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Embedding Formative Assessment

An effective school is little more than a school full of effective classrooms

Variability at the classroom level is up to 4 times greater than at school level.

  • It is not the class size

  • It’s not the between-class grouping strategy

  • It’s not the within-class grouping strategy

  • It’s the teacher that makes all the difference.

An excellent teacher takes 6 months to teach what a poor teacher takes 2 years to teach!


The Big Idea of formative assessment can be expressed in the following way:



  • Stuck board

  • No grade marking

  • + = - Marking (for improvement)

  • No hands up rule – questions only

  • ABCDE Cards

  • Plan quality questions

  • Wait time for questions

  • Hinge questions

  • Come back questions

  • Closed v Open Questions

  • …yes but if you did know what would you say‟

  • Red / Green disks

  • Coloured cups

  • Green teaches red

  • Basketball questions not table tennis questions

  • Loop questions

  • Hotseat questions

  • Mini white boards

  • Names on lolly sticks to generate students for answers

  • Ask 3 before the teacher

  • No teacher answers for the whole lesson – use students as learning resources

  • Not giving the complete solutions

  • Information jigsaws – essays/gradings etc

  • Writing frames

  • Traffic lights

  • Timed assessments

  • Student review

  • Post it notes on a continuum

  • Class vote

  • Entrance ticket

  • Exit cards

  • Phone a friend

  • Carousels for student marking

  • Homework help board

  • Best composite answer – from group work

  • Students end of lesson summary

  • Gots and needs

  • Parking lot for questions

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