Remember Anything

Successful teaching depends on figuring out whether students are learning both individually and as a group and also providing students with feedback on what they are learning. The process of doing this during a term or a unit of study is called “formative assessment.” Formative assessment is often contrasted with “summative assessment.” Summative assessment is assessment at the end of a unit of study or term, with the purpose of assessing a student’s total learning.

While a lot of focus in education is on summative assessment, often in the form of standardized achievement tests, formative assessment offers more dynamic and immediate information that can be used to alter teaching processes in response to estimates of what students are actually learning. Formative assessment also provides students with multiple opportunities to succeed, since multiple instances of formative assessment and resulting timely feedback to students gives students the motivation and the opportunity to change how they work on their learning.

The most effective teaching process involves planning, teaching, and assessing as a repeating cycle. This cycle allows teachers to re-teach a concept or skill when that is necessary, to figure out a different way of teaching a difficult concept or skill, and to move forward with the confidence that students have learned foundational information and skills. With frequent formative assessment, a teacher can individualize teaching by providing repeat teaching only to students who need it and advanced options for students who appear to be ahead of the average student in a subject. The option of individualization afforded by formative assessment helps teachers to be even more effective.

Formative assessment is also very flexible. While summative assessment can also be flexible, it is often mandated by states or districts in the form of standardized tests. In contrast, formative assessment is less frequently subject to mandates. Teachers using formative assessment can employ typical assessment procedures as well as procedures that rely on observation rather than having students do something only for the sake of assessment. Formative assessment procedures can be brief and still provide rich information for teachers to use in planning instruction. For example, as students work on a skill, the teacher can use a checklist to see who is proficient and who needs more time to develop the skill. A checklist of this sort is not disruptive to the learning process and does not take a lot of time or energy to implement.

Assessment is a critical part of the teaching process. Without assessment a teacher might assume that students are learning and might be terribly mistaken. The flexibility, immediacy, and position in the teaching process (during a unit or term as opposed to at the end) make formative assessment a powerful tool for teachers and their students. Teachers are being encouraged to make data-driven teaching decisions. Formative assessment is what makes it possible to base teaching decisions on solid knowledge of what is going on with students.

Other Items You May Be Interested In:

Checking for Understanding: Formative Assessment Techniques for Your ClassroomIf you ever have students who are reluctant to tell you when they don’t understand something—or worse, tell you they understand when they really d... Read More >

25 Quick Formative Assessments for a Differentiated Classroom: Easy, Low-Prep Assessments That Help You Pinpoint Students' Needs and Reach All LearnersThis collection of quick, flexible, informal assessments helps teachers take a snapshot of student learning--at any time during a lesson or unit of st... Read More >

Formative Assessment and Standards-Based Grading: Classroom Strategies That WorkFormative Assessment and Standards-Based Grading offers teachers everything they need to know to implement an integrated system of assessment and grad... Read More >

Science Formative Assessment: 75 Practical Strategies for Linking Assessment, Instruction, and LearningThese 75 specific techniques help K–12 science teachers determine students’ understanding of key concepts.

Common Formative Assessments: How to Connect Standards-Based Instruction and AssessmentLearn how teachers can collaboratively develop, test, and refine common formative assessments and gain critical insights to meet students’ individual learning needs.