FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT:

CONCEPTS, CLASSROOM
PRACTICES, AND
CONTEMPORARY TECHNIQUES
Dr. Carlo Magno
crlmgn@yahoo.com

Learning Goals
At the end of the session, the participants are
expected to be able to:
1) Understand the concept and the theory behind
formative assessment
2) Be cognizant and of the contemporary practices in
formative assessment
3) Translate the applications of formative assessment
in your own classroom or in your own practice

Whats Up?!
1) What is the purpose of formative assessment?
2) How is formative assessment conducted?

Traditional View on Assessment

Traditional View on Assessment

Traditionally, it is believed that assessment (i.e. quizzes, final

examinations, pop tests, etc.) is the best way to motivate the

students.
Because of this, the term assessment or testing created a
negative image to the students. It has become the greatest
intimidator of students.
Thus, anxiety arose from the students when the word
assessment is said, or when assessments are given the teacher.
Assessment is seen as a competition with teaching, than a tool to
improve teaching (Heritage, 2007).
Ranking Students, Schools, Regions, Countries, and etc.

(Stiggins, 2005)

The Absence of
Assessment FOR Learning
Students develop an anxiety and negative attitude

towards testing and assessment because of the constant

ranking and comparison to others, thus their achievement
suffers (Stiggins, 2002).
Because of the constant ranking and intimidation, students:
develop a fear of failure, uncertainty in decisions,
unwillingness to take risks, learned helplessness, and
looking down on ones self and abilities.
If we wish to maximize student achievement, we must pay
far GREATER attention to the improvement of classroom
assessment. Both assessment OF learning and assessment
FOR learning is important. But AOL is in place and AFL is
not.

Formative Assessment: A Key to Success

What is Formative Assessment?

WHAT IS NOT FA?

Formative Assessment is

not an instrument, or
event.
It is not used for grading!

It is not used as a

punishment for students if

they misbehave.

WHAT IS FA?

Collection of practices that

all leads to student learning

improvement.
Tool for the teachers to
determine what they need
to do to move the learner
forward.
A technique to help the
students optimize learning

(Black & William, 2003; Stiggins, 2002)

Definition of Formative Assessment

Formative assessment is an assessment done

during the instructional process for the purpose of

improving teaching or learning (Black & William,
2003)
What makes formative assessment formative is
that it is immediately used to make adjustments
to help students learn the lessons better.

Delivering Formative Assessment

What is Formative Assessment?

A formative assessment is effective with how it is

embedded in the instruction to promote learning

(McMillan, 2005).
Assessment without the use of instructional
change is not formative.
Instructional correctives should be delivered
differently with how the lesson was previously
delivered (Black & William, 2009).

Formative Assessment
GENERATES

(Ainsworth & Viegut, 2006)

Timely Student
Achievement Information
TO
MONITOR

Individual Student
Progress

TO
EVALUATE

Instructional
Effectiveness
(Team or Individual)

IN TERMS OF

IN TERMS OF

ADDRESSED
BY

WARRANTS

What
Students
Learn or Did
not Learn

What
Students
Can or Cant
not Do

Modifying
Instruction

Re-teaching

How will Teachers Do It?

Formative Assessment is only effective

when teachers are clear about their

intended learning goals for a lesson.
Teachers should focus on what students
will learn, than what students will do.
Teachers should share the learning goals
(or actively create it with the students), at
the beginning of the lesson.

How Will Teachers Do It?

Gather evidence through interactions with

students, observations, of their tasks and

activities, or analysis of their work products.
Whatever teachers use to collect as an

evidence of learning, should be evidences that

are actionable by them and their students.
Collection should be systematic so that
teachers have constant stream of information
tied to indicators of progress (competencies).

Formative Assessment: Looking into

Non-Verbal Behavior

Informal Observations
Assessing non-verbal behavior (i.e.

language, gestures, and facial

expressions) in class
Confirming or Repeating
Denying or Confusing
Strengthening or Emphasizing
Controlling or Regulating

Facial Expressions

Interest_____ Sadness _____ Surprise _____

Anger_____ Happiness _____ Fear ______
(Zebrowitz & Montepare, 2008) Zebrowitz Face Perception Laboratory

Facial Expressions

Interest 6 Sadness 5 Surprise 4

Anger 1 Happiness 2 Fear 3
(Zebrowitz & Montepare, 2008) Zebrowitz Face Perception Laboratory

Body Language
Emblem
Illustrators
Affect Display
Regulators
Adapters

(Ekman & Friesen, 1969)

Emblem
This is a body cue that has a direct one- or two-

word verbal translation. Emblems are used to

consciously communicate particular message that
can be a substitute to words (i.e. hand signs).
Wait sign
Quiet sign
Okay sign

Illustrator
This is used to increase clarity and awareness and to

augment what is being said. It reinforces the strength of

the emotional message.
Fist clenched
Fingers close together (indicating size)
Hand pointing

Affect Display
These cues emotion through the position and

posture of the body and certain gestures.

If the student has a rigid, tense, slumped, body with

arms and legs crossed, the affect is negative and

defensive.
Students with open, relaxed bodies who lean toward the
teacher communicates something positive.

Regulators
Students used these to cues to inform the

teacher about whether they want to initiate a

response, are finished with a comment or
thought, or want to continue speaking.
Raising hands (when they want to recite)
Turn denying (when they dont want to recite)

Adapter
Adapters are a rich source of information about

attitudes, levels of confidence, and anxiety.

Biting the nails, fidgeting, covering the face, and
stiffness (may indicate nervousness, anxiety,
and concern)

(Black& William, 2009; McMillan, 2007)

Assessing Voice Cues

Vocal Cue

Loudness

Message
Loud- competent, enthusiastic, forceful, self-assured,
excited
Quiet- anxious, unsure, shy, indifferent
High- excited, explosively angry, emotional

Pitch

Low- calm, sad, stunned, quietly angry

Variety- dynamic, extroverted

Rate

Fast- interested, self-assured, angry, happy, proud,

confident, excited, impulsive, emotional
Slow- uninterested, unsure, unexcited, unemotional

Quality

Flat- sluggish, cold, withdrawn

Nasal- unattractive, lethargic, foolish

Using Oral Questioning to Assess Student Progress

1. Questions can conveniently and efficiently grab students

attention and engage them in the lesson
2. Question promote student reasoning and comprehension
by helping them think through to verbalize their
ideas.
3. Questions signal to students important content to be
learned and provide opportunity for students to assess their
own level of understanding in these areas.
4. Questions are used to control student behavior and
manage the class
5. To obtain information about understanding and progress.
(Black& William, 2009; McMillan, 2007)

Characteristics of Effective Questioning to Assess Student Progress

1. State questions clearly and succinctly so that the

intent of the question is understood.
2. Match the question with learning goals
3. Involve the entire class
4. Allow ample thinking time before student responds
5. Give appropriate responses to student answers
6. Avoid questions answered by a yes or a no
7. Extend initial answers
8. Avoid tugging, guessing, and leading questions
9. Avoid asking students what they think they know
10. Ask questions in appropriate sequence
(Black& William, 2009; McMillan, 2007)

Confirming or Repeating
Pedro gave the correct answer to a question, his

eyes lit up (facial expression), he sat up

straight in his chair his hand was stretched up
(body motion) toward the ceiling, and his answer
was animated and loud (voice quality).
He indicated verbally and non-verbally that he knows

the answer.

Strengthening or Emphasizing
Mrs. Santos suggested to Juan to lead in the next

school play. Juan responds by saying NO! (voice

quality), while shaking his head he becomes rigid
and avoids eye contact (body motion).
Juan does not really like to lead the school play because he

said it, and it was complimented by his actions.

Controlling or Regulating
In doing a group work, Mico asked Evan for some

help, Evan controls the conversation by looking

away (body motion).
Nonverbal behavior can be used to control others and

regulate the nature of the interaction.

Denying or Confusing
Mr. Reyes asked his class if they are ready to begin

their small group work. The students gloomily said

yes (voice quality), but at the same time look down
(body motion) with confused expression on their
faces (facial expression).
The real message is that they are not yet ready, despite

they said they are ready.

Using Homework, Seat works,

and Quizzes as Formative Tools

Homework
Provide extra practice in applying skills.
Used to extend, expand, and elaborate student

learning.
Used to check on student learning, which acts
primarily as way for teachers to determine
whether students, individually and as a group,
demonstrating correct performance.
Can be a tool to assess which specific areas of
knowledge & skill needs further instruction

Seat works
Teachers can obtain information about student

learning through seat works from multiple

perspectives, increasing the validity of their
nonformal observations about what students
know, understand, and can do.
Teachers can immediately give feedbacks
through seat works.

Quizzes
The quiz is a structured procedure to check on student

learning for specific skills, standards, or objectives that

are part of more general goals for major units of
instruction.
Often objective in nature, the purpose is to provide the
teacher quickly with an indication of current knowledge
and skills.
This information is then used immediately to
individualize instruction, form small groups, and provide
instructional correctives that will address learning
deficits and move students as appropriate to the next
level of learning.

Providing Feedback and Praise

Characteristics of Effective Feedback

1. Relates Student Performance to learning goals.
2. Help students with the strategies needed to meet the
learning goals.
3. Tells Student Progress (i.e. beginning, developing,
advanced)
4. Given Frequently and Immediately
5. Is Specific and Descriptive
6. Focuses on Key Errors (i.e. what when wrong)
7. Acknowledges Student Efforts

Characteristics of Effective Praise

Praise can be helpful to students if it draws

attention to student progress and performance in

relation to standards.
Praise + Feedback Formula
Praise is most effective when it is delivered as a
spontaneous but accurate message.
No more biting around the bush, praise them
directly!

Student Self-Assessment

Student Self-Assessment
The

purpose of self-assessment is to involve

students deeply in the evaluation of their work so
that immediate feedback can be incorporated and
used to improve learning.
A key element in self-assessment is the
development of students reflective habits and skills.
Students learn to use assessment information to
describe quality work, to communicate their
progress toward meeting learning targets, and to
develop metacognitive skills (Chappuis & Stiggins,
2002).

Student Self-Assessment
Students who were taught to evaluate their

learning were seen to develop higher-level

cognitive skills, such as reasoning, inventiveness,
and systematicness (Frederikson & White, 2004).
The goal of self-assessment is to empower the
students so that they can guide their own learning
and internalize the criteria for judging success,
thus making them directed learners.

Contemporary Formative Assessment

Techniques

Online Formative Assessment

It can be an adjunct method of instruction and assesment

to the rapid face to face classroom environment.

Online formative assessment can reduce the anxiety the
students experience inside the classroom.
Online formative assessments have been shown to
improve the achievement of students.
It can develop the digital skills and awareness of the
learners.
Lesser stress to teachers but still reaping the benefits of
classroom formative assessment.
(Cherem, 2011)

Summary
Formative assessment is not a kind of test.
Formative assessment practice, when

implemented effectively, can have powerful

effects on learning.
Formative assessment involves teachers making
adjustments to their instruction based on
evidence collected, and providing students with
feedback that helps them advance their learning.
Students participate in the practice of formative
assessment through self- and peer-assessment.

Core Elements of Formative Assessment

Evaluation