Assessment

What is formative assessment?

Help the teacher when determining whether or not the goals and objectives are being met for each student. This type of assessment is meant to be done during instruction, throughout a unit. 

What is the CENTRAL purpose of formative assessment?

The purpose of a formative assessment is to help the teacher and student see if they are understanding the outlined goals and objectives. Help students see how closely their own work matches a given goal, and this, in turn, enables them to understand and monitor their own learning.   

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

During use of a research-based strategy like simulations and games, the teacher can formatively assess their  students by having a checklist with criteria listed. As the student displays knowledge of the criteria the teacher can place a check by their name to indicate they have met the desired criteria. 

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

Exit slips are great as a formative assessment because they can be done at the end of a lesson to check for student understanding. It is quick and helpful way to assess whether or not the students are ready to move forward with instruction. 

Rubrics can be used to assess larger projects at the end of a unit plan, this would be considered a summative assessment. This is considered summative because the project is culminating and is an opportunity for the student to display all knowledge gained throughout the unit plan.

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

I had the opportunity to read a story aloud to my kindergarten clinical class and while I read the story I assessed their knowledge of whether or not they understand what a rhyming word sounded like. I did this by telling the students they were rhyming detectives. They were to get out their detective fingers out and when they heard two words that rhyming, they were to place their finger on their nose. This way, I could look out to see who heard the words. 

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

Holding teacher/student conferences and giving the student an opportunity to see how they were assessed and whether they have improved or not. It is also helpful for the student to have the opportunity to ask questions and know exactly what they need to work on. 

Name two advantages to high quality formative assessment.

Students will feel more motivated by high quality formative assessment because they will hold themselves at a higher accountability. The teacher will set higher expectations through formative assessments and the students will realize that and be even more intrinsically motivated. Also, an advantage for the teacher is they will be able to see which students need more help on a specific content area or content objective. 

What are some challenges to implementing high quality formative assessment?

Implementing high quality formative assessment can be difficult because it may be hard to find the time to do this while instructing. It is also difficult (sometimes) to find a formative assessment that effectively assesses the student on the objective. Some students may be harder to assess than others because of learning exceptionalities, so that is something to consider when planning assessments. It can also be challenging to find a variety of assessments.