Formative Assessment

Find and share ideas for checking in with students during a project, class, or semester to assess their learning and see if content or instruction needs adjusting.

Reading the Virtual Classroom Is Hard, but It Can Be Done
Many teachers find it difficult to gauge how well students understand a lesson in an online classroom. A technique common among award-winning online instructors should help.
Youki Terada
A Way to Increase Students’ Independence in Learning
When feedback originates with students, they can assess their current understanding and see what they need to do to improve.
Kara Douma
Covid-19’s Impact on Students’ Academic and Mental Well-Being
The pandemic has revealed—and exacerbated—inequities that hold many students back. Here’s how teachers can help.
Youki Terada
Formative Assessment in Distance Learning
Schools are closed but schooling goes on, and it remains crucial that teachers find ways to see what students are learning.
Andrew Miller
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Inviting Participation With Thumbs-Up Responses
A quick assessment strategy replaces raised hands, encouraging more students to contribute by accommodating their different processing needs.
3 Ways to Ask Questions That Engage the Whole Class
These techniques guide all students to process course content and then actively demonstrate their learning.
Pérsida and Bill Himmele
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.
Laura Thomas
Fantastic, Fast Formative Assessment Tools
Checking for understanding is good for both students and teachers. We’ve rounded up a variety of digital tools to help you do it.
Vicki Davis
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60-Second Strategy: Participation Cards
A quick formative assessment tool also encourages all students—even shy ones—to participate in discussions.
3 Ways Student Data Can Inform Your Teaching
Gather and use valuable student data to inform your classroom practice.
Rebecca Alber
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60-Second Strategy: Closing The Loop
A strategy for using a quick, whole-class reflection on content as a verbal exit ticket.
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Boosting Engagement With Notices and Wonders
When students make “I notice” and “I wonder” comments on course content, teachers can see what they know—and what they need to learn.
56 Examples of Formative Assessment
Formative assessment can be as simple as thumbs up or down and as creative as having students illustrate a page of a story.
David Wees
5 Research-Based Tips for Providing Students with Meaningful Feedback
Feedback is an essential part of learning, but not all of it is productive. We’ve collected five best practices for giving students feedback.
Marianne Stenger
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60-Second Strategy: TAG Feedback
This quick exercise scaffolds peer critique for elementary students.

Formative Assessment

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.css-1enhq53:hover{background-color:#d1ecfa;}Inviting Participation With Thumbs-Up Responses

Reading the Virtual Classroom Is Hard, but It Can Be Done

Inviting Participation With Thumbs-Up Responses