A variety of assessment strategies is necessary, with formative assessment taking priority to inform teaching and

promote growth and mastery

1. In order to inform teaching and promote growth and mastery, formative assessment
strategies should:

a. establish clear learning targets and success criteria;

b. elicit useful evidence of learning;
c. provide timely and effective feedback;
d. engage learners in assessing and improving each other’s work; and
e. increase ownership of their own learning (adapted from Wiliam & Leahy, 2015).

Annex A provides a matrix of sample techniques for each formative assessment strategy.
Teachers are highly encouraged to adapt these techniques where appropriate, and to
explore other alternatives that are feasible in their respective contexts.

2. Formative assessment is about getting better, so it should be specific, frequent,

repetitive, and free from the restrictions of grading (Christodolou, 2016). It should
target skills that are necessary to the attainment of learning competencies as
measured in summative assessments.

To benefit student learning, both formative and summative assessment must be accompanied with timely,
constructive, and meaningful feedback based on the learner’s record of progress.

Research has shown that a systemized, valid, and reliable approach to classroom assessment, specifically formative
assessment, improves the teaching-learning process and supports learners to be successful in their learning.

• Highlights the use of formative and summative assessment as part of everyday practice with learners
• Reinforces the links between teaching, learning, and assessment through a stronger focus on formative
assessment
• Supports teachers in tracking and measuring learners’ progress and in adjusting their instruction accordingly
• Highlights the value of using self- and peer assessment, giving learners greater responsibility over their own
learning
• Provides information about the cognitive process dimensions to support learning and assessment at all levels,
from basic to complex
• Clarifies concepts and processes related to summative assessment for the key stages of schooling

The continuing process of classroom assessment aims to help you:

• interpret and evaluate each learner’s performance against the curriculum standards and competencies;
• recognize each learner’s strengths and areas for improvement;
• give immediate and constructive feedback to learners about what they have done well, areas where they need
to improve, and tips on how to improve;
• reflect on the effectiveness of your teaching and make modifications to support the learning of all learners in
your care; and
• gather evidence over time of learners’ progress against the curriculum standards and competencies for the
interviews.

EXAMPLE DAILY LESSON LOG

 Include only the formal formative assessment here.

 The assessment criteria will remain visible in the class all week for easy reference by the teacher and learners.
 Note the differentiation between informal formative assessment [Assessment (I)] where you are milling around,
talking to learners, and giving informal feedback as opposed to the formal formative assessment [Assessment
 (F)] where a formal assessment activity is undertaken by learners. During all learning activities mill around and
give feedback and assistance to individual learners.

Activities for Formative Assessment

In a formative learning environment, teachers can fairly assess learners on learning activities by explicitly teaching and
modeling to them how to do their
tasks well.

This part articulates specific procedures for preparing teaching, learning, and assessment activities.

Each activity should include:

• a brief background, with a definition and reasons to explain why it is a good teaching, learning, and assessment activity;

• some suggested topics for the activity;

• steps on how to model the activity with learners before, during, and after a lesson;

• tips on how to use it for assessment; and

• Additional guidelines whenever necessary.

The following are a few representative examples of formative assessments:

 Questions that teachers pose to individual students and groups of students during the learning process to
determine what specific concepts or skills they may be having trouble with. A wide variety of intentional
questioning strategies may be employed, such as phrasing questions in specific ways to elicit more useful
responses.
 Specific, detailed, and constructive feedback that teachers provide on student work, such as journal
entries, essays, worksheets, research papers, projects, ungraded quizzes, lab results, or works of art, design,
and performance. The feedback may be used to revise or improve a work product, for example.
 “Exit slips” or “exit tickets” that quickly collect student responses to a teacher’s questions at the end of a
lesson or class period. Based on what the responses indicate, the teacher can then modify the next lesson to
address concepts that students have failed to comprehend or skills they may be struggling with. “Admit
slips” are a similar strategy used at the beginning of a class or lesson to determine what students have
retained from previous learning experiences.
 Self-assessments that ask students to think about their own learning process, to reflect on what they do
well or struggle with, and to articulate what they have learned or still need to learn to meet course
expectations or learning standards.
 Peer assessments that allow students to use one another as learning resources. For example,
“workshopping” a piece of writing with classmates is one common form of peer assessment, particularly if
students follow a rubric or guidelines provided by a teacher.