What is Formative assessment?

Definition

Formative assessment is the practice of gathering evidence about student learning as it's happening — not after — and using that evidence to adjust instruction the same day or the next. It's distinct from summative assessment, which measures learning at the end of a unit. Formative assessment is for learning, summative is of learning.

Examples

• Exit tickets at the end of class asking students to solve one problem
• Quick polls or hand signals during a lesson
• Whiteboard work where every student writes a response
• Quick-write responses to a question
• One-minute essay summarizing the day's takeaway

Why it matters

Formative assessment is the highest-leverage practice in teaching, with effect sizes around 0.7 — meaning it can advance student learning by roughly two grade levels per year when done well (Hattie, 2009). It's also the cheapest professional intervention available: no curriculum purchase required.

Using Worksheet Generator for formative assessment

Worksheet Generator makes formative assessment easy to operationalize. Generate a 5-question exit ticket on a specific learning target in seconds, print it, and use the answer key to triage students into next-day reteach groups.