What Are Formative Assessments and Why Should We Use Them? | Scholastic.com - Nightly "Informative assessment isn't an end in itself, but the beginning of better instruction." —Carol Ann Tomlinson Traditionally, we have used assessments to measure how much our students have learned up to a particular point in time. This is called "assessment of learning" — or what we use to see whether our students are meeting standards set by the state, the district, or the classroom teacher. Since formative assessments are considered part of the learning, they need not be graded as summative assessments (end-of-unit exams or quarterlies, for example) are. When I work with teachers during staff development, they often tell me they don't have time to assess students along the way. Formative assessments, however, do not have to take an inordinate amount of time. Using a Variety of Formative Assessments The National Forum on Assessment (1995) suggests that assessment systems include opportunities for both individual and group work. Types of Assessment Strategies Exit Cards Thomas R.
Formative Assessment Definition Formative assessment refers to a wide variety of methods that teachers use to conduct in-process evaluations of student comprehension, learning needs, and academic progress during a lesson, unit, or course. Formative assessments help teachers identify concepts that students are struggling to understand, skills they are having difficulty acquiring, or learning standards they have not yet achieved so that adjustments can be made to lessons, instructional techniques, and academic support. The general goal of formative assessment is to collect detailed information that can be used to improve instruction and student learning while it’s happening. What makes an assessment “formative” is not the design of a test, technique, or self-evaluation, per se, but the way it is used—i.e., to inform in-process teaching and learning modifications. Many educators and experts believe that formative assessment is an integral part of effective teaching. Reform Debate
Why Formative Assessments Matter Summative assessments, or high stakes tests and projects, are what the eagle eye of our profession is fixated on right now, so teachers often find themselves in the tough position of racing, racing, racing through curriculum. But what about informal or formative assessments? Are we putting enough effort into these? What Are They? Informal, or formative assessments are about checking for understanding in an effective way in order to guide instruction. What this means is that if we are about getting to the end, we may lose our audience, the students. We are all guilty of this one -- the ultimate teacher copout: "Are there any questions, students?" Ever assign the big project, test, or report at the end of a unit and find yourself shocked with the results, and not in a good way? To Inform, Not Punish Believe me, I've been there: wanting to punish the lazy, the cocky, the nonchalant. If you feel tempted to do this, just say no; it's a mistake. When and How? Exit Slips Student Checklist
The Key Differences Between Summative And Formative Assessments It’s not a stretch to say that assessment is a hot button issue in education; however, you’d be hard pressed to find an educator who doesn’t see the value in measuring student progress. Assessments themselves have been vilified, when, in fact, it’s why assessments are given and how the data is used that is really the issue. The Glossary of Education Reform gives this great overview of what high-stakes testing is and how it impacts students, teachers, and schools. Basically, high-stakes testing has consequences for the test-takers and givers—sometimes in the form of a high school diploma, grade advancement, and even teachers’ salaries. Let’s take a look at what assessment is, why it’s important, and how it can be delivered in the classroom in a useful manner. What is assessment? Assessment is the measurement of what students are learning. Why do we do it? The information gleaned from assessments is extremely valuable. Assessment Basics Types of Assessment Question Types Delivery Methods
Formative assessment Formative assessment is a process used by teachers and students during instruction that provides explicit feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve students’ achievement of intended instructional outcomes. Formative assessment is a method of continually evaluating students’ academic needs and development within the classroom and precedes local benchmark assessments and state-mandated summative assessments. Teachers who engage in formative assessments give continual, explicit feedback to students and assist them in answering the following questions: Where am I going? In order to show students how to close the gap between where they are academically and where they want to be, teachers must help students evaluate their progress in the learning process and give them explicit, descriptive feedback specific to the learning task. History of formative assessments The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) developed a focus for formative assessment in October 2006.
7 Strats Ch 1.pdf Formative vs Summative Assessment Formative assessment The goal of formative assessment is to monitor student learning to provide ongoing feedback that can be used by instructors to improve their teaching and by students to improve their learning. More specifically, formative assessments: help students identify their strengths and weaknesses and target areas that need workhelp faculty recognize where students are struggling and address problems immediately Formative assessments are generally low stakes, which means that they have low or no point value. draw a concept map in class to represent their understanding of a topicsubmit one or two sentences identifying the main point of a lectureturn in a research proposal for early feedback Summative assessment The goal of summative assessment is to evaluate student learning at the end of an instructional unit by comparing it against some standard or benchmark. Summative assessments are often high stakes, which means that they have a high point value.
The lessons to be learnt from three recent high profile child abuse cases Daniel Pelka (Credit: Rex Features) In less than a month two high profile serious case reviews and a criminal trial have concluded, which all involved a mother killing one of her children, despite the involvement of several agencies in the child’s life. The first was the case of Daniel Pelka, a four-year-old living in Coventry who was singled out for abuse and neglect by his mother and her partner until his death from a blow to the head in March 2012. The second was the case of Keanu Williams, a toddler living in Birmingham who died with 37 separate injuries on his body, inflicted by his mother in early 2011. The last was the conviction of Amanda Hutton in Bradford Crown Court for the severe neglect and manslaughter of her four-year-old son Hamzah Khan. The boy’s mummified remains were found in his cot in September 2011, two years after his death in the squalid flat where other children were living. Tucker is hopeful that more multi-agency safeguarding hubs (MASH) will provide a solution.
Child Protection Children Act 1989 While the protection of children from harm has always existed in legislation in some form throughout the 20th Century, the Children Act 1989 is seen as the first significant law which put in place most of the child protection structures and principles we use today. These included ensuring the needs and safety of a child is always put first, that professionals should initially attempt to work with parents to keep the child safe and that children should always be placed with their own family rather than in care unless it would put them at risk of significant harm to do so. However, numerous child abuse cases over the previous two decades have prompted a series of overhauls to child protection procedures. Victoria Climbie, Every Child Matters and The Children Act 2004 The most high profile case was the death of Victoria Climbie in February 2000. Jessica Chapman, Holly Wells and Vetting and Barring Baby P, the Second Laming Report and Working Together to Safeguard Children
Impact Victoria Climies death had on safeguarding children legislation - Silkysteps early years forum - planning ideas for play This info may help you too its taken from this website In the aftermath of her death and the court case convicting Kouao and Manning of murder, Lord Laming was instructed to undertake an iquiry into the circumstances leading up to Climbie's death and make recommendations on how the system should change. As a result of this report the government published a green paper entitled "Every Child Matters" and consequently passed the Children Act 2004. The changes it put in place included scrapping child protection registers in favour of child protection plans and creating an integrated children's computer system (ICS) to ensure information was more routinely and robustly collected. Structural changes included creating the post of a director of children's services in each council who would ultimately be accountable for the safety of all children in their area.