Rick Wormeli: Gradebooks

we can’t leave formative assessment to chance;
it has to be strategic. 

Formative assessments evaluate focused areas of the curriculum. In this way teachers can consider their results quickly as they make weekly and sometimes daily instructional decisions. Examples of useful formative assessments include

*  half- to one-page quick-writes,

*  exit cards,

*  oral responses to clarifying questions,

*  thumbs-up/down,

*  buttons pressed on audience response system “clickers,”

* metaphor/analogy generation,

*  completing graphic organizers,

*  observing body language and facial expressions,

*  practice problems/sentences,

*  skill demonstrations, and

*  think-alouds. 

Because of the strong correlation between learning and good formative assessments, we should list them in our daily lesson plans. Without them, the lessons may not be as powerful as we think they are.

Formative assessment isn’t graded. It can be marked, but not with marks normally associated with evaluation, such as letter grades or percentages. If we have to grade it for some reason, we make sure it isn’t included in the final, summative report of students’ performance against standards, i.e. academic achievement grades on report cards. In order for formative assessment to be effective, students must feel free to explore content without fear that their coming-to-know new ideas will be interpreted as their final demonstrations of proficiency. Using formative assessment inappropriately not only diminishes learning, it’s also unethical because the grade is inaccurate.

1)     We can comment on these assessments, just not letter grade them. Students are given very clear feedback that will serve them better than an abstract symbol ever will. These comments can be recorded somewhere for documentation of progress purposes.

2)     We can change our assignments. We can make them compelling enough to warrant students’ investment of time and energy. If this is a struggle, find someone to help you think creatively about them.

3)     Students want to be productive; they’re wired that way. When they are not productive, there’s something going on we need to investigate and help resolve: Time management issues? Parental disputes? A parent’s job loss? Auditory processing issues? Learned helplessness? Intimidation? Family poverty? Test anxiety? When students struggle to complete work, there is usually an underlying and important reason.

4)     Grades are poor motivators. It’s a mistake to think that students do tasks simply because of a lure or threat of grades. The instructional power of formative assessments is too important to diminish it because we felt compelled to put a grade or percentage on a formative experience. We should be strong enough to keep formative assessment instructional.

(“Staying Focused on Formative Assessments,” Rick Wormeli)