Know where your students are in their learning
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers | Focus Area 5.1: Assess student learning
Formative assessment refers to the variety of methods teachers use to gather and interpret information about student learning as learning is taking place. Formative assessment allows teachers to monitor student learning and to adapt their teaching to meet student learning needs. It can also help with students’ learning retention by bringing what students have learned to the top of their mind. Formative assessment is most effective when it is a regular part of teaching and learning programs.
Evidence-based practices for applying formative assessment in the classroom are listed below. Note that some of the examples offered may not apply in all contexts, may be more suitable for primary students than secondary students (and vice versa), and/or may look different in different content areas. Reasonable adjustments must be made where necessary to ensure full access and participation for students with disability.
Key practices
This means knowing more than just the curriculum content.
- Consult the curriculum or syllabus to clarify the common progression of learning in the unit you are teaching. Know in advance the critical knowledge that students will need to move onto the next concept and the points at which it will be most important to assess your students' learning to identify understanding1.
- Identify what your students may already know (or think they know!) before starting a new unit of work. Consider setting an informal pre-quiz to gain some insight into existing knowledge or misconceptions2.
- Know the concepts or skills in this unit that are typically easy or difficult to learn. Be ready to spend more time on the difficult elements and to check their understanding more frequently. You can use previous student data to guide your planning3.
1. Schildkamp, van der Kleij, Heitink, Kippers and Veldkamp, 2020.
2. Heitink, van der Kleij, Veldkamp, Schildkamp and Kippers, 2016.
3. Schildkamp, van der Kleij, Heitink, Kippers and Veldkamp, 2020.
Convey high expectations and make your students excited about how much they will learn in every lesson.
- Set learning objectives that are based on student data and aligned to the curriculum. Consult your curriculum and then analyse class- and individual-level student data to identify where your students are at and where they need to be4.
- Clearly explain the success criteria for each objective. Students should understand what they are expected to learn, where they are currently and the steps for how they can reach the expected learning objective5.
- Be clear about the purpose and relevance of all tasks for each learning objective. Ensure that during each task, the learning objective is clearly stated and explained6.
4. Schildkamp, 2019.
5. Black and Wiliam, 1998.
6. Black and Wiliam, 1998.
This does not have to be done with a formal examination. Formative assessment typically employs light-touch methods.
- Design simple, low-key assessments, such as quick quizzes or exit tickets that allow all students, irrespective of where they are at in their learning, to demonstrate what they know. These should help identify common student misconceptions, check for retention of learning and assist you to plan future instruction. For example, ‘Quick Quiz Friday’ is a simple, lowstakes weekly routine that could help you spot content that needs to be revised and help with your lesson planning for the following week7.
- Ask students challenging questions and prompt them to articulate their reasoning. This will help you assess how much individual students really know; for example, ask questions that begin ‘why’, ‘why-not’, ‘how’, ‘whatif’, ‘how does X compare to Y’ and ‘what is the evidence for X’8.
- Keep track of each student's progress. This can help to quickly locate the source of any learning gap or misconception that may develop so that it can be addressed with the student9.
7. Heitink, van der Kleij, Veldkamp, Schildkamp and Kippers, 2016.
8. Martin and Evans, 2018.
9. Black and Wiliam, 1998.
The nature of your feedback will depend on the nature of the assessment, but some general principles apply.
- Give feedback promptly and check for understanding. Some feedback can be an instant response to a question answered or an action observed. Be honest, constructive and clear – and do not let mistakes go without follow up10.
- Be specific with feedback and tailor it to the nature of the assessment and the learning objective; for example, feedback in the form of in-text annotations may be useful to help students learn argumentation in essay writing. Regardless of form, feedback should aim to be personalised, with detailed, specific and actionable steps for improvement11.
- Help students understand what you want from them with your feedback. Where possible, use developmental rubrics with criteria tailored to the specific task and/or work samples so that students understand what is expected. These resources can also help students to become better at self-assessment12.
10. Wisniewski, Zierer and Hattie, 2020.
11. Wisniewski, Zierer and Hattie, 2020.
12. Lane, Parrila, Bower, Bull, Cavanagh, Forbes, Jones, Leaper, Khosronejad, Pellicano, Powell, Ryan and Skrebneva, 2019.
Further reading
Black P and Wiliam D (1998) 'Assessment and Classroom Learning', Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 5(1):7-74.
This paper is one of the seminal literature reviews on formative assessment. It draws on 250 journal articles and book chapters to synthesise the research on formative assessment. Key findings include: 1. strengthening the practice of formative assessment produces significant, and often substantial, learning gains; 2. feedback can have positive effects if the feedback is formulated and used as a guide to improvement; 3. learners must understand both the goal of their learning and the actual level of their understanding; 4. students have to be actively involved in their learning; 5. for assessment to function formatively, the results have to be used to adjust teaching and learning; 6. assessment can influence the motivation and self-esteem of pupils, both of which are crucial influences on learning.
Heitink M, van der Kleij F, Veldkamp P, Schildkamp K and Kippers W (2016) ‘A systematic review of prerequisites for implementing assessment for learning in classroom practice’, Educational Research Review, 17:50-62.
This paper is a systematic review of 25 studies (4 quantitative, 12
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) – Feedback
This resource provides examples of feedback, including how to give feedback and check for understanding, how to be specific with feedback and tie it to the learning objectives, and how to help students understand what you want from them with your feedback.
AITSL has designed a suite of evidence-based, practical tools to introduce or enhance feedback in your setting. These resources include video and written case studies from a selection of primary and high schools across Australia, and a series of implementation tools including feedback readiness, planning, implementation and evaluation guides.
Keywords: student progress, student engagement