CHAPTER 9

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

"Formative assessment is tasting the soup while summative assessment is serving the soup." "

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the Chapter, the student should be able to:

cite appropriate techniques and tools for formative assessment;

⚫ use appropriate techniques and tools for formative assessment;

⚫explain how scoring rubrics can facilitate formative assessment and

⚫reason why out self-assessment is an important feature of formative assessment.

Introduction

After explaining what formative assessment is and constrasting it with summative

assessment, let us learn some techniques on how to do formative assessment.

Techniques for Formative Assessment

Here are some techniques given by Fisher and Frey (2007) that teachers can use while
teaching to check on student's understanding:
1. Response cards These are either pre-printed or write-on cards. Pre-printed cards have
responses on them such as "Yes" or "No". Write on cards allow students to indicate their
responses in real time.

2. Hand signals Examples are "thumbs up" means "I understand and can explain it"; "thumbs
sideways" means "I'm not completely sure about..."; "thumbs down" means "I do not
understand."
3. Games - Game-based learning and gamified instruction are two emerging teaching-
learning practices to drive learning. Game-based learning makes use of a game of any kind to
realize a learning outcome.

Games for Formative Assessment

Here are some games especially suited for formative assessment to try in your classroom
(Cassie, J. 2018, p.59)

a. Socrative (www.socrative.com, free and paid options) It is a classroom engagement app

that provides games and other activities for students. A favorite element is "Space Race"
which can turn an assessment into a gamified experience between individuals or groups.

b. Kahoot (www.kahoo.com, free and paid options) - Its a mobile application that allows
teachers to construct homework assignments almost as though they were video game-type
quests. The app also has a feature where teachers can write their own games and make them
available to students with an access code.

c. Quizlet (www.quizlet.com, free) This app allows educators to convert data-gathering into a
gamified form that they can use to inform their teaching practice.

d. Quizizz (www.quizizz.com, free) This lets teachers monitor the results of students' work as
they do it. The app lets students progress at their own pace throughout the game.

e. Quizalize (www.quizalize.com, free and paid options) It provides the same kinds of
quizzes and assessments as other similar tools, but it also lets you track the work of
individual students at a granular level.
f. Plickers (Available at App Store or Google Play, free) - This formative assessment tool uses
a series of abstract cards that the teacher photographs using a mobile device. The program
then analyzes the data and presents the teacher with individualized reports of student success.

Self-assessment in Formative Assessment

An increasing trend in formative assessment is self- assessment. Self-assessment is aligned

with the principle of learner agency which means that learning involves the activity
and the initiative of the learner, more than the inputs that are transmitted to him/her by the
teacher. With learner agency, are self-regulated learners who engage in self-monitoring and
self- evaluation. Self-regulated learners continually monitor their progress toward the
learning outcomes. Self-regulated learners determine whether they attained the intended
learning outcomes which they have made as their very own learning outcomes.

So it is best that students get actively involved to assess their own learning to determine how
they are progressing. This can increase their self-confidence and motivation to learn. (Davis
and McGowen, 2007).

Scoring Rubrics and Formative Assessment

In formative assessment, teachers give feedback. These feedbacks are made more specific
when they are based on rubrics which enumerate the criteria and describe the expected
student's performance (process and product). Scoring rubrics especially analytic rubrics are,
therefore, a good framework for feedback. (Brookhart, 2013). Analytic rubrics are of great
help to students in assessing their own progress.

Additional Formative Assessment Strategies

Below are formative assessment strategies from Watanabe's book on Mindful Assessment:
The 6 Essential Fluencies of Innovative Learning (2016) for you to try out: