What It Means
Formative assessment is checkingChecking accountA bank or credit union account for everyday money going in and out, used by debit card, checks, transfers and direct deposit. See more for understanding while teaching is still going on, so the teacher and the student can change course before the unit ends. The assessment papers in the Department of Education's ERIC library describe it as a process used during instruction, small in scale and short in cycle: a check may take a few seconds or a few minutes, which is why some call it minute-by-minute assessment. It sits at the classroom level, beside interim (benchmark) tests run by a district and summative tests given at the end of a unit, a year or by the state.
Try It: Spot the Formative Check
Is each one a formative check? Tap your answer.
1. Each student writes one sentence on a slip before leaving class, and the teacher reads them that afternoon.
Right. It's quick, and it shapes tomorrow's lesson.It is formative: short, during the unit, and used to adjust teaching.2. A test on the last day of the unit that goes in the grade book.
Right. That's summative: it measures learning at the end.That one is summative. It comes after the teaching is done.3. Mid-lesson, the teacher asks everyone to hold up fingers for how sure they are, then reteaches a step.
Right. Seconds long, and the teaching changed because of it.It is formative. The answer changed what happened next.4. A districtwide reading test given in fall, winter and spring.
Right by the ERIC papers' levels: that's an interim or benchmark test. Some reading guides group it with progress checks, so names vary.The ERIC papers call this interim or benchmark assessment, a district level above the classroom.How Parents Say It
- "It's just a check-in quiz, it doesn't count."
- "She had an exit ticket on fractions today."
- "The teacher said the warm-up shows who needs more help."
The Breakdown
Where it sits in the school year
| Level | When | Who uses the result |
|---|---|---|
| Formative (classroom) | During lessons, often daily, lasting seconds or minutes | The teacher and the student, to adjust right away |
| Interim or benchmark (district) | A few times a year | Teachers and the school, to plan support |
| Summative (end of unit, year or state) | After the teaching | Grades, schools and, for state testsStandardized testingTests given and scored the same way for every student; in U.S. public schools, mainly the yearly state tests in reading, math and science that ESSA requires. See more, accountability |
Source: the levels described in "The Role of Interim Assessments in a Comprehensive Assessment System" and "Formative Assessment and Next-Generation Assessment Systems" in ERIC.
What it can look like at home. A practice worksheet with comments and no score, a quiz marked "practice", a sticky note of questions, or a teacher's note that your child should redo a problem. These are Buhata's examples of the kind of work a formative check produces.
Grade levels. The idea doesn't change with age. A kindergartner might point to the right picture; a high schooler might answer one question on a phone before the bell.
When to talk to the teacher. If the same skill keeps coming home marked for practice over several weeks, ask what the checks are showing and what you can do at home.
Good to Know
Terms vary between sources. IES's Regional Educational Laboratory Southeast notes that words like formative, benchmark and progress monitoring confuse parents and teachers alike, and its reading infographic groups formative with progress monitoring, while the ERIC papers keep formative at the classroom level and call the fall, winter and spring tests interim or benchmark. Standardized state tests are a separate, summative kind with rules of their own. Ask your child's school how it uses each word and whether a given check counts toward the grade.
FAQ
What is an example of formative assessment?
A one-line exit slip at the end of class, a quick show of hands, or a short practice quiz the teacher reads to plan the next lesson. Each one is brief and happens while the topic is still being taught.
Do formative assessments count toward grades?
It depends on the teacher and the school. Their main job is feedback during learning, so many are practice, but ask your child's teacher how they're used in the grade book.
What's the difference between formative and summative assessment?
Formative happens during learning and changes what comes next. Summative comes at the end of a unit, a term or a year and measures what was learned.
Do It in Buhata
Calendar, Reminders
When a teacher's note flags a skill to practice, add a Reminder in Buhata for a short practice session before the unit test date on your Calendar.
Open BuhataRelated Terms and Categories
- Summative assessment
A test or project at the end of a unit, course or school year that measures what a student learned against the standards that were taught.
- Standardized testing
Tests given and scored the same way for every student; in U.S. public schools, mainly the yearly state tests in reading, math and science that ESSA requires.
- Standards-based grading
A way of grading that reports how well a student has met each learning standard, usually on a short scale of levels, instead of one averaged letter grade per subject.
- Progress report
(1) A school's update on a student's grades partway through a grading period; (2) the periodic report on an IEP's annual goals that IDEA requires.
- Parent-teacher conference
A short scheduled meeting between a parent and a child's teacher to talk about how the child is doing in school and how to help at home.
Sources
"Formative Assessment and Next-Generation Assessment Systems" (ERIC, U.S. Department of Education); "The Role of Interim Assessments in a Comprehensive Assessment System" (ERIC, U.S. Department of Education); Institute of Education Sciences, REL Southeast, "Assessment Terms Used in Reading" (infographic, 2020); Institute of Education Sciences, "Making Sense of Terms Used in Early Reading Assessment"
- files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED543063.pdf
- files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED551318.pdf
- ies.ed.gov/sites/default/files/migrated/rel/infographics/pdf/REL_SE_Assessment_Terms_Used_in_Reading.pdf
- ies.ed.gov/learn/blog/making-sense-terms-used-early-reading-assessment
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