Race to the Top~November Session Formative Assessment

Understanding of individual students Types of assessment In-depth understanding of individual students

What is formative assessment? Sharing learning intentions and criteria for success. Crafting discussions, questions, and learning tasks. Providing feedback that moves learning forward. Activation students as the owners of their own learning. Encouraging students to be instructional resources for one another.

Formative assessment model Where are you now? (assessment goal) Where are you trying to go? (instructional goal) How can you get there? (what is needed to reach instructional goal)

Soup analogy When the cook tastes the soup, that’s formative; when the guests taste the soup, that’s summative.

Formative assessment process Before beginning a lesson, unit, or course: What are the standards the students need to know? What curricular tools will be used? What summative assessments will measure student learning at the end? What formative assessment strategies will be used to gauge learning during the lesson, unit, or course? What formative strategies will be used to help students learn?

Assessment as instructional feedback FROM: Teach Test Grade Move On TO: Assess Assess Assess Teach Adjust instruction

Assessment for learning Sharing Learning Expectations Questioning Feedback Self-assessment Peer Assessment Using evidence of learning to adapt instruction to meet students’ immediate learning needs Five Key Strategies Sharing exemplars 30-second share Share rubrics ABCDE cards Colleague-generated questions Think/Pair/Share Comment-only marking Plus, minus, equals Find and correct errors Traffic lighting Learning logs Students reflections Peer assessment with rubric Homework helpboard

Descriptive Feedback Questioning Tactics Success Criteria Independent Learning (Students Taking Responsibility) Self Assessment Modeling by Teacher Success Criteria Questioning Tactics Descriptive Feedback Self Reflection Peer partners Clear understanding of intended learning by educator Climate for learning in classroom

Success criteria Is the culture in your classroom one where students feel safe to ask questions or insert discussion? What do you expect from your students? Do they know what you expect? Are you monitoring their progress on in-class assignments? Have you shared your rubric for performance based assessments?

Questioning Techniques Formative or summative? Closed or open? Can engage students in dialogue to extend learning Can be used to check for learning Wait time ***See handout

Using feedback to enhance achievement “The most powerful single modification that enhances achievement is feedback. The simplest prescription for improving education must be ‘dollops of feedback’” John Hattie (1992)

Descriptive feedback Evaluative feedback: Tells learners how they compare to others or provides a judgment summarizing the quality of the learning. Descriptive feedback: Specific information in the form of written comments or conversations that helps the learner understand what he or she needs to do to improve.

Descriptive feedback Identify what is done correctly. Acknowledging Student Success Guiding future thinking Identify what is done correctly. Describe an aspect of quality present in the work. Point out effective use of strategy or process. Identify a (need for) correction. Describe an aspect of quality needing work. Point out a problem with strategy or process. Offer a reminder. Make a specific suggestion. Ask a question. Descriptive feedback

Self Reflection “Formative assessment requires that pupils have a central part in it……unless they come to understand their strengths and weaknesses, and how they might deal with them, they will not make progress.” Harlen & James, 1997 See handout on Student Self-Assessment

Peer partners Using the “Chalk Talk” protocol, participants at each table will work together to answer this question: “What are the characteristics of a good evidence gathering technique or tool?”

Questions????????????