Alternate Forms of Formative Assessment

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE A QUIZ! 

I repeat, FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE A QUIZ!!! 

A huge mistake that many teachers make is taking time out of their class and their lessons to have students take a quiz. Quizzes every now and then are good, but a students' grade should not be based off of quizzes. After students study and take these quizzes, the information they "learned" is gone. They never really learned the information; they just memorize the information and regurgitate it onto the quiz. There are so many ways to make formative assessment engaging and memorable for the students.





Alternate Forms of Formative Assessment:

1. Index Card Summary/ Question.
    The students will receive an index card. On one side of the index card they will be asked to give the unit topic and an example of a big idea that they understand. They will be asked to write a small one sentence summary. On the flip side of the card they will be asked to write something that they do not fully understand yet. They will be instructed to pose it as a question.

2. One Minute Essay
    The students will be given a question that they will be able to answer in one minute that can display whether they clearly understand a concept or don't.

3. Exit Ticket
    This is similar to the One minute essay except the students will not be timed. Students will be given a question and they must answer it to the best of their knowledge. Students should not be able to use any notes, they should be able to answer the question from memory.

4. Journal Entry
    In this assignment, students will write about a topic or lesson in their journal following a lesson that is taught. Afterwards, the teacher can look at the journal to make sure that the objectives set forth are met as well as to check for understanding of the topic.

5. One Sentence Summary
    This assignment can be creative and engaging. Students are instructed to create a one sentence summary of the lesson. Ideally it would include who, what, when, where, why and how. It is great to see students creative side when it comes to this.

Those ideas are engaging and different from quizzes. I think quizzes are important, but the monotony of them needs to be broken up and I think these are great ideas to use. Of course as a teacher you will be walking around the room and observing the work of the students. You will be listening in on their conversations and seeing their ideas be put on paper. There is also the option to set up student conferences. These conferences will be used to ask students how they are doing and to focus them or refocus them . They could also be used to set up a time for a student to come and receive extra help on an assignment or topic.