an assessment of learning. It is also a way of improving student achievement.

 

2. What is the CENTRAL purpose of formative assessment?

-The central purpose is to put student learning at the center. It benefits the teachers in order to help focus on the students needs. However, the assessment is centered around students and their learning.

 

3. Connect a best practice in formative assessment to one research-based strategy.

-Giving feedback to students provides them with opprotunities to understand misconceptions they may have. Effective feedback is timely. Delay in providing students feedback diminishes its value for learning (Banger-Drowns, Kulik, Kulik, & Morgan, 1991).

 

4. Give an example of how a specific assessment can be used formatively and summatively.

-A rubric that is given to the students prior to the start of a project can be used to help students understand what the teacher expects, but it can also be used as a summative assessment at the end of the project to grade the final product.

 

5. Give an example from your field placement related to formative assessment and timing.

- When I taught students about shadows and the process of day and night, students were given a week to study all the information. They were given a student lab book that was taken home every night. The students were able to review the labs they have completed as well as complete homework that was given nightly. The lab book also had a page of words that would be tested along with their defintions and examples. This provided students with enough time to understand the information and pass the assessment.

 

6. What are some strategies to help formative assessment be more effective when providing students with feedback?

-Make sure the feedback is given in a timely manner so that students have a chance to correct misconceptions. Also, be sure to give students postive feedback.

 

7. Name two advantages to high quality formative assessment.

- The formative assessment allows teachers to identify struggling students as well as improve teacher instruction. It also gives students higher self confidence that will allow students to transfer positive thoughts in other learning aspects.

8. What are some challenges to implementing high quality formative assessment?