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Formative assessments are those smaller checks for understanding that we do throughout a unit of instruction. For example, if I’m teaching a three-week unit on a particular topic with a final test at the end, I might include two or three smaller assessments along the way to gauge how students are doing. Two really common formats for these assessments are quizzes and exit slips.
One mistake I see often, and it’s one I absolutely made myself all the time, is when these formative assessments are treated like regular graded assignments. We give a quiz, record the score in the gradebook, and count it toward a student’s overall class grade. But that’s not really the purpose of formative assessment. These checks are meant to give us a snapshot of student understanding so we can adjust our instruction as needed — not to generate grades.
The bigger mistake, though, is not doing anything in response to the results. If I give my students an exit slip at the end of a lesson to check their grasp of a particular skill, and a third of them don’t do well, just moving forward with my original teaching plan the next day is a missed opportunity. That formative assessment hasn’t really done its job if I’m not making use of the information it gives me.
Ideally, my next steps should involve some kind of targeted response. This could mean pulling those students into a small group for a reteach session, offering a video that presents the same content in a different way, or even having a one-on-one conversation to pinpoint exactly where they’re struggling. Sometimes, just a brief conference can reveal the specific misconception that’s holding a student back.
Whatever the approach, the key is that I’m actually doing something to address the gap. And ideally, this response should be planned in advance, not just a last-minute reaction. If you’re giving a formative assessment on a certain day, have a response lined up for the students who may need it.
Finally, once I’ve provided that additional support, I should check again to see if it worked. This doesn’t have to be a full-blown assessment; it could be as simple as asking a few follow-up questions or having a quick conversation. The goal is to make sure those students are back on track before the final assessment rolls around.
For a deep dive on formative assessment, listen to my 2024 interview with Kim Marshall and Jen David-Lang: 5 Conditions for Getting Formative Assessment Right.
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Thanks for posting this instrumental part of formative assessment. I’d even suggest that formative assessment need not wait until mid-unit or any pre-determined length of time. It can/should be an ongoing part of the teaching and learning process where both teacher & students are regularly checking to see how learning is progressing while it’s happening.
As you mentioned, the key piece to formative assessment is to use the assessment information. If we are not using it, or responding to it, then it’s really not formative assessment at all, and more a collection of information.
A key takeaway: how we use & respond to the assessment info determines if something is formative or not. If/when we respond to it to make informed Ed decisions for next steps, then that’s formative. If we don’t do that, then it’s not formative assessment.