Podcast: How to Use Formative Assessment Like an Expert Teacher

Have you ever been shocked when your students bomb a unit test after weeks of seemingly locked-in learning? 

Veteran educator Jay McTighe has the ultimate research-backed solution: formative assessment. In the best-case scenario, it’s frequent, quick, and highly attuned to the content and your students. 

“You don't want to wait till the end to find out, ‘Gosh, I didn't realize the kids never understood this concept or had this continued skill error,’” says McTighe, an author and assessment expert. “Whatever you’re teaching, you should always be doing very quick checks to see how it’s working.”

Frequent pulse checks midstream are “potentially one of a classroom educator's most powerful tools to enhance student learning,” according to David Marzano, a leading researcher. They’re also important tools for students to gauge their own progress. The key to getting the best outcomes is *how* you deploy them.

In this episode of School of Practice, we chat with McTighe about how to get the most out of formative assessments, how to choose the right technique for your content and students, how to insert them seamlessly into the flow of instruction, and whether or not they should be graded. Plus, Jay shares his “Vagoo Rule,” a mysterious yet very important tip that you won’t want to miss.

Related resources:

• 8 Quick Checks for Understanding Formative assessment is a proven technique for improving student learning, and the strategies shared here by Jay McTighe work both in the classroom and remotely.
• Building SEL Skills Through Formative Assessment Measure and evaluate your students’ SEL development by using a Progression Chart and strategies that include probing discussions, unobtrusive assessments, and student-generated assessments.
• 7 Smart, Fast Ways to Do Formative Assessment Within these methods, you’ll find close to 40 tools and tricks for finding out what your students know while they’re still learning.
• 13 Super-Quick Formative Assessments Teachers can use these techniques to gauge students’ understanding mid-lesson and then decide whether to reteach or press ahead.
• Research: The Impact of Formative Assessment on K-12 Learning: A Meta-Analysis (2024) Across 118 studies and 258 effect sizes, researchers found that formative assessment has a reliably positive impact on student learning outcomes. 
• Assessing Student Learning by Design: Principles and Practices for Teachers and School Leaders (2021) Jay McTighe’s most recent book on assessment. 
• Research: The Effectiveness and Features of Formative Assessment in US K-12 Education: A Systematic Review (2020) This systematic review found that using formative assessment generally improves student learning outcomes across subjects. It also identified features that make formative assessment especially effective.
• Seven Keys to Effective Feedback (2012) ASCD article by Grant Wiggins about useful feedback for students.
• Research: Formative Assessment Is an Essential Component of Classroom Work and Can Raise Student Achievement (1998) The authors of this classic article show that formative assessment is a powerful way to improve learning.
• Hacking Student Motivation (2024) Tyler Rablin’s book about grading and student motivation.
• The 10 Minute Teacher Podcast Vicki Davis’s long-running podcast for teachers.