Module 3: Formative Assessment Article

             The article focused on formative assessment and its purpose. Formative assessment is used to check for student understanding throughout the learning process. This is different from a summative assessment, which is used at the end of a unit to see what the students know. I see summative assessment as the more traditional way to “test” students, but formative assessment can be very useful as well. Summative assessments are used more to apply a grade, show growth, or provide accountability, while formative assessments are used to close the gap, drive instruction, and provide remediation when needed. On p. 535 the authors discussed how “Using a range of assessments allows teachers to gather lots of evidence along the way to create a “scrapbook” of student learning, not just a single snapshot at some predetermined benchmark (e.g., fall, winter, spring).” I found this quote interesting because of the level of emphasis placed on fall, winter, and spring District Benchmark Assessments (DBA) at schools. My school just recently placed a large amount of our first-grade students in the Early Intervention Program (EIP) based solely on their fall DBA score. One perk of formative assessment discussed was the ability for it to occur as needed during instruction. During lessons teachers are informed about what students need to know or work on, so in turn the teacher can inform the student effectively.  

             

Roskos, K., & Neuman, S. (2012). Formative assessment: Simply, no additives. Reading Teacher, 65(8). 534-538. doi:10.1002/TRTR.01079