Formative Assessment in Elementary Schools

Although many educators are familiar with the term formative assessment, they often misunderstand what it means. Formative assessment does not refer to a particular type of test or method of evaluating students. What distinguishes formative assessment from other types of assessment is the way in which the data (the information obtained through assessment) is used. In formative assessment, teachers use student data to make decisions about what should be taught next, and the way in which it should be taught.

The six-page (tri-fold), laminated guide, Formative Assessment in Elementary Schools, is an excellent classroom reference tool for elementary school teachers. It provides a concise description of formative assessment and outlines a critical, continuous cycle of questions, consisting of the following:

Feed Up Planning Questions

• Checking for Understanding Planning Questions
• Quality Feedback Planning Questions
• Feed Forward Planning Questions

In addition to relying upon questions to check for student understanding, the guide identifies other ways teachers should allow students to demonstrate learning, including

• Through oral language
• Through writing
• Through projects and performance
• Through quizzes and tests
• Through commercially prepared benchmark assessments

The guide also explains how teachers can gauge an appropriate level of useful, quality feedback and identifies various formats for delivering this feedback to students. Most importantly, the guide describes how to analyze student data and, on the basis of this analysis, develop an individualized plan for guided instruction that will broaden and deepen the student’s conceptual understanding.