Formative+Assessment

=What is Formative Assessment? =

=="When the cook tastes the soup, that’s formative assessment; when the customer tastes the soup, that’s summative assessment." == ~ **Paul Black**, frequently cited as a forefather of formative assessment research

**Formative assessment is** a "diagnostic use of assessment to provide feedback to teachers and students over the course of instruction is called formative assessment. It stands in contrast to summative assessment, which generally takes place after a period of instruction and requires making a judgment about the learning that has occurred (e.g., by grading or scoring a test or paper)...Assessments become formative when the information is used to adapt teaching and learning to meet student needs." (From the research publication The Concept of Formative Assessment by Carol Boston).


 * "Formative assessments ** are not a type of assessment but the way in which the assessment results are used. Formative assessments are administered for the purpose of measuring progress toward a goal. Formative assessments should occur often enough so that teachers can discover when instruction has not been effective in time to correct it. This continual monitoring of progress prevents students from going too long before a weakness or conceptual misunderstanding is detected and addressed." (from the Maryland education website : [] ).

**According to PDE, Formative Assessment** is "Used by teachers and students during instruction to provide feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve students’ achievement of intended instructional outcomes." (Read more at []).

In their purest definitions:

 * ==//formative// assessment is FOR learning ==
 * ==//summative// assessment is OF learning ==

**Effective Formative Assessment should: **

 * provide timely if not immediate feedback
 * provide evidence for teachers to inform instruction
 * help students evaluate their own learning
 * provide assistance in reaching targeted learning goals
 * allow student time to revise, reflect, reshape, and/or restate
 * not necessarily be for a grade (emphasize learning over points)
 * foster dialog and avoid lecture

Read More About It
NCTE's Research Brief: Fostering High Quality Formative Assessment --very recent publication by National Council of Teachers of English that addresses some of the myths of formative assessment

A US Dept of Education brief on using graphing calculators for formative assessment

The Best Value in Formative Assessment-- Gives a clear description of the difference between formative and summative assessment and a good picture of what formative assessment should include.

Taking Formative Assessment Schoolwide-- a look at how a San Diego urban school implemented a school wide formative assessment plan.



Tools and Strategies for Implementing Formative Assessment

 * Tech tools for Formative Assessment
 * Twenty+ Effective Formative Assessment Strategies
 * April 18th Workshop on Formative Assessment