Informative Assessment

Notes Page
 “How do we know what they know?!” – Dr. B
“We ask, ‘Does everyone understand?’ A lone voice says, ‘Yes,’ and we allow the voice of
one to speak for all.” – Fisher and Frey
“We want to check for individual understanding, not just fill a room with one student’s
answer.” –Fisher and Frey
“For the majority of lessons, no evidence exists by which a teacher could gauge or report
on how well students are learning essential standards.” – Mike Schmoker
“Knowing that six or seven understand is not the same as knowing that 32 do.”
– Fisher and Frey

“It is assessment which

helps us distinguish
between teaching and
learning.”

-Fisher and Frey

Copyright King Features

Syndicate

“Assessment always has more to do with helping students grow than with cataloging their
mistakes.” –Carol Ann Tomlinson
“When implemented well, formative assessment can double the speed of students’
learning.” – Dylan Wiliam
“When the cook tastes the soup, that’s formative; when the guests taste the soup, that’s
summative.” –Robert Stake
The Latin root of assessment is assidere, “to sit beside.

A Sampling of Informative Assessment Strategies

(Add your own!)
Strategy Details
Nonverbal clues Student body language can give you
information about understanding
and/or engagement level.
Observation Simply circulating and observing
students working or talking
Hand signals Fingers: hold up fingers to show
level of understanding
(1 = don’t understand, 5 = completely understand)
Thumbs Up/Down/Sideways
Response cards Students can create cards with the
necessary responses, or they can be
premade. Can be simple True/False
or A/B/C/D, or content-specific.
Movement Students physically move to a
specific place or line up in a specific
way based on the content/question.
Student Response Can be used to collect data before or
Systems (SRS) during lesson. Can get immediate
feedback.
Peer discussions Simply circulating and listening to
student discussions can alert you to
knowledge level and misconceptions.
One-to-one conference Thoughtful questions asked to a
student can reveal useful information
about learning.
Wrap around Each student quickly responds to the
question/prompt with no
interruptions.
Mini-marker boards Can cut up large board from home
improvement store.
Sticky notes Can be written on and shared or
collected. Can be used to graph
responses.
Short assignment/writing Can be summary, specific questions,
reflection, journals, etc.
Can be an “Exit Slip” to get out the
door.
Concept mapping Students list all words associated
with topic, then rank, organize, link,
and label them.
Homework
Tests (with analysis) Use student test data to identify
Examples
You notice several confused looks
after you explain something.
You ask students to hold up a finger
after each step of a math problem
that you are modeling.
Cards that say “chemical change”
and “physical change”. You read a
situation and students respond with
appropriate card.
Students line up in order of
expertise. Fold line in half to
partner experts with novices and
have brief partner discussion.
Students enter responses to Focus
activity, and class views and
discusses results.
Turn To Your Partner And…
Cooperative Learning groups
Based on SRS data, you conference
with a student about a learning gap.
At the end of class, each student
must quickly name a cell organelle
and its function.
Students write vocabulary terms on
marker board and hold them up
during Vocabulary review.
You ask students to write three
questions they have while reading
and listen to them discuss (or
collect) the sticky notes.
Students individually write a short
summary of the science lab they did
that day.
Math students explain (in writing)
how they solved a problem.
You ask students to create a concept
map of weather before and after the
unit.
Students self-graph their percent
individual, group, or whole class correct for each objective on the test
learning gaps. and are then grouped by need.
 Sources

Brookhart, S. M. (2009). Exploring Formative Assessment. Alexandria: ASCD.

Chappuis, S., & Chappuis, J. (2007/2008, December/January). The Best Value in

Formative Assessment. Educational Leadership , pp. 14-18.

Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2007). Checking for Understanding: Formative Assessment
Techniques for Your Classroom. Alexandria: ASCD.

Tomlinson, C. A. (2007/2008, December/January). Learning to Love Assessment.

Educational Leadership , pp. 8-13.

Wiliam, D. (2007/2008, December/January). Changing Classroom Practice. Educational

Leadership , pp. 36-41.