Assessment generally is associated with exams. However, exams are conducted at the end of the semester or term. At that time, it is far too late for corrective measures and possibilities for improvements. Assessment through exams is called summative assessment. During the educational process, we, as educators, are trying to empower our learners to gain knowledge, skills and attitudes that will help them in future work and life. For many years, many experts have argued that we have neglected the role of assessment to monitor, to feedback and to shape learning. This approach to assessment is called formative assessment or assessment for learning. That means that during the process of learning learners are assessed with the aim of identifying possible steps for improvements. So, formative assessment is assessment that is facilitating the learning process, is giving information about the progress and possible points for improvement of each learner.
There are no specific assessment tools that are applicable only for formative assessment. All assessment tools can be used with slight changes. The crucial difference in formative assessment is what we do with the results of assessment. Results from formative assessment should be used for identification of the areas for improvement and not towards final grading of the learner.
From my perspective as educator, formative assessment is very powerful approach for improving learning. There are several reasons for it. First, learners are answering assessment tools/items knowing that they will not be graded but the results will be used to help them identify points for improvement. This reduces stress and it also makes the assessment more meaningful since it is about the current skills and knowledge of the learner and their next steps rather than about their ranking in relation to some external standard. Second, with several formative assessments conducted throughout the semester, the learners become familiar with the assessment process. When finally at the end of year/semester they will need to take the exam for the summative assessment, the learners will have a better understanding of the assessment process and are more likely to understand the criteria by which they are being judged. And of course, the main reason for using the formative assessment is using it as a guiding tool to identify points/areas for improvement of the learner.
During my teaching experience, I have been using the following assessment tools for formative assessment:
- Quizzes – Quizzes are short tests of knowledge that can give instant feedback to the learners. The items in the quizzes can be prepared specifically for the formative assessment, but it is also possible to take some items from exams/tests and to use them in the quizzes.
- Peer assessment – This is an assessment approach when learners are assessing each other. Peer assessment should be documented by the learner and the assessor. This needs to be done under supervision of the educator. The educator can check the documents and will have instant information about the knowledge of the learner and the assessing peer.
- Rubrics – Rubrics are used for assessing some group work or practical work. Rubrics have specific predefined statements that are prepared based on the topic that is assessed. The educator can move through the learning space and observe the learners without interrupting their group or practical work. For each group or learner, the educator can record in the rubric the relevant cell/statement that best describes the learner’s or group’s behavior/knowledge. At the end, the results of the rubric are given to each learner or group as feedback for their improvement.
- Tests – Instead of for grading, some tests can be used for formative assessment of learners. This will help in familiarizing the learners with the assessment process and will make them more comfortable and confident for the final exam/test.
My experience with formative assessment is very positive. Aside the preparation period that is always needed when you introduce some innovation, using formative assessment has helped me in guiding learning process of my learners. Some examples of positive changes are:
- Learners have the results of the formative assessment and can refer to them whenever they need, either to check own progress or to perform additional self-assessment. In this way they are more in charge of own learning and can easily shape own learning.
- During, or after, peer assessment, learners can be engaged in discussion with each other. In the course of the discussion, both parties, the learner-assessor and the learner that is assessed, are learning through sharing and discussing.
- Using differentiated tasks in quizzes and tests helps both the learner and teacher to define the learner’s current state of knowledge. The educator can use this information to shape future learning activities in order to set appropriate tasks to advance, consolidate or patch up learning.
What is your experience with formative assessment? What other tools have you been using for formative assessment?
Involving learners in creating rubric is great approach in motivating them to be engaged more in learning process and take ownership of the learning results.