Formative Assessments

The "cycle" of formative assessment takes time to implement but can be quite effective. When planning formative assessment, you may want to consider the following stages or steps:

• making standards of quality clear ahead of time
• helping students self-assess using the standards
• giving feedback in an effective, timely manner

The belief that all students can learn is an important, if not critical, aspect of the learning process. This positive attitude is a solid foundation for any effective assessment "cycle."

Some examples of formative assessments are:

• short cycle assessments; e.g., those that look at what is learned today or this week.
• benchmark tests.
• end-of-course examinations.
• quarterly or monthly formative standardized tests offered by some text publishers.

Examples of informal formative assessments are:

• observing students during lessons.
• marking checklists, either by yourself, the student, or a parent.

Formative assessments can also be much more formal and might include standardized tests from classroom textbooks and state benchmark tests.

Traditionally, formative assessments were used only by teachers to determine at what level students were learning. However, current trends suggest that formative assessments are better used as "assessment FOR learning" in which they support both the teacher and his or her students in regard to learning information, skills and strategies (Stiggins & Chappuis, 2006). Despite this interesting turnaround, formative assessment is only useful if the data is actually analyzed and used for instructional planning, whether by yourself or as a group effort with your students.