Using Formative Assessment to Improve Teaching and Learning

1. Using Formative Assessment to Improve Teaching and Learning Diane Peters Grant Wood AEA February 23, 2009

2. Summative Assessments : • are given periodically to determine at a particular point in time what students know and do not know. It is an accountability measure that is generally used as part of the grading process. • happen too far down the learning path to provide information at the classroom level and to make instructional adjustments and interventions during the learning process.

3. Formative Assessment: • is part of the instructional process. When incorporated into classroom practice, it provides the information needed to adjust teaching and learning while they are happening. • informs both teachers and students about student understanding at a point when timely adjustments can be made.

4. Distinctions • One distinction is to think of formative assessment as "practice." We do not hold students accountable in "grade book fashion" for skills and concepts they have just been introduced to or are learning. • Another distinction that underpins formative assessment is student involvement.

5. Formative Assessment used before instruction: • Check for prior knowledge • Allows for adjustment to instruction based on student needs

6. Formative Assessment used duringinstruction: • Check for understanding • Focuses on student learning • Allows for improvement/revision

7. Formative Classroom Assessments • Include a variety of strategies • Are appropriate to the grade level and task • Are used frequently during instruction to assess student learning

8. Traditional Formative Assessment Tools: • Reflection • Teacher questioning • Journals • Checklist • Content Rubric • Performance Rubric • K-W-L Chart • Log • Timeline • Scoring guides • Portfolios

10. Using Formative Assessment Data • Analysis • Guiding Instruction (small/whole group instruction, flexible grouping, supplemental instruction plans, intensive instruction plans, etc.) • Determine if further assessment is necessary

11. Concepts of Print Literacy 101

12. Orientation

13. Print tells the story

14. Directional Rules

15. Concept of first and lastInversion of picture

16. Inverted Print

17. Line Sequence

18. Left-to-right, word sequence,and letter order

19. Re-ordering of letters and Purpose of punctuation

20. PunctuationCapital and lowercase letters

21. Words that contain same letters in different order

22. Letter and Word Concepts

24. Running Records of Reading Texts

25. Running Records • Running Records capture what the reader said and did while reading books or texts. • Teachers can review what happened immediately and make teaching decisions on the spot, or at a later time as they plan for next lessons.

26. Running Records • Teachers can judge: - what the reader already knows - what the reader attended to - what the reader overlooked

27. Why take Running Records? • Records are taken to guide teaching • Records are taken to assess text difficulty • Records are taken to capture progress

28. Congenial Conditions In every sense this activity of taking Running Records should be as relaxed as sharing a book with a child. Invite children to read to you and tell them you will be writing down some things to help you remember how they read.

29. How Often? Children’s reading levels change quickly, so running record data is only valid for four weeks. Take running records every three to four weeks to monitor progress and document the student’s developing strategies.

30. Things to Avoid • Printed text There is not enough room on a pre-printed page of text for the teacher to record all of the unusual things that can occur. Printed text often will not allow all of the child’s behaviors to be recorded. • Tape recording Tape recording limits the analysis because a tape does not record visual information (when the child moved, seemed puzzled, peered at the print, looked at the ceiling, etc.)

31. Skilled Record-taking • Goal: Any teacher should be able to sit down beside a child with a blank sheet of paper and take a Running Record when the moment is right. • Tips: -Select children who will make practicing easier - Select easy texts for practicing - Use standard procedures

32. Cueing Systems • Meaning Does the word make sense in the sentence? I like to see the lions (tigers) at the zoo. • Structure Is the structure of the text acceptable English language construction? I like to eat (play) ice cream. • Visual Does the word match the visual appearance of the letters and the words? I like to see stars (stay) in the sky.

33. Running Records • Conventions for recording - See handout • Check directional movement • Describe the reading behavior - Immediately following the reading, write a few lines on what you just observed, your intuitive summation of the child’s reading.

34. Assessment and Comprehension • Some educators wish to add retelling or comprehension questions to the taking of a Running Record. • Cautions: - Comprehension is dependent upon the difficulty level of the text. It makes no sense to assess comprehension on a hard text, nor on an easy text. - Because different teachers ask different questions, the assessment is weakened. - The answers to comprehension questions depend more upon the difficulty of the question asked than on the child’s reading,. • Preferred method: - According to research, conversation with a child about the story after taking Running Records adds to the teacher’s understanding of the reader in useful ways.