Daily Formative Assessment

and

Checking for Student Understanding

Session Objectives

•  Define formative assessment

•  Discuss strategies to check for student understanding during instruction

•  Explore the use of feedback to promote student learning

•  Review ways to integrate formative assessment when planning instruction

Formative Assessment

Operational Definition Characteristics

Examples Nonexamples

Retrieved from http://wvde.state.wv.us/strategybank/FrayerModel.html

Frayer Model

•  Share your ideas with another person

•  Modify your diagram if you receive new information

Frayer Model

•  Activate prior knowledge

•  Clarify thinking about a concept

•  Communicate understanding

•  Solidify conceptual understanding

•  Determine prior knowledge before planning a lesson

•  Uncover student misconceptions

•  Use documented evidence advance learning

(Keely, 2008)

What is Formative Assessment?

Formative assessment is a process used by teachers and students during instruction that provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve students’ achievement of intended instructional outcomes (CCSSO FAST SCASS, 2006)

Attributes of Formative Assessment

The formative assessment process consists of five attributes that are critical features of effective formative assessment: q  Learning progressions q  Learning goals/targets q  Criteria for success q  Descriptive feedback q  Self- and peer assessment

Why is implementing FA important?

•  Helps the teacher (and students) see how students are making sense of their work

•  Shows the teacher what to teach next/how to adjust instruction to meet student needs

•  Gives students an opportunity to show their thinking

•  Allows all students to participate regardless of level

•  Allows students to construct meaning without worrying about getting a wrong answer

Why is implementing FA important?

•  Empowers teachers and students with specific information about individual performance

•  Helps teachers know what students need

•  Provides information for teachers to share with students

•  Provides students a concrete way to improve

•  Serves instructional practice and enhances engagement and achievement

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Assessment Comparison Chart Formative Assessment Common Assessments Occurs daily during instruction Given intermittently or at the end of learning

NOT graded Scored - may or may not be graded

Process Product Descriptive feedback Interim/Evaluative feedback Continuous Periodic Examples: ² Questioning ²  Discussions ²  Learning Activities ²  Teacher-student conferences ²  Interviews ²  Student Reflections/Journals ² Observations

Examples: ² Mid-term and end of unit assessments ²  9-week or quarterly assessments ²  Districts assessments ²  Commercial products ²  Teacher created quizzes and tests ²  Textbook quizzes and tests ²  State test scores ²  SAT and ACT scores

Assessment FOR learning Assessment OF learning

Vignettes

Checking for Student Understanding

Collecting and Documenting Evidence of Learning

•  Use multiple strategies to allow students to show what they have learned

•  Select strategies that allow teachers to know where each student is in reaching the learning target

•  Use evidence to differentiate instruction as needed to move students toward the learning target(s)

Collecting and documenting evidence of learning

•  What strategies do you use in your classroom to collect and document evidence of learning?

•  How do you check for alignment between the learning targets/goals and the strategies you use?

Think-Pair-Share: Jot down responses to these questions, pair up with someone near you, and share your responses.

What type of information will you get from: •  Conference notes

•  Surveys and responses

•  Exit tickets

•  Response journals

•  Writing samples

•  Discussion records

Who benefits from this information?

Some examples of strategies to collect/document evidence of learning

•  Student presentations •  Individual whiteboards •  Clock appointments •  Numbered heads

together •  Corner persuasion •  Toss the beach ball •  Three-minute

conference

•  Questioning •  Observations •  Check lists •  Mental notes •  Symbolic indicators •  Matrices •  Audio/video recordings •  Frayer model

What do you do with the evidence of student learning (data)? •  Use data analysis to understand learning (examine

strengths/areas in need of improvement)

•  Determine what students have learned and how well they learned what was intended

– Look for patterns and trends

– Make inferences/verify inferences

– Draw conclusions

How do you use the evidence (data) to inform instruction and planning to change learning?

•  Summarize data to determine which students need additional help on which target

•  Plan appropriate instructional modifications or interventions to help students work on areas needing improvement

Three minute conference Partner A: You are a student. You have just responded to a Civics prompt provided by your teacher. Prepare to conference with your teacher by identifying the strengths and problems, if any, with your response. Write them under “My Opinion” on the “Feedback Form”.

Partner B: You are the teacher. Your students have just responded to a Civics prompt you provided. Prepare to conference with a student about his/her solution by identifying the strengths and problems, if any of the student’s response.

Civics Prompt Disease, starvation, and environmental pollution are some of the problems many countries have. These problems are hard for countries to solve themselves.

Identify two important ways countries can help one another deal with these problems. 1._________________________________ _________________________________ 2._________________________________ _________________________________

(NAEP, 2010 Civics Assessment)

Analyzing Student Responses ~Civics Prompt

Complete Partial Unacceptable Response offers two ways in which countries can help one another deal with the listed problems.

Response offers one way in which countries can help each other with the listed problems.

Response offers no ways in which countries can help each other solve the listed problems OR Response restates the question as an answer (e.g., countries should work together to solve problems).

Feedback

“Frequently, feedback is used to push students to ‘do more’ or ‘do better’ without being specific enough to help students know what to do. This type of feedback is generally ineffective.”

Hattie & Timperley, 2005

Evaluative Feedback Examples Conveys a judgment “You did a great job on

this assignment.” Letter grades A, B, C, D, E, or F Numerical grades 85%

3 or III (meets standards) Symbols ✔ Words or nondescript phrases

Excellent, poor, great work, etc.

Descriptive Feedback

Can be oral or written Highlight which criteria for success are met and which criteria need to be met

Given by the teacher Peer assessment when students give descriptive feedback to each other

Use sticky notes to mark student work

Use comment markers (highlighting, circling, or underlining) to identify links to learn

Descriptive Feedback

• Descriptive feedback provides information on how to improve

• Students and groups are given feedback and guidance to move learning forward

Descriptive feedback prompts Strengths

Strength Prompts

Areas to improve

Improvement Prompts

Improvement Strategies

Strategy Prompts

How would you go about… You might try… Your next steps might be… You might try…

You can… Your writing tells me… Your thinking shows… One thing you did really well…

Don’t forget the criteria for success states that you will… What do you think you can do to… You need one more… One thing to improve on … You need less…

These are generalized prompts. Remember that effective descriptive feedback should reference specific learning targets and criteria for success for the assignment.

“The giving of marks and the grading function are overemphasized, while the giving of useful advice and learning function are underemphasized.”

~Black & Wiliam, 1998

Descriptive vs. Evaluative Feedback Evaluative Feedback Examples

Conveys a judgment “You did a great job.” Letter or numerical grades A, B, F, 85%, III

Symbols Checks, minuses, etc.

Words/nondescript phrases Excellent, poor, super, etc.

Descriptive Feedback Can be oral or written Highlights criteria for

success met/revisions needed

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FeedbackLoop

Self-assessmentSelf-regulation, Motivation

Teacher Assessment

Peer Assessment

Closing the Gap

Interpretingthe Evidence

Adapting/Respondingto Learning Needs

Scaffolding in the Zoneof Proximal Development

Elicit Evidenceof Learning

ClassroomCulture

Feedback Identifyingthe Gap

Criteria for Success

Learning Goal

Learning Progression

Title: Formative Assessment Model Created by: Margaret Heritage, 2007, Assessment and Accountability Center (AACC)/National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing (CRESST) at University of California Los Angeles.

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Quote

“I think it’s very important to have a feedback loop, where you’re constantly thinking about what you’ve done and how you could be doing better.”

~Elon Musk

Integrating FA Into Instruction

Instructional Planning

Which components allow for integrating formative assessment into the instructional plan?

Thomasville City Schools District Lesson Plan Components

Formative Assessment Plan Grade/Subject: Elementary Mathematics – Grade 2 Big Idea/Objective: Understand the use of nonstandard units in measurement of length, mass, and capacity.

Learning Target Criteria for Success Collecting Evidence Documenting Evidence

I can recognize the length of an object. I can explain length using words or pictures.

I will be able to identify the longest side of an object. I will explain that length is the longest side of an object or draw a picture that shows the longest side of an object.

Using Exit Tickets, have students draw pictures illustrating the concept of length or write sentences explaining length.

Reading through the tickets, sort the documents based on who did and who did not understand.

I can measure the length of an object using items from the classroom (markers, paperclips, etc.)

I will line up the items from end-to-end. I will use the same item to measure from end-to-end. I will not have any gaps or overlaps.

Using teacher or peer observation, observe students measuring the length of different objects in the room. Each object should be measured using at least three different items.

On a roster, use symbols to record if students could or could not demonstrate each measure.

I can tell how using different items to measure the length of the same object is the same or different.

I will tell at least one thing that is the same and one thing that is different about measuring the length of an object using different items from the classroom.

Ask students questions. Listen for students to communicate the similarities and differences between measuring the length of the same object using different items. Ex. What would be important to think about if you decided to measure using paperclips of different sizes?

Create a chart with student names on the side with similarities and differences across the top. Record if students are able to identify the similarities and differences in measuring using different items.

1.  What misconception(s) do you think students might have? A student may measure the width of the object rather than the length.

2. What will you do to address the misconception(s) to move learning forward (e.g. how will you adjust instruction, what descriptive feedback will you provide)?

•  Follow up with questions like: What is our definition of length? How does it apply to this situation? •  Direct students to the criteria for success to remind them to measure the longest side of an object to find the length.

Schoolnet – Lesson Plan Template

Quick Write

How do you use formative assessment in your classroom?

OR

How do you currently support the use of formative assessment by teachers in the classroom?

North Carolina’s Formative Assessment Learning

Community’s Online Network NC FALCON

https:/center.ncsu.edu/ncfalcon

NC FALCON Modules Module I Importance of Formative Assessment Module II Learning Targets and Criteria for Success Module III Collecting and Documenting Evidence Module IV Analyzing Evidence and Descriptive Feedback Module V Administrator’s Role in Formative Assessment

NC FALCON provides a series of formative assessment professional development modules

3 Minute Pause

Reflect on the ideas presented today. Use a sticky note to complete one of the following:

•  I became more aware of…

•  I was surprised about…

•  I would like to learn more about…

Post your sticky note in the designated place in the room.

References

Keely, P. (2008). Science formative assessment: 75 practical strategies for linking assessment, instruction, and learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2010 Civics Assessment.

Contact Information

Carmella Fair NC Department of Public Instruction NC FALCON Coordinator Instructional Content Carmella.Fair@dpi.nc.gov (919) 807-3863 NC FALCON link: center.ncsu.edu/ncfalcon