1. FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT:
CONCEPTS, CLASSROOM
PRACTICES, AND
CONTEMPORARY TECHNIQUES
Dr. Carlo Magno
crlmgn@yahoo.com

2. Learning Goals
At the end of the session, the participants are
expected to be able to:
1) Understand the concept and the theory behind
formative assessment
2) Be cognizant and of the contemporary practices in
formative assessment
3) Translate the applications of formative assessment
in your own classroom or in your own practice

4. What’s Up?!
1) What is the purpose of formative assessment?
2) How is formative assessment conducted?

5. Traditional View on Assessment

6. Traditional View on Assessment
• Traditionally, it is believed that assessment (i.e. quizzes, final
examinations, pop tests, etc.) is the best way to motivate the
students.
• Because of this, the term ‘assessment’ or ‘testing’ created a
negative image to the students. It has become the greatest
intimidator of students.
• Thus, anxiety arose from the students when the word
‘assessment’ is said, or when assessments are given the
teacher.
• Assessment is seen as a competition with teaching, than a tool
to improve teaching (Heritage, 2007).
• Ranking Students, Schools, Regions, Countries, and etc.
(Stiggins, 2005)

7. The Absence of
Assessment FOR Learning
• Students develop an anxiety and negative attitude
towards testing and assessment because of the constant
ranking and comparison to others, thus their
achievement suffers (Stiggins, 2002).
• Because of the constant ranking and intimidation,
students: develop a fear of failure, uncertainty in
decisions, unwillingness to take risks, learned
helplessness, and looking down on one’s self and
abilities.
• If we wish to maximize student achievement, we must pay
far GREATER attention to the improvement of classroom
assessment. Both assessment OF learning and
assessment FOR learning is important. But AOL is in
place and AFL is not.

8. Formative Assessment: A Key to
Success

9. What is Formative Assessment?
WHAT IS NOT FA?
• Formative Assessment is
not an instrument, or
event.
• It is not used for grading!
• It is not used as a
punishment for students if
they misbehave.
WHAT IS FA?
• Collection of practices that all
leads to student learning
improvement.
• Tool for the teachers to
determine what they need to
do to move the learner
forward.
• A technique to help the
students optimize learning
(Black & William, 2003; Stiggins, 2002)

10. Definition of Formative Assessment
• Formative assessment is an assessment done
during the instructional process for the purpose of
improving teaching or learning (Black & William,
2003)
• What makes formative assessment formative is
that it is immediately used to make adjustments
to help students learn the lessons better.

11. Delivering Formative Assessment

12. What is Formative Assessment?
• A formative assessment is effective with how it is
embedded in the instruction to promote learning
(McMillan, 2005).
• Assessment without the use of instructional
change is not formative.
• Instructional correctives should be delivered
differently with how the lesson was previously
delivered (Black & William, 2009).

13. Individual Student
Progress
IN TERMS OF IN TERMS OF
What
Students
Learn or Did
not Learn
What
Students
Can or Can’t
not Do
GENERATES
Timely Student
Achievement Information
TO
MONITOR
TO
EVALUATE
Instructional
Effectiveness
(Team or Individual)
ADDRESSED
BY
WARRANTS
Modifying
Instruction
Re-teaching
Formative Assessment
(Ainsworth & Viegut, 2006)

14. How will Teachers Do It?
• Formative Assessment is only effective
when teachers are clear about their
intended learning goals for a lesson.
• Teachers should focus on what students
will learn, than what students will do.
• Teachers should share the learning goals
(or actively create it with the students), at
the beginning of the lesson.

15. How Will Teacher’s Do It?
• Gather evidence through interactions with
students, observations, of their tasks and
activities, or analysis of their work products.
• Whatever teachers use to collect as an
evidence of learning, should be evidences that
are actionable by them and their students.
• Collection should be systematic so that
teachers have constant stream of information
tied to indicators of progress (competencies).

16. Formative Assessment: Looking into
Non-Verbal Behavior

17. Informal Observations
• Assessing non-verbal behavior (i.e.
language, gestures, and facial expressions)
in class
• Confirming or Repeating
• Denying or Confusing
• Strengthening or Emphasizing
• Controlling or Regulating

18. Facial Expressions
Interest_____ Sadness _____ Surprise _____
Anger_____ Happiness _____ Fear ______
(Zebrowitz & Montepare, 2008) © Zebrowitz Face Perception Laboratory

19. Facial Expressions
Interest 6 Sadness 5 Surprise 4
Anger 1 Happiness 2 Fear 3
(Zebrowitz & Montepare, 2008) © Zebrowitz Face Perception Laboratory

20. Body Language
• Emblem
• Illustrators
• Affect Display
• Regulators
• Adapters
(Ekman & Friesen, 1969)

21. Emblem
• This is a body cue that has a direct one- or two-
word verbal translation. Emblems are used to
consciously communicate particular message that
can be a substitute to words (i.e. hand signs).
• Wait sign
• Quiet sign
• Okay sign

22. Illustrator
• This is used to increase clarity and awareness and to
augment what is being said. It reinforces the strength of
the emotional message.
• Fist clenched
• Fingers close together (indicating size)
• Hand pointing

23. Affect Display
• These cues emotion through the position and
posture of the body and certain gestures.
• If the student has a rigid, tense, slumped, body with
arms and legs crossed, the affect is negative and
defensive.
• Students with open, relaxed bodies who lean toward the
teacher communicates something positive.

24. Regulators
• Students used these to cues to inform the teacher
about whether they want to initiate a response,
are finished with a comment or thought, or want
to continue speaking.
• Raising hands (when they want to recite)
• Turn denying (when they don’t want to recite)

25. Adapter
• Adapters are a rich source of information about
attitudes, levels of confidence, and anxiety.
• Biting the nails, fidgeting, covering the face, and
stiffness (may indicate nervousness, anxiety,
and concern)

26. Assessing Voice Cues
Vocal Cue Message
Loudness
Loud- competent, enthusiastic, forceful, self-assured,
excited
Quiet- anxious, unsure, shy, indifferent
Pitch
High- excited, explosively angry, emotional
Low- calm, sad, stunned, quietly angry
Variety- dynamic, extroverted
Rate
Fast- interested, self-assured, angry, happy, proud,
confident, excited, impulsive, emotional
Slow- uninterested, unsure, unexcited, unemotional
Quality
Flat- sluggish, cold, withdrawn
Nasal- unattractive, lethargic, foolish
(Black& William, 2009; McMillan, 2007)

27. Using Oral Questioning to Assess Student
Progress
1. Questions can conveniently and efficiently grab students’
attention and engage them in the lesson
2. Question promote student reasoning and comprehension
by helping them think through to verbalize their
ideas.
3. Questions signal to students important content to be
learned and provide opportunity for students to
assess their own level of understanding in these
areas.
4. Questions are used to control student behavior and
manage the class
5. To obtain information about understanding and progress.
(Black& William, 2009; McMillan, 2007)

28. Characteristics of Effective Questioning to
Assess Student Progress
1. State questions clearly and succinctly so that the
intent of the question is understood.
2. Match the question with learning goals
3. Involve the entire class
4. Allow ample thinking time before student responds
5. Give appropriate responses to student answers
6. Avoid questions answered by a yes or a no
7. Extend initial answers
8. Avoid tugging, guessing, and leading questions
9. Avoid asking students what they think they know
10. Ask questions in appropriate sequence
(Black& William, 2009; McMillan, 2007)

29. Confirming or Repeating
• Pedro gave the correct answer to a question, his
eyes lit up (facial expression), he sat up
straight in his chair his hand was stretched up
(body motion) toward the ceiling, and his answer
was animated and loud (voice quality).
• He indicated verbally and non-verbally that he knows
the answer.

30. Strengthening or Emphasizing
• Mrs. Santos suggested to Juan to lead in the next
school play. Juan responds by saying “NO!” (voice
quality), while shaking his head he becomes rigid
and avoids eye contact (body motion).
• Juan does not really like to lead the school play because
he said it, and it was complimented by his actions.

31. Controlling or Regulating
• In doing a group work, Mico asked Evan for some
help, Evan controls the conversation by looking
away (body motion).
• Nonverbal behavior can be used to control others and
regulate the nature of the interaction.

32. Denying or Confusing
• Mr. Reyes asked his class if they are ready to begin
their small group work. The students gloomily said
yes (voice quality), but at the same time look down
(body motion) with confused expression on their
faces (facial expression).
• The real message is that they are not yet ready, despite
they said they are ready.

33. Using Homework, Seat works,
and Quizzes as Formative Tools

34. Homework
• Provide extra practice in applying skills.
• Used to extend, expand, and elaborate student
learning.
• Used to check on student learning, which acts
primarily as way for teachers to determine
whether students, individually and as a group,
demonstrating correct performance.
• Can be a tool to assess which specific areas of
knowledge & skill needs further instruction

35. Seat works
• Teachers can obtain information about student
learning through seat works from multiple
perspectives, increasing the validity of their
nonformal observations about what students
know, understand, and can do.
• Teachers can immediately give feedbacks
through seat works.

36. Quizzes
• The quiz is a structured procedure to check on student
learning for specific skills, standards, or objectives that
are part of more general goals for major units of
instruction.
• Often objective in nature, the purpose is to provide the
teacher quickly with an indication of current knowledge
and skills.
• This information is then used immediately to
individualize instruction, form small groups, and provide
instructional correctives that will address learning
deficits and move students as appropriate to the next
level of learning.

37. Providing Feedback and Praise

38. Characteristics of Effective Feedback
1. Relates Student Performance to learning goals.
2. Help students with the strategies needed to meet the
learning goals.
3. Tells Student Progress (i.e. beginning, developing,
advanced)
4. Given Frequently and Immediately
5. Is Specific and Descriptive
6. Focuses on Key Errors (i.e. what when wrong)
7. Acknowledges Student Efforts

39. Characteristics of Effective Praise
• Praise can be helpful to students if it draws
attention to student progress and performance in
relation to standards.
• “Praise + Feedback Formula”
• Praise is most effective when it is delivered as a
spontaneous but accurate message.
• No more biting around the bush, praise them
directly!

40. Student Self-Assessment

41. Student Self-Assessment
• The purpose of self-assessment is to involve
students deeply in the evaluation of their work so
that immediate feedback can be incorporated and
used to improve learning.
• A key element in self-assessment is the
development of students’ reflective habits and
skills.
• Students learn to use assessment information to
describe quality work, to communicate their
progress toward meeting learning targets, and to
develop metacognitive skills (Chappuis &
Stiggins, 2002).

42. Student Self-Assessment
• Students who were taught to evaluate their
learning were seen to develop “higher-level”
cognitive skills, such as reasoning, inventiveness,
and systematicness (Frederikson & White, 2004).
• The goal of self-assessment is to empower the
students so that they can guide their own learning
and internalize the criteria for judging success,
thus making them directed learners.

43. Contemporary Formative Assessment
Techniques

44. Online Formative Assessment
• It can be an adjunct method of instruction and assesment
to the rapid face to face classroom environment.
• Online formative assessment can reduce the anxiety the
students experience inside the classroom.
• Online formative assessments have been shown to
improve the achievement of students.
• It can develop the digital skills and awareness of the
learners.
• Lesser stress to teachers but still reaping the benefits of
classroom formative assessment.
(Cherem, 2011)

45. Summary
• Formative assessment is not a kind of test.
• Formative assessment practice, when
implemented effectively, can have powerful
effects on learning.
• Formative assessment involves teachers making
adjustments to their instruction based on
evidence collected, and providing students with
feedback that helps them advance their learning.
• Students participate in the practice of formative
assessment through self- and peer-assessment.

46. Core Elements of Formative
Assessment
Identify the
Gap
Feedback
Student
Involvement
Learning
Progression

47. Evaluation