1. Formal and Informal Assessment
Mary Stewart Anderson
Teaching Strategies Project
EDSP5319 – Dr. Charlotte Fontenot
Summer 2015

2. Formal and Informal Assessment - Content
Key Terms
A Definition of Assessment
Formal Assessment
Examples of Formal Assessment
Informal Assessment
Examples of Informal Assessment
Formal vs. Informal Assessment
Implications for Special Education
My Takeaways
Hopkins, B. UCF stands alone in its method of distributing. scantrons (2013).
Retrieved from
method-of-distributing-scantrons/

3. Key Terms
reliability – the consistency with which an assessment strategy produces the same results for the same individual from one administration to the next
validity – the degree to which an assessment measures what it claims to measure
screening – measure administered to a group of
students to identify those likely to have difficulty
diagnosis – measure that enables determination of
specific need or disability
progress monitoring – measures given at regular intervals to measure growth in the curriculum or on the IEP
Ginsburg, D. (2012). Raise scores with teacher prep,
not test prep. Retrieved from
teaching_tips/2012/10/raise_scores_with_teacher
_prep_not_test_prep.html

4. Key Terms cont’d.
norm-referenced– compare student to large groups of same age/grade peers (uses percentiles)
criterion-referenced – based on curriculum or taught objectives
curriculum-based measurement (CBM) –
assessments that are centered around specific
objectives taught by the teacher
evaluating student outcomes – measure administered
to determine program effectiveness
Patricio, R & Von Stamm, B.. (2012). Fun and games –
changing the world of innovation assessments.
Retrieved from
/2014/11/03/fun-and-games-changing-the-
world-of-innovation-assessments/

5. A Definition of Assessment
Collects data to determine the effectiveness of instruction
Used to inform instruction – planning and decision-making
Used to improve outcomes for students
4 specific purposes:
Screening
Diagnosis
Progress Monitoring
Evaluating Student Outcomes
2 main categories: Formal and Informal
Lean Enterprise Institute. (2015). Pre-summit workshops. Retrieved from

6. Formal Assessment Characteristics: Types: Purposes of Assessment:
Structured
Controlled
Attempt to plan for extraneous factors
Specific protocol
Types:
Norm-referenced
Criterion-referenced
Purposes of Assessment:
Screening
Diagnosis*
Progress Monitoring
Evaluating Outcomes*
Ridley, C. (2015). Assessing the assessment of church planters. Retrieved from
up/?doing_wp_cron= #.VZE4403JDIU

7. Examples of Formal Assessments – Reading
Stanford Diagnostic Reading Test – 4th Ed.
Emerging literacy skills, phonetic analysis, vocabulary, scanning
Used to identify strengths and weaknesses in specific reading skills
Norm-referenced and criterion-referenced
Grades K - 13
DIBELS: Dynamis Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills
Phonological awareness, alphabetic principle, oral reading fluency
Screening and progress-monitoring measure for early literacy development
Criterion-referenced
Grades K - 6
Keimer, Courtney. (2015).
My fluency Progress
Monitoring Graph.
Retrieved from
intervention.wordpress
.com/2013/03/28/my-
fluency-progress-mon
itoring-graph/
Test of Phonological Awareness Skills
Phonological awareness: sound comparison, phoneme blending, and phoneme segmentation
Used to identify students with problems with phonological awareness
Norm-referenced
Grades K – 5

8. Examples of Formal Assessments – Math
KeyMath – 3: Diagnostic Assessment
Basic concepts, operations, and applications
Used to measure essential mathematical concepts
Norm-referenced
Grades K - 12
DIBELS: Dynamis Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills
Phonological awareness, alphabetic principle, oral reading fluency
Screening and progress-monitoring measure for early literacy development
Criterion-referenced
Grades K - 6
Blair. (2013). Math
Chapter 6 Test
Wednesday.
Retrieved from
.wednet.edu/blogs/
larablair/2013/12/
Comprehensive Mathematical Abilities Test
Calculations, mathematical reasoning, practical applications
Real world problems and higher-level math ability
Norm-referenced
Grades

9. Examples of Formal Assessments - Language
Bankson Language Test – 2
Measures receptive and expressive language in morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics
Used to identify students low in handwriting readiness compared to peers
Screening and Diagnostic
Age 3 – 6 years
Test for Auditory Comprehension of Language – 3
Assesses receptive language in morphology, syntax, and semantics
Focus on auditory comprehension
Specific components
Age 3 – 9 years
LookForDiagnosis.com. (2014). Look for diagnosis. Retrieved from

10. Examples of Formal Assessments – Writing
Test of Early Written Language – 2
Basic writing and contextual writing
Construction, sentence components, and conventions
Norm-referenced
Ages 3 – 10
Test of Written Language – 4
Conceptual, linguistics, and conventional components of written language
Ages
Oral and Written Language Scales: Written Expression
Measures conventions, syntax, and communication writing ability
Writing prompts and responses
Norm-referenced
Ages
Miss Literati. (2015). Writing prompt of the day. Retrieved from
blog/your-crush-disappears

11. Examples of Formal Assessments - Handwriting
Basic School Skills Inventory- 3rd Ed.
Writing section assesses writing left to right, pencil grip, writing first name, writing letters, copying words, staying on the line
Used to identify students low in handwriting readiness compared to peers
Norm-referenced
Age 4 – 6 years
Test of Handwriting Skills
Assesses upper case and lower case letters in manuscript or cursive, letter writing from memory, numbers from dictation, and sentences
Focus on ability and speed
Standardized test, norm-referenced
Age 6 – 18 years
East Irondequoit Central School District. (2011). Handwriting. Retrieved from

12. Examples of Formal Assessments - Comprehensive
Brigance Comprehensive Inventory of Basic Skills – II
Assesses word recognition, oral reading, word analysis, and reading comprehension in reading
Assesses numbers and operations, algebra, geometry, measurement, and data analysis and probability in math
Assesses letters, handwriting, conventions, and a variety of purposes in writing
Criterion-referenced
Grades K – 9
Woodcock-Johnson III Normative Update Tests of Achievement
Assesses letter-word identification, word attack, reading fluency, reading vocabulary, and passage comprehension in reading
Assesses calculation, math fluency, and applied problems in math
Achievement Test
Norm-referenced
Age 2 to 90+

13. Informal Assessment Characteristics: Types: Purposes of Assessment:
Accessible
Flexible
Natural Settings
Types:
Curriculum-based measurements
Observational
Teacher-created
Purposes of Assessment:
Screening
Progress Monitoring*
Kleeman, J. (2015). How can you assess the effectiveness of informal learning? Retrieved from

14. Examples of Informal Assessments - Reading
Graded Word Lists
Examine word recognition skills
Randomly selected words from basal tested to measure sight words, fluency, and word attack
Grade level score – independent, instructional, frustration
Informal Reading Inventory
Information about general reading level
Reading passages of 50 – 200 words that are unfamiliar; read-aloud
Measures errors, fluency, and 3 – 5 comprehension questions
Grade level score - independent, instructional, frustration
Schuylkill Haven Area School
District. (n.d.). Guided
Reading. Retrieved from
.pa.us/title1/guidedread
ing.html
Portfolio Assessment
Collection of student accomplishments as a reader.
Cloze Procedure
Deleted word replacement to determine appropriate reading level
Teacher-Made Tests
Quick estimate of specific skill

15. Examples of Informal Assessments – Math
Teacher-Constructed Tests
Identify problems, level of understanding, and monitor progress
Progresses through levels of understanding:
Concrete
Semiconcrete
Abstract levels
Diagnostic Math Interviews
Helps identify specific problems, error patterns, and problem-solving strategies
Student expresses their thought process while solving math problems
Direct and indirect questioning
6 Red (n.d.). I love math.
Retrieved from
shrewsbury.weebly.com
/math.html
Portfolio Assessment
Collection of student accomplishments in math
Open-ended

16. Examples of Informal Assessments – Language
Tests of Phonology
Analyze production of phonemes
Direct observation, spontaneous speech
Tests of Morphology
Brown’s rank of morpheme acquisition
Checklists, conversational speech
Tests of Syntax
Grammatical analysis
Spontaneous speech
Tests of Semantics
Can be difficult to devise (complex)
Checklists on word association and categorization
Lansky, A. (2015).
Language is a virus.
Retrieved from
.com/wordpress/
Tests of Pragmatics
Analyzing sample of spontaneous speech
Transcribe video tape of speech
Classify pragmatic function by events before and after
Frequency monitoring

17. * Conducted through writing samples Examples of Informal Assessments – Writing
Fluency
Sentence length
Complexity
Syntax
Phrases, clauses, sentences
Incomplete, simple, compound, and complex sentence types
Vocabulary
Originality, maturity
Type Token Ratio – different words used
Structure
Mechanical aspects: punctuation, capitalization, grammar
Hunsaker, M. (2015).
Why haven’t they
done that yet?
Retrieved from
theydonethatyet.
wordpress.com/
page/2/
Content
Accuracy
Ideas
Organization

18. Examples of Informal Assessments - Comprehensive
Curriculum-Based Measurement
Repeated readings for fluency in reading, teacher-made tests, graded math word lists, word problems, 3-minute writing samples, story starters – endless examples!
Specific set of standardized procedures in which rate samples are used to assess a student’s achievement in academic skills
Primarily for progress-monitoring
Help establish long- and short-term goals through:
Material selection
Test administration
Performance display
interpretation
Have excellent reliability and validity
High correlations with standardized tests

19. Formal vs. Informal Assessment
- rigid, controlled, scripted
- standardized
- norm-referenced,
criterion-referenced
- specific procedures
Informal Assessment
- naturalistic, flexible, accessible
- Observational
- Curriculum-Based Measurement
- Not specific
Both
- can have high reliability and validity
- used in a complete program

20. Implications for Special Education
Screening
Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
- Assess all students to determine missed benchmarks and those at risk
- Primarily Formal
- Gives teacher idea of who to monitor
- All students receive research-based instruction in whole group
- Progress-monitoring assessment
- Primarily CBM (but can be both)
- Informs who goes to Tier 2
- Intensive instruction in small group
- Primarily CBM
- Informs who goes to Tier 3
- Most intensive; 1-on-1
- Primarily CBM
Informs  Special Education Referral

21. Implications for Special Education cont’d
Special Education Evaluation
Multifactored Evaluation (MFE)
Should include RTI data to make a data-driven decision
Should include formal assessment by diagnostician (or assessment- certified professional)
Should involve interviews with family, teachers, service providers and professionals who work with the child
Should involve a multidisciplinary team of professionals
Do2Learn. (2015). Evaluation and identification. Retrieved from

22. Implications for Special Education cont’d
Special Education + Assessment
IEP Planning: Goals and objectives, teaching methods, service providers, placement – based on assessments
Once IEP goals are in place, frequent progress-monitoring takes place
CBM
Formal and informal measures
Annual Review of IEP
MFE every 3 years
Assessment informs the whole process!
Dublin Unified School District. (2015). Welcome to special education. Retrieved from

23. My Takeaways
Formal and informal assessment are more similar than I originally thought
Assessment is crucial to general education and special education
We need BOTH forms of assessment to ensure that we see the “whole picture”
Neither form of assessment is superior

24. References
Federation for Children with Special Needs. (2015). Assessment. Retrieved from
Heward, W. (2013). Exceptional children: An introduction to special education. Boston, MA:
Pearson.
Kagan, S. L., Shepard, L., & Wurtz, E. (Eds.). (1998, February). Principles and
Recommendations for Earlyy Childhood Assessments (United States of America,
Education, Goal 1 Early Childhood Assessments Resource Group). Retrieved from

25. References cont’d
LD Online. (2015). Assessments for young children. Retrieved from
Mercer, C. D., Mercer, A. R., & Pullen, P. C. (2011). Teaching students with learning problems.
Boston, MA: Pearson.
Moersch, C. (2015). A-z informal assessment techniques. Retrieved from

26. References cont’d
Salvia, J., Ysseldyke, J. E., & Bolt, S. (2013). Assessment: In special and inclusive education
(12th ed.).
Southern Early Childhood Association. (2000). Assessing development and learning in young
children. Retrieved from