7 Formative Assessments

Formative assessments monitor student learning and provide ongoing feedback. As an instructor, you can use this feedback to improve your teaching. Your students can use the feedback to improve their learning and identify areas that need more work.

If you were teaching a child to ride a bike, you’d want to observe their progress and make adjustments as you go, right? If you waited until the end—when you expect them to be able to ride—to watch their progress or to give feedback, it wouldn’t be as effective. The same concept applies when you’re teaching a course. If you give applicable suggestions based on what learners are doing well and what they’re not doing well as they learn, their learning will be better. The purpose of formative assessments is for you as the instructor to assess learning and make suggestions and adjustments to your instruction based on what learners need—the same way you can focus on balance, pedaling, or speed instruction when you’re teaching a child to ride a bike based on what they’re doing well and what they need help with.

Formative assessments may not necessarily be graded but are intended to guide and inform instruction while also helping students understand where they need to improve.

Examples of formative assessments in higher education include the following:

• Quizzes: Frequent short quizzes in a calculus course provide immediate feedback to students and instructors, helping students identify areas of weakness and adapt their study strategies.
• Practice Logs: In a music class, students might submit a detailed record of their practice habits, allowing students and instructors to identify patterns and establish consistent behavior to promote progress.
• Peer Reviews: In a creative writing class, students can give and receive feedback on drafts of their work. This formative assessment allows students to refine their writing skills over time.
• In-Class Discussions: During a political science seminar, class discussions can serve as formative assessments, allowing students to explore their understanding of complex concepts and refine their critical thinking abilities.