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FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
PRAGMATIC APPROACH TO IMPROVE LEARNING IN HIGH AND SECONDARY CLASSROOMS by Peter Masoes Definitions and Theoretical Concept for Formative Assessment

hese guidelines provide a conceptual and philosophical framework to assist you in developing your own Formative Assessment Plan and offer some suggestions for the process. For purposes of this process, the following definition are provided: Formative Assessmentongoing measurement during educational preparation for the purpose of improving student learning. Formative assessment yields critical information for monitoring an individual's acquisition of knowledge and skills. Such assessment must evaluate critical thinking, decision-making, and problem-solving skills. Measures should include oral and written components, as well as demonstrations of clinical proficiency. What does formative assessment involve in practice? There are several key elements for a successful use of formative assessment in secondary schools: Teachers using formative assessment have changed the culture of their classrooms, putting the emphasis on helping students feel safe to take risks and make mistakes and to develop self- confidence in the classroom. Teachers working with students from backgrounds other than their own also make efforts to understand cultural preconceptions. They interact frequently with individual or small groups of students and involve students in the assessment process, providing them with tools to judge the quality of their own work.

Teachers also make the learning process more transparent by establishing and communicating learning goals, tracking student progress and, in some cases, adjusting goals to better meet student needs. Teachers are able to compare their assessments with other teachers to ensure that they are treating students equitably. They often find that comments are more effective than marks for improving student performance and helping all students to reach high standards. It is not always easy to drop or decrease the frequency of marks, however. Sometimes students and their parents prefer to know how they are doing relative to other students. To meet a range of student needs, teachers vary instruction methods. They ensure that lessons include different approaches to explaining new concepts, provide options for independent classroom work, and encourage students who have grasped a new concept to help their peers. Teachers use a mix of approaches to assess student understanding of what has been taught. They may use diagnostic assessment to determine a students level when he or she first enters a new school or at specified times during the school term to help shape teaching strategies. During classroom interactions, they most often use questioning techniques. Questions regarding causality, or open-ended questions, for example, often reveal student misconceptions. For example, biology teachers in one of the case study schools started asking students what would happen if chlorophyll stopped working, and discovered a common misconception that the entire world would be dark. Teachers may provide verbal or written feedback on students work. Teachers and researchers have found that the most effective feedback is timely,specific and tied to explicit criteria. Teachers also adjust their strategies to meet needs identified in assessment.

Formative Assessment Techniques

Teachers across the case study schools developed a number of techniques to better diagnose and respond to student needs. 1. The traffic light- technique Teachers working with the Kings-MedwayOxfordshire Formative Assessment Project in England created the traffic light technique. At points when teachers want to be sure that students understand a concept, they ask students to hold up a green, amber or red sign to indicate whether they understand, think they understand but are not quite sure, or do not understand. They spend more time with students showing amber and red. 2. Thinking time instead of hands up In several of the schools, teachers frequently enforce a policy of no hands up. The teacher poses a question, takes a pause ranging from three seconds to several minutes, and then calls upon a student. They have found that the quality of responses improves a great deal when students have time to think. 3. Portfolios, logbooks and rubrics Portfolios and logbooks as used in the case study schools provide an opportunity for written dialogues between teacher and student, and also provide opportunities for students to reflect on their learning process. Rubrics are specific guidelines with criteria to evaluate the quality of student work, usually on a point scale. Students may use rubrics to judge their own work, and to edit and improve it. An important tool for effective formative assessment methods is the use of the findings from the Lesson study technique(link:
http://lessonstudy.co.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2012/03/Lesson_Study_Handbook__011011-1.pdf)

Print Resources
Angelo, T.A. & Cross, K.P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques (2 nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Berger, R. (1991). Building a school culture of high standards: A teacher's perspective. In V. Perrone (Ed.), Expanding student assessment (pp. 3239). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Bloom, B.S., Madaus, G. F., & Hastings, J. T. (1981). Evaluation to improve learning. New York: Macmillan. Childers, P.B. and Lowry, M. (1997). Engaging students through formative assessment in science. Clearing House, 71(2), 97102. Chittenden, E. Authentic assessment, evaluation, and documentation of student performance. In V. Perrone (Ed.), Expanding student assessment (pp. 2231). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Hobson, E.H (Ed.). (1997). Forms and functions of formative assessment. Clearing House, 71(2). McIntosh, M.E. (1997). Formative assessment in mathematics. Clearing House, 71(2), 9296. Murphy, S.M. (1997). Designing portfolio assessment programs to enhance learning. Clearing House, 71(2), 8184. Scriven, M. (1991). Beyond formative and summative evaluation. In M.W. McLaughlin and D.C. Phillips (Eds.), Evaluation and education: At quarter century (pp. 1964). Chicago: National Society for the Study of Education. Weasmer, J. & Woods, A.M. (1997). Teacher preparation: A revision process fostered by formative assessment. Clearing House, 71(2), 113115. Zessoules, R. & Gardner, H. (1991). Authentic assessment: Beyond the buzzword and into the classroom. In V. Perrone (Ed.), Expanding student assessment (pp. 4771). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Electronic Sources
Internet websites you may wish to consult for additional information regarding assessment and student learning are the following: 1. American Council on Education 2. Council of Graduate Schools - See more at: http://www.asha.org/academic/accreditation/CAA_For mative_Assess/#sthash.TdnmkjkO.dpuf

Resources:
The following print and electronic resources may be useful to you as you develop your plan for assessment.