Formative assessment refers to the ongoing process that teachers and students engage in when selecting a learning goal(s), taking stock of current student performance is in relation to the goal, and the action steps needed to move students closer to the goal.  This ongoing process is implemented through informal assessments, assessments that can easily be incorporated in the day-to-day classroom activities and that measure the students’ performance and progress.  Informal assessments are content and performance driven and include questioning of and discussion with students, student work (exit slips; assignments), and direct observation of students working. Rather than being used for grading, this ongoing formative assessment (that gather data for learning) is used to inform instructional planning decisions.  Unlike informal assessments, formal assessments are summative assessments (that gather data of learning) that are used to assess students’ academic achievement and evaluate how students perform when compared to a larger group of students.  Formal assessments include standardized tests that are graded in a formulated manner (ie: criterion-referenced tests, norm-referenced tests, achievement tests, and aptitude tests).

Formative assessment data is used to guide instruction.  It is collected in a pre-assessment prior to the creation of lesson objectives and instructional activities (as outlined in the previous chapter), as well as throughout a lesson (informally during learning activities and often through a post assessment implemented in the closing of a lesson.  This formative data is informative regarding students’ current performance related to the content standard/objective.  As addressed in chapter two, the resulting assessment data must be organized and analyzed to effectively inform the appropriate ‘next steps’ in moving students towards their academic goals.  Knowing details regarding exactly what students understand/can do guides the determination of appropriate lesson objectives (and often flexible groupings) for subsequent lessons.

This cycle of formative assessment continues throughout a unit of instruction, which often ends with a summative assessment of learning.

(What Teachers Really Need to Know About Formative Assessment by Laura Greenstein, ASCD)

Organizing Data 

It is expected that assessments implemented in the closing of a lesson clearly align with, or target, the lesson’s objective.  Numerical data that can be analyzed and reflected upon must be presented.  Additionally, qualitative data (often in the form of descriptive observation notes) is critical to modifying instruction according to students’ needs.  This feedback should be collected in an organized manner so that it may be analyzed in a way that informs future instruction.  One way to do so is the use of:

Clipboards and Post-its

Circle the room with a clipboard to track student engagement and progress during independent and group work. Then, use the notes to follow-up with direct, quick feedback to students. Notes can later be transferred to student folders, binders, or checklists following the lesson.

Class Checklists and Data Forms

Use a template (such as one made in a Google Doc) to create a helpful document on which to organize data.  It is quite simple to use repeatedly for varying sets of data and may look like this:

Graphs

Graphs can be used to show students’ performance data visually and can be especially helpful to consider patterns of understanding across groups of students.  Observing individual student performance and adding related anecdotal notes of error analysis is a necessary addition to graphs, which most commonly provide holistic or whole class results.

Technology

Many teachers are using smartphones to record students’ conversations as they circulate to various areas of the classroom.  This provides opportunities to observe more than one group’s discussion at a time.  iPads and apps like FlipGrid are also often used to collect student thoughts and reflections which provide invaluable information regarding student understanding.

Data related to your students’ lesson objective mastery must be presented.  This data should show the degree to which individual students met the lesson objective(s).  A table, tally sheet, or checklist is often the clearest way to display this data.

Analysis: It is evident that subgroups could be created to address current levels of student understanding.  These could consist of two different mini-lessons; one for distinguishing similarity/difference and one for reviewing the text in identifying additional similarities/differences.  A third subgroup needs a higher level of challenge.