Formative Assessment:What Is It, Where Is It and How

Do I Know I Have Found It?Academic Coaches Meeting

MILWAUKEE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Lee Ann Pruske Mary MooneyNovember 2, 2012

Milwaukee Public SchoolsTITLE OF PRESENTATION

MPS Board of School Directors

Dr. Michael Bonds, PresidentLarry Miller, Vice PresidentMark Sain, District 1Jeff Spence, District 2Annie Woodward, District 4Dr. Peter Blewett, District 6David Voeltner, District 7Meagan Holman, District 8Terrence Falk, At-Large

Senior Team

Dr. Gregory Thornton, Superintendent

Naomi Gubernick, Chief of StaffDarienne Driver, Chief Innovation OfficerTina Flood, Executive Director, Curriculum and InstructionDr. Karen Jackson, Chief Human Resources OfficerMichelle Nate, Chief Operations OfficerGerald Pace, Esq., Chief Financial OfficerAnita Pietrykowski, Director, School AdministrationDenise Callaway, Communications & PartnershipsPatricia Gill, Executive Director, Family Services Sue Saller, Coordinator to the Superintendent

WHAT IS FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT?

Take a moment to jot down your current understanding of a definition of formative assessment on an index card.

WE ARE LEARNING TO…

Deepen our understanding of formative assessment.

We will know we are successful when we can articulate a working definition of formative assessment as well as how it impacts our work as coaches.

KEY POINT 1: IT IS NOT THE TEST!

The term formative is used to describe the function that evidence from the assessment actually serves, rather than the assessment itself.

KEY POINT 2: WHO IS THE ASSESSOR? Who is actually doing the assessment?

Teacher? Individual Learner? Peer?

KEY POINT 3: DECISIONS MATTER!

Focus is on the decisions instead of the intentions of those involved. Evidence that is collected with the intent of

being used, but never actually used is unhelpful.

KEY POINT 4: ACTIONS COUNT!

The evidence is used to make adjustments that improve learning opportunities.

KEY POINT 5: NOW WHAT?

The focus is on decisions about the next steps in instruction, the teaching and learning of the content.

KEY POINT 6: EVIDENCE BASED DECISIONS

Decisions are either better, or better founded than decisions might have been without the evidence gained as part of the assessment process.

The evidence might indicate that the planned course of action (next steps) might be correct, or that students need more work in the current assessment area before moving on in the content.

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT DEFINITION

An assessment functions formatively to the extent that evidence about student achievement is elicited, interpreted, and used by teachers, learners, or their peers to make decisions about the next steps in instruction that are likely to be better, or better founded, than the decisions they would have made in the absence of that evidence.

Dylan Wiliam, 2011

PROCESS V. PRODUCT

The term formative is used to describe the function that the evidence from the assessment actually serves, not the assessment itself.

ACTIVITY TIME

Review your evidence of formative assessment that had been collected.

Choose one to transcribe on an index card.

AGREEMENT CIRCLE DIRECTIONS Stand up! Form a circle. Facilitator will read a sample evidence

piece. Individually decide if this does or does

not fit the definition of formative assessment. If yes, go to the inside of the circle, if no, go to the outside of the circle.

Face your peers and divide into small groups of who agree and disagree. Engage in discussion to defend your thinking.

UNPACKING FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

Where the learner is going Where the learner is How to get there

Teacher

Peer

Learner

Clarifying, sharing and understanding learning intentions

Engineering effective discussions, tasks, and

activities that elicit evidence of learning

Providing feedback that moves learners

forward

Activating students as learningresources for one another

Activating students as ownersof their own learning

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THREE ON THREE

3 key processes: Finding out where the

learners are in their learning Finding out where they are

going Finding out how to get there

3 kinds of individuals Teacher Learner Peer

AND ONE BIG IDEA

Where the learner is going Where the learner is How to get there

Teacher

Peer

Learner

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Using evidence of achievement to adapt

what happens in classrooms to meet

learner needs

ASSESSMENT IS THE BRIDGE

Teaching is a contingent activity. We cannot predict what students will learn as a result of any particular sequence of instruction.

Formative assessment involves getting the best possible evidence about what students have learned and then using this information to decide what to do next.

Assessment is the bridge between teaching and learning.

5 KEY STRATEGIES OF FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

1. Clarifying, sharing, and understanding learning intentions

2. Engineering effective classroom discussions, activities, and learning tasks that elicit evidence of learning

3. Providing feedback that moves learning forward. 4. Activating learners as instructional resources for

one another. 5. Activating learners as the owners of their own

learning.Leahy, Lyon, Thompson & William, 2005