Formative+Assessments

mshields@alsde.edu / [|@mjshields] We will review successful formative assessment tools that are easy-to-use, web-based, and FREE (not to mention FUN)! In this hands-on training, teachers will “test drive” several of the tools. Both teacher and student examples will be provided. Formative assessments are ongoing assessments, reviews, and/or observations in a classroom. We use them to improve our instructional methods, as we gauge student feedback throughout the teaching and learning process. In this session, we’ll revisit many traditional forms of formative assessments, such as exit slips and “turn and talks,” using teacher and student friendly digital tools for grades 5-12. We will also review other emerging formative assessment tools that align perfectly with 1:1 and BYOD school initiatives. Participants are guaranteed to leave with at least one “gotta use” tool when they return to their classrooms.

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 * Formative assessments, also called "evidence of learning," are ongoing assessments, reviews, and/or observations in a classroom. Teachers use formative assessment to improve instructional methods and student feedback throughout the teaching and learning process. The results of formative assessments are used to modify and validate instruction.
 * Dr. Bice included formative assessments in his 3rd "Absolute": Students monitored regularly through formative, interim/benchmark assessments to inform the effectiveness of the instruction and continued learning needs of individuals and groups of students. Read all [|Five Absolutes].

Formative Assessment Myths //Copied from NCTE's [|Fostering High Quality Formative Assessment]// **Myth: Formative assessment means giving ungraded assignments**. Recognizing that assessment does not always mean giving students a grade is key to understanding formative assessment. Ungraded or “comments only” responses to students’ work can be an important part of formative assessment. This is especially true if the responses give students clear suggestions about how they can improve. However, by itself, the absence of a grade does not constitute high-quality formative assessment. It is the feedback students receive—timely, specific, and task-focused—from teachers or other adults, peers, or through structured self-assessment, not the absence of grades, that makes formative assessment high-quality.

**Myth: The purpose of formative assessment is to improve teaching.** Reality: What teachers learn from formative assessment can certainly help shape teaching decisions. Identifying areas where students are having difficulty as well as where they have clear understandings can lead teachers to change classroom practices in order to reach instructional goals. Formative assessment can also address curriculum development by helping teachers and instructional leaders develop strategies for improving student learning in an entire school or district. However, changes in teaching and curriculum are not the central purpose of formative assessment. High-quality formative assessment always puts student learning at the center.

Reality: One benefit of formative assessment is that it can help students learn more about the goals for a given lesson, unit, or course, but another advantage is that it helps students to evaluate their own learning more effectively. Students who are clear about what and how to learn in a given class become more motivated and engaged learners.
 * Myth: The purpose of formative assessment is to help students understand teachers’ goals. **

Reality: Formative assessment occurs during the learning process while summative happens at the end, but formative assessment is equally objective. The difference lies in how evaluative instruments are used. For example, a rubric that lists criteria for evaluating writing can be used formatively to help students understand what is expected and summatively to assign a grade.
 * Myth: Formative assessment is subjective while summative assessment is objective. **

NCTE's [|Formative Assessment that Truly Informs Instruction] [| PDF]

Technology-Infused Formative Assessments

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 * [|Poll Everywhere] - Online Multiple Choice/True-False/Text Response System
 * Multiple-Choice Sample: [|How tech savvy are you?]
 * Open Response Sample: [|What's your favorite grade to teach?]
 * Embedded Website Sample : media type="custom" key="29522949"
 * [|Quizizz] - A fun multiplayer classroom activity, that allows all your students to practice together. Love it!!
 * Quizlet and Quizlet.Live
 * [|Kahoot] - Free game-based learning platform that makes it fun to learn - any subject, in any language, on any device, for all ages.
 * [|Google Forms]  - Comments, Suggestions, Comments
 * Google Doc Writing - Watch as they write, adding comments and feedback. Can be peer shared as well.
 * [|Socrative]- Mobile Device/Computer Response System
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">[|Flubaroo] - Self-Marking Quizzes
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">[|Stick Pick app]- Digital "Equity Sticks" and Formative Assessment Tracker
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">[|Activeprompt]- Upload image and ask students to respond by URL
 * Poll - <span style="background-color: #eaf2b6; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">http://activeprompt.org/poll/RZDUA
 * Response -<span style="background-color: #f3ffa6; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;"> http://activeprompt.org/view/LTHXA
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">[|Twitter Voting]
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Twitter - Students tweet predictions, exit slips, questions, etc. Hashtags encouraged.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">[|TodaysMeet] - Back Channel allows for instead feedback
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Jackson County EdCamp: <span style="background-color: #f3ffa6; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">https://todaysmeet.com/JCEdCamp
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">ALNBCT: https://todaysmeet.com/ALNBCT Question: What is your certificate?
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">ELA: []
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">AETC: https://todaysmeet.com/AETCBYOD
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">[|Lino] - Virtual Corkboard and Sticky Notes
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">"Road Not Taken" Formative Assessment <span style="background-color: #f3ffa6; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">[|Board]
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">[|Padlet] - Virtual Poster Board
 * <span style="background-color: #f3ffa6; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">[|Exit Slip]
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Text Responses

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 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">[|The Answer Pad] - The Answer Pad is a free, enhanced student response system, together with a grading tool for assessments for BYOD. Go Interactive, has 6 different response types, an awesome draw feature. It engages reluctant students, encouraging them to show what they know, enabling teachers to immediately gauge understanding in the classroom. The Answer Pad can then score paper quizzes, with multiple question types, cutting grading time significantly.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">[|Classpager] - Engage students with polls, exit tickets, event reminders, and more using ClassPager. Questions can be both open response and multiple choice.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;"> [|Cel.ly] - Cel.ly is primarily a free group texting service. With Cel.ly, you can have open group chat, one-way alerting, or a hybrid where curators can approve messages. Cel.ly also provides security and privacy as phone numbers are never exposed and there are controls. An @me feature lends itself to note taking. Cel.ly even has a built-in polling feature complete with the tabulation of results.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">33 More Digital Tools for Formative Assessment [[file:QM4.3ELA.Digital tools for FormativeAssessment.docx]]

[|54 Examples of Formative Assessment] (includes both digital and non-digital practices)

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[|Formative Assessments - Best Practices]

Ron Berger on Formative Assessments media type="youtube" key="rJxFXjfB_B4" width="560" height="315" https://youtu.be/rJxFXjfB_B4

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">[|Formative Assessment Resources: Try Them Today, Tomorrow, or Sometime Soon (Teaching Channel)]

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 210%;">More Formative Assessment Demonstrations (5-10 Minutes Videos) media type="custom" key="24413124"

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[|Additional Formative Assessment Classroom Demonstrations]

<span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 30px; text-align: center;">[|Other Tools for Formative Assessment]

<span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 30px; text-align: center;">English Language Arts Portfolio Assessments