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

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

Formative Assessment Strategies

• 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