Exploring What is Formative Assessment

What is formative assessment?

Formative assessment is an evaluative method. Educators can use this to conduct in-process evaluations of learner understanding, learning preferences, needs, and academic progress during a lesson, module, or course. It is different from summative assessments, which generally evaluate learning at the end of an entire course. Formative assessments are interactive and diagnostic. It allows educators to understand learners’ strengths and weaknesses during the course and adjust their teaching methods if needed. This can include

1. quizzes,
2. discussions,
3. observations, and
4. assignments

that provide ongoing feedback to both learners and teachers. The main motto of formative assessment mainly is to improve learning by identifying knowledge gaps and providing concise instruction to help learners improve while the learning is still happening. It encourages a partnership between teachers and learners. It promotes active engagement and facilitates a personalized learning experience.

Why formative assessment?

A formative assessment help in shaping the training program’s future and improve performance. A formative assessment is more likely to emphasize managerial accountability and learning. It determines who needs the program, how great the need is, and what can be done to meet the need. Formative evaluation can involve providing feedback following an assessment, but more importantly, this feedback is delivered during instruction, allowing instructors to identify learners’ misunderstandings and help them correct their errors.

What is the difference between summative and formative assessments?

The following are a few differences between summative and formative assessments:

Now that you know what is formative assessment, let’s explore a few examples of formative assessments.

Examples of formative assessment

There are various ways to conduct a formative evaluation. The choice of formative assessment depends on your learning journey. There is no universal method for selecting the appropriate formative evaluation. Some of the prevalent ways of formative evaluation are as follows:

1. Short quizzes
2. Reflection writing assignments
3. Low-stakes group discussion forums
4. Polls
5. KWL charts
6. Exit slips
7. Self-assessments
8. Practice scenarios/simulations
9. Gamification
10. Surveys

Tips for Effective Formative Assessment

Formative assessment strategies are used to improve teaching and learning simultaneously. Educators can help learners grow by actively encouraging them to self-assess their skills and knowledge retention, as well as by giving clear instructions and feedback. Here are some tips to make formative assessment more impactful:

Tip no. 1 – Clearly specify the goals

First and foremost, as an instructor you need to clearly define and share learning objectives and success criteria with learners to define what defines good performance and guide their learning journey. Instructors can explain the criteria and also encourage learners to discuss and reflect on these criteria. Instructors may also hold class-wide discussions on performance criteria at strategic moments throughout a term. Then, as the lesson progresses, they can use formative assessments to quickly adjust their lessons or teaching techniques to ensure learners stay on track. Exit tickets, teacher observations, clicker system objective questions, or anything else you use in formative assessment should always reflect your training objective.

Tip no. 2 – The methods should be diversified

Utilize various assessment methods to cater to different learning needs and provide a comprehensive understanding of learner progress. Diversification can also be used to design authentic assessments and help learners develop the necessary skills and knowledge. For example, instructors can use infographics, diagrams, and mind maps for learners who learn best through visual cues. Kinesthetic learners can be engaged with hands-on activities or physical demonstrations. By offering a variety of assessment types, instructors can cater to individual learning needs. This helps recognize the diverse strengths of learners and identify areas where they may need additional support.

Tip no. 3 – You need to provide a feedback loop

Instructors can provide consistent feedback tied to predefined standards, with opportunities to revise or apply feedback before the final submission. Feedback should be corrective and forward-looking rather than just evaluative. Examples include positive comments on multiple paper drafts, standard discussions during 1-on-1 conferences, and regular online quizzes. Instructors need to collect information that can be used to help shape training. They can collect useful information from learners in order to provide targeted feedback and instruction. Learners can identify where they are having difficulties, either on an assignment, test or in written submissions. This approach promotes metacognition, as learners are asked to think about their learning.

Tip no. 4 – Encourage learner involvement

Encourage self-assessment and peer review to activate learners as resources for each other and promote ownership of their learning. Instructors can ask them to utilize course objectives to evaluate their own progress or a peer’s work and to further convey what kinds of feedback they find most valuable. Moreover, instructors can ask them to describe the qualities of their best work through writing or group discussion.

Tip no. 5 – Incorporate technological integration

Integrating technology into the assessment process can transform the way educators evaluate learning and gain valuable insights. This can include polls at the beginning to gauge prior knowledge or short-response questions in the middle to check for understanding as the lesson progresses. Classroom response systems can enable real-time quizzes and assessments. These platforms offer instant feedback and analytics. It allows instructors to quickly identify concepts that learners are with. By using technologies, they can streamline the formative assessment process, and make it more efficient and effective. They can also collect and analyze data on learner performance. This can inform instructional decisions and ultimately improve learning outcomes.

Tip no. 6 – You must use creative questions

Lastly, the essence of formative assessment lies in its very name. It is about forming a clear picture of each learner’s progress. It is not about the numbers; it is about understanding, learner engagement, and continuous improvement. Therefore, as an instructor you need to craft questions that stimulate critical thinking and allow learners to apply their knowledge in various contexts. For example, using open-ended questions in the learning journey allows your learners to frame their responses based on their thoughts. They do not have to choose from a set of preset responses. These questions influence the learners to think about the response and answer in their own views. They are great tools for developing communication and critical thinking skills.

Embracing common formative assessment questions is a step towards a more interactive learning environment. The next step is leveraging effective tools that can make this process intuitive and engaging. Schedule a meeting with us today and experience how seamless formative assessment can be when infused with interactive and engaging tools.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: What is formative assessment?

A: Formative assessment is an evaluative method. Educators can use this to conduct in-process evaluations of learner understanding, learning preferences, needs, and academic progress during a lesson, module, or course.

Q: What is summative assessment?

A: Summative evaluation is an evaluation process. It occurs at the end of a learning program. It is to check whether learners have met the established learning objectives.

Q: What are formative and summative assessment examples?

A: Formative assessments are short quizzes and tests that evaluate how a learner learns material during a course. Summative assessments are more elaborate quizzes and longer tests that evaluate how much a learner has learned at the end of a course.