Formative and Summative Assessment in the

Classroom

Types of Assessment

Summative

Assessment

FormativeAssessme

nt

Balanced Assessment System

Characteristics of Summative Assessment

Used after instruction Help determine what students know regarding

content relative to curriculum goals so that a grade or placement can be decided

Used at national, state, district and classroom level

Examples: State Assessments (i.e. ITBS, ITED) National Assessments (i.e. NAEP) End-of –unit tests End-of-term/semester exams District Assessments common across schools

Characteristics of Formative Assessments

Used during instructionHelp determine what students know

regarding content relative to curriculum goals so that adjustments to instruction can be made

No grade is given – only feedback (used for practice)

Students are involved (self-assessment, monitor their learning/growth, etc)

Students have multiple opportunities to demonstrate what they know

Examples of Formative Assessment

Informal Observation of students Dialogue with students Student questions/teacher questioning strategies

Formal Self & peer assessment Student record keeping Paper/pencil tasks Performance tasks Learning logs/journals Portfolios

Using Formative and Summative Assessment

Day of Unit Task Purpose

Day 1 – Beginning of class

Pre-assessment: A & D statements

Figure out student pre-conceptions regarding topic

Day 2 – End of class Ticket out the door: Muddiest Point

Find out what students have learned so far and what major question they have

Day 4 – Beginning of class

Quiz Determine what students know with respect to the concept studied on days 1-3

Day 5 – Beginning of class

Quiz feedback & planning next steps

Help students use feedback from quiz to plan their activity for the day

Using Formative and Summative Assessment

Day of Unit Task Purpose

Day 6 – End of class Four Corners See what students think about a question with four choices for possible outcomes/answers

Day 8 – Beginning of class

Quiz Determine what students know with respect to the concepts studied from days 1-7

Day 9 – Beginning of class

Feedback from quiz & plan for end-of-unit assessment

Help students use feedback from their quiz to plan for the end-of-unit assessment

Day 11 – Beginning of class

Re-take A & D Statements from day 1

Help students see how their ideas have changed

Day 12 – Entire class End-of-Unit Assessment

Determine what students have learned with respect to curriculum goals

Quality Assessments

Aligned to the learning goals of the curriculumEssential

QuestionEnduring Understanding

Knowledge Skills

Why do “identical” twins look different enough to tell them apart?

How can two unrelated people share similar physical characteristics?

Students will come to understand that an organism’s characteristics can arise from genetics, the environment, or a unique combination of the two.

•DNA•How DNA is organized and passed down from parent to offspring•Organization of chromosomes and genes•Causes of mutations•Influence of environmental factors on DNA and physical characteristics

•Explain the genetic basis of biological heredity•Explain the influence of genetics and the environment on an organism’s characteristics

Quality Assessments – Unpacking Skills

Explain the genetic basis of biological heredity Explain implies that students will have to come up

with an original answer at some point – more than just multiple choice is required for a student to demonstrate understanding of this skill.

Genetic basis of biological heredity – requires knowledge of how DNA is organized, replicated, and passed down from parents to offspring; requires knowledge of the genetic influence on physical characteristics

Quality Assessments – Questions to Ask Yourself

Do the items cover the range of understanding required by the skill? Look at the verb (i.e. explain, identify, recognize,

evaluate, etc) Is there a variety of test/assessment items so that

students get a chance to demonstrate their understanding at the level the verb expects?

Do the assessment items ask for more than recall? Is there some inference or conclusion students must

draw? Is there information students must apply in order to

get the right answer?Is there only one arguably correct response?

Quality Assessments – Questions to Ask Yourself

Are assessment items clear and concise? Avoid use of opposites as answer choices (multiple choice) Avoid using one option that is much longer, shorter, or

complex than the others (multiple choice) Avoid using clues to the answer in the question Avoid negatives in the question stem or the options (i.e.

“Which one of these is not…”) Avoid answers using “all of the above” or “none of the

above” (multiple choice) Avoid “-ould” words (i.e. would, could, should, etc) Make sure all choices are in the same format (phrases,

names, numbers, etc), and are grammatically correct (multiple choice)

Avoid outrageous distracters

Evaluating an Assessment

Genetics example…