1. $17.95

2. Formative Assessment Action Plan: Practical Steps to More Successful Teaching and Learning by Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher
Chapter 1. Creating a Formative Assessment System
Chapter 2. Feed-Up: Where Am I Going?
Chapter 3. Checking for Understanding: Where Am I Now?
Chapter 4. Feedback: How Am I Doing?
Chapter 5. Feed-Forward: Where Am I Going Next?
Chapter 6. Building a Formative Assessment System
References
About the Authors
Related ASCD Resources: Formative Assessment
A Study Guide for The Formative Assessment Action Plan: Practical Steps to More Successful Teaching and Learning

3. What is Formative Assessment?
Formative assessment is a reflective process that intends to promote student attainment [1]. Cowie and Bell [2] define it as the bidirectional process between teacher and student to enhance, recognize and respond to the learning. Black and Wiliam [3] consider an assessment ‘formative’ when the feedback from learning activities is actually used to adapt the teaching to meet the learner's needs.

4. Formative Assessment System
Establish learning goals
Check for understanding
Provide feedback
Then, align future instruction with the students’ performance

6. Gradual Release of Responsibility “Framework”
Teacher Responsibility
Focus Lesson
“I do it”
Guided Instruction
“We do it”
“You do it together”
“You do it alone”
Student Responsibility

7. Common Assessments allows groups of teachers to talk about
the standards,
how the standards might be assessed,
how students are currently performing, and
what learning needs to take place for students to demonstrate proficiency

8. Leadership for a Formative Assessment System
Getting leaders into classrooms is important if school improvement efforts are to flourish.
Leaders and teachers must have productive conversations about observations.
Leaders must have a deep understanding of quality and provide feedback that is counter to what the evidence says about good teaching.