Teaching Tip: Use Formative Assessments in the Classroom

The use of formative assessments has always been an integral and important practice that effective teachers intuitively apply in the classroom. Research has only relatively recently validated the use of formative assessments. The consensus is that this form of assessment is a key to realizing high student achievement.

Formative Assessment: What Is It?

Formative assessment is a practice that drives instruction in the classroom. It is used throughout the process of learning. Formative assessment is not simply giving a final test at the end of a unit of study. Rather, it is ongoing and used frequently. Think of it this way. The word, "formative" has as its root, the word, "form". The result of a formative assessment instrument is used to form or shape instruction in the midst of a unit.

If students show that they are not grasping the concepts, the teacher does not stay the course. Instead, she adjusts instruction to address the students' lack of understanding. Perhaps, a pause in the instructional pace is taken to give some kind of review activity. Without the use of formative assessments, a teacher may not realize that a group of students does not understand the learning objective until the final assessment. They will have failed and possibly become discouraged about achieving with other material taught in the course.

If students show that they understand an objective on a formative assessment, the teacher moves on. This is even though more instruction has been planned. Consider formative assessment as a very fluid and dynamic process where instruction changes according to the needs of the students.

Formative Assessment: How Are Students Benefited?

In addition to helping teachers target instruction, formative assessments empower students. The direct feedback from ongoing formative assessments allows them to see how well they are progressing toward mastery of learning objectives. Students begin to take more initiative in their academic progress when they can see explicitly where they are and where they are trying to go in their learning. Formative assessments are tools that help students close this gap. Students who struggle academically especially benefit from formative assessments.

The stakes are high for students, teachers, administrators and school districts. The use of formative assessments is a researched based practice that is proven to help students to achieve. It is effective in the classroom because it emphasizes learning over grading. Using formative assessments consistently brings into focus the central and all-important question , "Are the students learning?"

http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/5212

http://fcit.usf.edu/assessment/basic/basica.html

http://www.fairtest.org/value-formative-assessment-pdf