Formative Assessments: 2 Research-Based Types of Formative Assessment

 There are hundreds of resources available to help teachers conduct meaningful assessments. Every teacher, classroom, and student require unique measures that demonstrate learning and direct instruction. It is important when searching for assessments to remember the overall goal of assessments. Dagen and Bean (2020) explain that the purpose of assessment for literacy leaders is to “systematically use assessment data to plan instruction for individuals and groups, select specific strategies for a given context or content, evaluate students’ responses to instruction/intervention, engage their learners in self-appraisal, and critically reflect on practice” (p. 137). Simply put, the purpose of assessment is to inform instructional practices Here are two simple research-based formative assessments that you can implement today.

Dialogue: 

One great form of formative assessment was presented by Black et al. (2004). In 1998, they demonstrated that improving formative assessments causes significant gains in terms of standards (p. 9). In their more recent study, they determined that one major formative assessment that makes a difference involves dialogue in the classroom (p. 10). They encourage teachers to use questions as a means of understanding student understanding (p. 12). Students who are understanding the content are able to express that understanding through participation and conversation. It is a disservice to have a teacher-centered classroom where students are silent. If students are silent, then they are not actively engaging in the learning process. Formative assessments are designed to immediately inform teachers regarding student understanding (Dagen & Bean, 2020, p. 138). What better way to gain understanding then to engage in a conversation with a student?

Participation Cards:

Edutopia provides many suggestions for implementing quick but effective formative assessments (Thomas, 2019). Some include entry and exit slips, low-stakes quizzes and polls, interviews, quick draws, listing misconceptions and errors, and creating self-assessments. The specific formative assessment that I would like to explore involves participation cards. In the example provided, all students were given a small key ring with 3 cards attached. The cards included the following prompts: “I agree with you because… I disagree with you because… I am not sure how to respond. I need more information!” The teacher makes a statement or poses a discussion question and then gives the students a set amount of time to respond to the discussion prompt by holding up one card from their key ring. First, the teacher dialogues with each student who needs more information until they are able to choose an opinion. Then, the teacher randomly asks for responses. This is a great way to incorporate dialogue while also scanning the entire classroom. This ensures that no students are left out and that the conversation does not merely revolve around confident students or the few students who raise their hands. 

Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B., & Wiliam, D. (2004). Working inside the black box: Assessment for learning in the classroom.  Phi Delta Kappan, 86(1), 9-21.

Dagen, S. A., & Bean, R. M. (Eds.). (2020). Best practices of literacy leaders, second edition: Keys to school improvement. The Guilford Press. 

Thomas, L. (2019, April 26). 7 smart, fast ways to do formative assessment. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/7-smart-fast-ways-do-formative-assessment