1. Formative Assessment Presented by: Mike Zellmer Franklin Summer Academy June 16 - June 19, 2009 Franklin Summer Academy June 16 - June 19, 2009

2. Learning Targets 1.Understand formative assessment terminology, definitions, and research. 2.Determine the appropriate combination of assessments to use with formative assessment in your assessment plan. 3.Understand and apply effective student feedback strategies. 4.Effectively use on-line resources to develop assessment plans and strategies for projects.

3. In Addition... To be able to explain that formative assessment is a tool used on a frequent basis that informs the teacher, and student, where that student is in relation to the learning target and established performance criteria. To be able to explain that formative assessment is a tool used on a frequent basis that informs the teacher, and student, where that student is in relation to the learning target and established performance criteria. To consistently utilize formative strategies in the classroom and modify instructional planning according to student performance. To consistently utilize formative strategies in the classroom and modify instructional planning according to student performance.

4. Basic Terminology

5. Assessment - Meaning as sess (ses') v.t. [late ME < ML L assess (us) ptp. of assidere (ad + sedere)] to sit down beside

7. Assessment Timeline/Plan

8. Assessment Plan - Template Pre-Assessment Formative Assessments Growth Assessments Final Product Assessments

9. Assessment Plan - Template Pre-Assessment Formative Assessments Growth Assessments Final Product Assessments

11. Definition Rick Stiggins Using many different assessment methods to provide students, teachers, and parents with a continuous stream of evidence of student progress in mastering the knowledge and skills that underpin or lead up to state standards.  Students learn about achievement expectations from the beginning.  Students study samples of strong and weak work.  Students see and understand the scaffold they will be climbing as they approach the expectations.  Students partner with their teacher to continuously monitor their current level of attainment in relation to the expectations  Students set goals for what to learn next and thus play a role in their own progress.  Students communicate evidence of their learning all along the journey to success.  Students are inside the assessment process, watching themselves grow.

12. Definition Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) (UK) Assessment for learning involves using assessment in the classroom to raise pupils’ achievement. It is based on the idea that pupils will improve most if they understand the aim of their learning, where they are in relation to this aim and how they can achieve the aim (or close the gap in their knowledge). Shortcut Assessment For Learning is formative assessment with a strong student involvement component added.

13. Know Student’s Thinking To Clear Up Misconceptions

14. Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me and I’ll remember. Involve me and I’ll understand. -Confucius

15. Research -Based Features of Formative Assessment Actively involving children in their own learning. Providing Effective Feedback to Children. Recognizing the impact of assessment on children’s motivation and self-esteem. Children assessing themselves on how to improve. Adjusting teaching based on the results of assessment.

16. Five Key Strategies Questioning Engineering effective classroom discussions, questions, and learning tasks Feedback Moving learners forward with feedback Sharing Learning Expectations Clarifying and sharing learning intentions and criteria for success Self Assessment Activating students as the owners of their own learning Peer Assessment Activating students as instructional resources for one another

17. Metaphors  A pilot guides a plane or boat toward its destination by taking constant readings and making careful adjustments in response to wind, currents, weather, etc.  An AFL teacher does the same:  Plans a carefully chosen route ahead of time (in essence determining the targets)  Takes readings along the way  Changes course as conditions dictate

18. Formative Assessment - Process 1.Understand the learning TARGET. 2.Produce WORK. 3.COMPARE performance with the learning target. 4.EVALUATE strengths and weaknesses. 5.Give FEEDBACK for improvement. 6.Close the GAP (possibly in increments)

19. Formative Assessment - Process 1.Provide a clear and understandable vision of the learning TARGET. 2.Use EXAMPLES of strong and weak work. 3.Offer descriptive FEEDBACK 4.Teach students to SELF-ASSESS and to set GOALS. 5.Design lessons to focus on ONE ASPECT of quality at a time. 6.Teach students focused REVISION. 7.Engage students in SELF-REFLECTION and let them keep track of and share their learning.

20. Stiggins: Stu. Involvement, Obligation, Habit, 7 Steps

21. Requires Changing Habits; Not Adding Knowledge - Teachers “know” most of this already - So the problem is not a lack of knowledge - It’s a lack of understanding what it means to do AfL - That’s why telling teachers what to do doesn’t work -Experience alone is not enough—if it were, then the most experienced teachers would be the best teachers—we know that’s not true (Hanushek, 2005) -People need to reflect on their experiences in systematic ways that build their accessible knowledge base, learn from mistakes, etc. (Bransford, Brown & Cocking, 1999)

22. Formative Assessment - Process

23. Teacher & Student Responsibilities

24. Why Formative Assessment? Why assessment for learning?  Several major reviews of the research  Natriello (1987): grades K-12  Crooks (1988): grades K-12  Kluger & DeNisi (1996): grades K-16, work  Black & Wiliam (1998): K-12  Nyquist (2003): grades 13-16  All find consistent, substantial effects

25. Cost Effective Comparisons Intervention Extra months of learning/yrCost/yr Class-size reduction by 30% 3$30k (e.g., from 30 to 20) Increase teacher content knowledge from weak to strong (2 standard deviations) 1.5 ? Formative assessment/ Assessment for learning6 to 9$3k

26. What the Experts Say “The assessments best suited to guide improvements in instruction and student learning are the quizzes, tests, writing assignments, and other assessments teachers administer on a regular basis in their classrooms. Teachers trust the results from these assessments because they relate directly to instructional goals in the classroom.” - Thomas Guskey

27. What the Experts Say “When students are involved in the assessment process they learn more, achieve at higher levels, and are more motivated. This is called formative assessment because the assessment is used to impact learning - not merely as a measure of what was learned.” - Anne Davies

28. What the Experts Say “It should be self-evident that accurate assessments lead to better instructional decisions than do inaccurate assessments. Descriptive feedback provided to students who understand the target will power them toward success far more productively than will judgmental feedback in the form of grades, for example. This is especially true for struggling learners.” - Rick Stiggins

29. Teachers Talk About Formative Assessment

30. Feedback “Assessment is a reflection of values. Our assessment policies put into action our beliefs about the ability of all students to succeed. Our assessment practices reflect our beliefs about the use of feedback to improve instruction.” - Doug Reeves

31. Feedback “As a result of reviewing 8,000 studies, Hattie (1992) found that the most powerful single modification that enhances achievement is feedback. The simplest prescription for improving education must be ‘dollops of feedback.’” -Robert Marzano

32. Helping Students Use Feedback

33. Ideally, both self-assessment (internal feedback) and teacher feedback (external feedback) should help students control their learning. New concepts and skills > More teacher regulation. Then strategies that you suggest and model will become part of the students’ repertoire. Gradually, more and more self-assessment should occur. Students come up with their own learning strategies, and less teacher feedback is given.

34. Key Question

35. Best Kinds of Feedback

36. Example in Conference Format