Formative Assessment in the

English Language Arts

Classroom

Tracy Fair Robertson

English Coordinator
Virginia Department of Education
“Informative assessment isn’t an
end in itself, but the beginning
of better instruction.”
Carol Ann Tomlinson
Formative Assessment
Defining Formative
Assessment
 Defining Formative
Assessment
• Keys- be flexible,
allow for change,
expect diversity
• Lesson plans not
set in stone
 Formative Assessment

Testing companies in the K–12

education market, seeking to
support the trend toward more
testing, sometimes advertise
products as "formative
assessments." This adds to the
confusion by encouraging the idea
that it's the test itself that's
formative (Chappuis, 2005).
 Formative Assessment

But in many districts, formative assessments are really

interim benchmark assessments that provide information
about progress toward a set of expectations.

These only occur a few times per year and are used only
minimally for making instructional decisions.

In other words, it is akin to taking your temperature but

doing nothing even if the thermometer indicates you have a
fever.

A Formative Assessment System for Writing Improvement

Nancy Frey & Douglas Fisher English Journal 103.1 (2013): 66-71
 Formative Assessment
The teacher is the most important agent of assessment.
Most educational assessment takes place in the classroom, as
teachers and students interact with one another. Teachers design,
assign, observe, collaborate in, and interpret the work of students
in their classrooms. They assign meaning to interactions and
evaluate the information that they receive and create in these
settings. In short, teachers are the primary agents, not passive
consumers, of assessment information. It is their ongoing,
formative assessments that primarily influence students’ learning.

NCTE Standards for the Assessment of Reading and Writing: Standard 2

The best literacy assessments
take the student’s and the
assignment’s contexts into
account.
http://blogs.ncte.org/index.php/2015/03/a-common-language-for-responding-to-writing/
 Formative Assessment
vs
Summative Assessment
Formative Summative
• NOT a product • Results used to make
judgments
• Delivers information
DURING instruction • Results in grades

• Used to check students’ • Provides information about

understanding and plan knowledge attainment
instruction
• Evaluates student learning
at end of instructional unit
Formative Assessment
vs
Summative Assessment
Formative Assessment
Formative Assessment
Formative Assessment Tools:
- Observations
Formative Assessment Tools:
- Observations
Formative Assessment Tools:
- Conversations
Formative Assessment Tools:
- Conversations
Formative Assessment Tools:
- Student Self Evaluations
Formative Assessment Tools:
- Student Self Evaluations
Formative Assessment Tools:
- Artifacts of Learning
Formative Assessment Tools:
- Artifacts of Learning
 Formative Assessment
• Socratic seminar
• Text-dependent
questions
• Exit/Admit Slips
• Learning/Response logs
• Graphic Organizers
• Peer/Self Assessments
• Visual representations
• Kinesthetic assessments
Formative Assessment Tools
Exit Slips
• Rate your understanding of
today’s topic from 1-10.
• Discuss one way today’s
lesson can be used in your
life
• Predict what we will learn
next in this unit and why.
• What would you like to
review during the next
session?
• Summarize today’s lesson in
25 carefully chosen words
• The best part of class today
was. . .
Observation Folder
• Teacher records
notes about student
learning- keeps a
running record of
student progress

• Use overlapping index

cards- one per student
Formative Assessment Tools:
- Student Self Evaluations

http://www.exemplars.com/resources/rubrics/student-rubrics
Formative Assessment Tools:
- Student Self Evaluations

http://www.exemplars.com/assets/files/seed.pdf
•Questions?
 Bibliography
Atkin, J. M., Black, P., & Coffey, J. (2001). Classroom Assessment and the
National Science Standards. Washington, DC: National Academies
Press.
Chappuis, S. (2005). Is formative assessment losing its meaning? Education
Week, 24(44), 38.
Committee, NCTE Executive. "Formative Assessment That Truly Informs
Instruction: A Position Statement." (2013): n. pag. NCTE Library. Web.
30 Apr. 2015
Fournel, Jenna. A Common Language for Responding to Writing. Web blog
post. Literacy & NCTE. 14 March 2015. Web. 2 June 2015.
Standards for the Assessment of Reading and Writing, Revised Edition
(2009). National Council of Teachers of English, International Reading
Association, 2009. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.
Stiggins, R., Arter, J., Chappuis, J., & Chappuis, S. (2006). Classroom
assessment for student learning: Doing it right—using it well. Portland,
OR: Educational Testing Service.
Wees, David. 56 Examples of Formative Assessment. Web blog post. The
Reflective Educator. Word Press. 12 December 2013. Web. 8 June 2015.
 Contact Information
Tracy Fair Robertson
English Coordinator
Tracy.Robertson@doe.virginia.gov
804-371-7585

Assessment Office
Student_assessment@doe.virginia.gov
804-225-2102

Virginia Department of
Education