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Teachers' Essential Guide to Formative Assessment
Topics: EdTech Instruction & Assessment
How can I use formative assessment to plan instruction and help students drive their own learning?
What is formative assessment?
What makes a good formative assessment, how should i use formative assessment results, how do i know what type of formative assessment to use, what are the benefits of using an edtech tool for formative assessment.
A formative assessment is a teaching move -- a question, an activity, or an assignment -- that a teacher performs to gain information about student learning. It is formative in that it is intentionally done for the purpose of planning or adjusting future instruction and activities. Like we consider our formative years when we draw conclusions about ourselves, a formative assessment is where we begin to draw conclusions about our students' learning.
Formative assessment moves can take many forms and generally target skills or content knowledge that is relatively narrow in scope (as opposed to summative assessments, which seek to assess broader sets of knowledge or skills). Common examples of formative assessments include exit tickets, fist-to-five check-ins, teacher-led question-and-answer sessions or games, completed graphic organizers, and practice quizzes.
In short, formative assessment is an essential part of all teaching and learning because it enables teachers to identify and target misunderstandings as they happen, and to adjust instruction to ensure that all students are keeping pace with the learning goals. As described by the NCTE position paper Formative Assessment That Truly Informs Instruction , formative assessment is a "constantly occurring process, a verb, a series of events in action, not a single tool or a static noun."
As mentioned above, formative assessments can take many forms. The most useful formative assessments share some common traits:
- They assess skills and content that have been derived from the backward planning process . They seek to assess the key learning milestones in the unit or learning sequence.
- They are actionable . They are designed so that student responses either clearly demonstrate mastery of the skills and content, or they show exactly where mastery is lacking or misunderstanding is occurring.
- When possible, they are student-centered . Using an assessment where students measure themselves or their peers, or where they're prompted to reflect on their results, puts students in charge of their own learning. It allows students to consider their own progress and determine positive next steps. Unfortunately, student-centered formative assessments don't always yield the easiest and most actionable information for teachers, so their benefits have to be weighed against other factors.
Formative assessments are generally used for planning future instruction and for helping students drive their own learning. In terms of future instruction, how you use assessment data most depends on what kind of results you get.
- If 80% or more demonstrate mastery , you'll likely want to proceed according to plan with subsequent lessons. For individual students not demonstrating mastery, you'll want to find ways to interject extra support. This might mean a differentiated assignment, a guided lesson during independent work time, or support outside of class.
- If between 50% and 80% demonstrate mastery , you'll need to use class time to have structured differentiation. You'll need to build this into the next lesson(s) if it isn't already planned. This means different activities or guided instruction for different groups of students. Students who've demonstrated mastery could engage in an extension activity or additional practice, or serve as support for other students. Students still attempting mastery could receive additional guided practice or additional instructional materials like multimedia resources or smaller "chunks" of content.
- If fewer than 50% demonstrate mastery , you'll need to do some whole-class reteaching. There are many approaches and concrete strategies for reteaching. Check out this article from Robert Marzano as well this blog post from BetterLesson for ideas.
The above recommendations are general rules of thumb, but your school or district may have specific guidelines to follow around teaching and reteaching. Make sure to consult them first.
Also, it's important to remember that building differentiation into the structure of your class and unit design from the beginning is the best way to make use of formative assessment results. Whether this means a blended or flipped classroom or activity centers, structuring in small-group, student-directed learning activities from the outset will make you more willing -- and better prepared -- to use formative assessment regularly and effectively in your class.
This is perhaps the most difficult question when it comes to formative assessment. There are so many different methods -- just check out this list from Edutopia -- that it's easy to get lost in the sea of options. When it comes to choosing, the most important question is: What type of skill or content are you seeking to measure?
- Content knowledge ("define," "identify," "differentiate") is generally the easiest to assess. For less rigorous objectives like these, a simple fist-to-five survey or exit ticket can work well. An edtech tool can also work well here, as many of them can score and aggregate multiple-choice responses automatically.
- Higher-order thinking skills ("analyze," "synthesize," "elaborate") are generally more difficult and time-consuming to assess. For this, you'll likely use a different question type than multiple choice and need to allow more time for students to work. A good option here is to have students do a peer assessment using a rubric, which has the double benefit of allowing them to reflect on their own learning and cutting down the time you need to spend assessing the work. This can be done through an LMS or another project-based learning app , or through old-school paper and pencil; it just depends on your preference. Because students -- and adults, too -- often don't know what they don't know, self-assessments may be less accurate and less actionable for these types of skills.
- Process-oriented skills ("script," "outline," "list the steps") also tend to be more difficult to assess. Graphic organizers can work well here, allowing teachers (or peer reviewers) to see how students arrived at their results. STEM apps for higher-order thinking and coding apps can also make this assessment information more accessible.
As mentioned above, one of the big benefits of using a tool for formative assessment is that it allows teachers to more efficiently use their time. Apps like Quizlet and Formative use a quiz format to provide real-time feedback to both students and teachers, and -- in their premium versions -- provide aggregate qualitative and quantitative assessment data. Other apps, like Kahoot! or Quizizz , provide these features with the added engagement of game-based competition. Apps like Flipgrid (video-based) and Edulastic (tracks against standards) provide assessment data with other additional perks. Check out our list of top tech tools for formative assessment to see a range of options.
Finally, if you're already regularly teaching with technology , using an edtech tool fits seamlessly into the daily activities your students already know how to do. It can be an independent activity that students do as part of a blended classroom, or an outside-of-class activity that's part of a flipped classroom. In this context, both students and teachers will get the most out of the time-saving and student-centered benefits that edtech tools provide.
As an education consultant, Jamie created curriculum and professional development content for teachers. Prior to consulting, Jamie was senior manager of educator professional learning programs at Common Sense and taught middle school English in Oakland, California. For the 2016–2017 school year, Jamie received an Excellence in Teaching award and was one of three finalists for Teacher of the Year in Oakland Unified School District. While teaching, Jamie also successfully implemented a $200,000 school-wide blended-learning program funded by the Rogers Family Foundation and led professional development on a wide range of teaching strategies. Jamie holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Eugene Lang College and a master's degree in philosophy and education from Teacher' College at Columbia University. Jamie currently lives in Sao Paulo, Brazil with his 4-year-old son, Malcolm, and his partner, Marijke.
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75 Formative Assessment Examples
Formative assessment is a type of assessment that takes place in the middle of a unit of work. It is usually compared to summative assessment which takes place at the end of the learning experience.
The key characteristic of formative assessment is that learning will take place before and after the assessment. The assessment is designed to help students:
- Stay on track
- Pivot if they are off track
- Deepen their knowledge based on an assessment of what they currently know
- Receive feedback on their progress
Similarly, it helps teachers:
- Change their teaching strategies based on student needs
- Assess students’ current knowledge to inform future instruction
- Reflect on their own teaching practice for continual improvement
Below are some of the best and simplest examples of formative assessment.
Formative Assessment Examples
1. 1-Minute Check In – Check in with every student in the class for one minute throughout the day to see how they are feeling about their tasks. Use the class roll to keep track.
2. 1-Minute Paper – Students get one minute to write a rapid-fire paper on the topic to try to show their depth of knowledge as fast as possible.
3. 3 Things – Students are asked to quickly list 3 things they want to know more about in regards to their topic, or 3 things they don’t currently understand.
4. 3-2-1 Reflection (aka Exit Slip) – Have students write down 3 big ideas from what they learned, 2 insights (reflective comments), and 1 question they still have.
5. 3x Summarization – Have students summarize the topic in three ways: in 10-15 words, 30-50 words, and 75-100 words. As they step up in word count, they will need to add some more depth and detail to demonstrate deeper knowledge.
6. 5 W’s and H – The 5W’s and H method gets students to write down their knowledge of what, when, where, who, why, and how to demonstrate their depth of knowledge about a topic.
7. Anonymous Feedback Box – Have students place anonymous comments about what they’re struggling with into a feedback box. This will allow students to share their concerns with the safety of anonymity. It helps gather crowd-sourced formative assessment but isn’t good for individual formative feedback.
8. Brainstorming – Have the students come together in groups and write down the key question in the middle of a piece of paper. Then, have them brainstorm ways to answer the question around the central question.
9. Check for Transfer – Have the students transfer the current concept from class to a new context. For example, if students are learning a math problem, check if they can apply it in a supermarket context.
10. Cold Calling – Let students know that you will not ask them to put their hands up to answer questions. Instead, you will call on one student randomly and all students by the end of class. This keeps everyone engaged and allows you to do spot checks of knowledge.
11. Comments on Drafts – Have students submit drafts of their essays to provide formative comments at least two weeks before submission.
12. Compare and Contrast – Have students compare two components of what is being learned to help them demonstrate their current knowledge. For example, in a biology class, you could have the students compare reptiles to mammals based on several key criteria.
13. Concept Map – Have students complete a concept map demonstrating their understanding of how concepts connect to one another in visual form.
14. Corner Quiz – Place letters A, B, C, and D on four separate corners of the room. Students are given a multiple choice quiz on what they are learning. Students have to run to the corner that they think has the right answer, e.g. if the answer is D, they run to the corner with the D on it. The teacher can look to see which students are consistently getting the wrong answer (or following others!).
15. Doodle It (Visualization) – Have students draw a representation of what they have learned in a visual format. This is a great formative assessment task for visual learners.
16. Elevator Pitch – Students give a 2-minute ‘elevator pitch’ speech about how much they know about the topic. In two minutes or less, they need to show you the depth of their knowledge.
17. Extension Project – Give students an extension project to see how well they apply the information in a new and less structured context. An example might be getting them to make a diagram about the topic.
18. Five Whys – Have students to ask ‘why’ five times to see if they can get to the root of their knowledge and understanding on a topic. This helps you understand how deeply they know the topic. For example, if the student says “Shakespeare is the best writer in history” ask why, then they say “because his poetry tells the best stories”, then ask why several more times, until they have fleshed out their knowledge to the best of their ability.
19. Flashcards – Have students answer flashcard questions mid-way through the unit of work to check for understanding.
20. Flip Chart Check In – Students get into groups and write anything and everything they know about the topic onto a flip chart. They then present their flip chart to the rest of the class.
21. Formative Presentation – Have the students give a presentation on what they have learned so far. This can be great for a mid-term check-in so you can help students stay on track and go deeper for their end-of-term assessment on the same topic.
22. Hand in, pass out – Students are assessed on a pop quiz. They do not write their own name on the paper. They then hand in their answers and the teacher passes out the answer sheets randomly to the class. The class then grades the anonymous work they are given. The students are given a chance to grade others’ work. The teacher can take the answer in afterward to see the questions that were most commonly incorrect to see what to focus on.
23. Homework Task – Homework is perhaps the most extensively used example of formative assessment. When you grade your students’ homework you can get a good idea of their level of understanding of content explored in class.
24. Hot Seat – A student sits in a seat in front of their peers and gets rapid-fire questions from their peers to test their quick responses. Great for math quizzes.
25. Hot Topics – Students choose one aspect of what they are learning and present in front of the class for 5 minutes about their knowledge, then take 5 minutes of questions.
26. Identify the Misconception – Give students a common misconception about their topic and ask them to explain what the misconception is and how to improve upon it.
27. Intentional Mistake – Intentionally embed an error into the students’ work or instructions and see whether they can identify it part-way through the lesson.
28. KWL Chart – A KWL chart asks students to write down what they know, what they want to know, and what they learned in the lesson. Have students complete this chart at the end of a lesson as a quick formative assessment that can help you structure your follow-up lessons based on student feedback.
29. Lunch Pass – Ask every student a question. If they can get their question right, they can go to lunch.
30. Metacognition – Have the students reflect on what they did, what they learned, why they learned it, how they can apply it, and what they still are unsure about it.
31. More Knowledgeable Other – Have students sit beside a student who is one step ahead of them and learn from the more knowledgeable student. The more knowledgeable student gives them feedback and assesses their progress, giving formative corrections to help them progress. Often, students who are at a similar level to one another are better at explaining concepts than teachers.
32. Open-Ended Questioning – Ask students questions that cannot be answered with a Yes/No answer so you can gather their depth of knowledge in the answer.
33. Paraphrasing – Give students a piece of information then ask them to repeat the information back to you in their own words to see if they understand it.
34. Peer Assessment – Have students grade each other’s work. This allows students to see other students’ work to gather whether they’re on track and how to improve.
35. Photo Assessment – Have students take photos of things they think best represent their current level of knowledge. Students might take photos of their current projects. Then, have them write descriptions underneath that explain what they currently know about the topic.
36. Pop Quiz – Give the students a quiz at the beginning, middle, or end of a lesson that involves just 5 to 10 questions that can allow you to see how much they know.
37. Postcard – The students write a postcard or letter from one historical figure to another describing something. For example, psychology students might write a letter from Bronfenbrenner to his wife explaining his Ecological Systems Theory .
38. Prediction and Hypothesis – Halfway through the lesson, have students make a prediction or hypothesis about what will happen by the end of the lesson. This will help the teacher know if the students are starting to understand what is being taught.
39. Prior Knowledge Onboarding Task – Have students write down what they already know about a topic before the first lesson. This will help you know what level you need to start your teaching at and help prevent redundancy in re-teaching things students already know.
40. RSQC2 – RSQC2 stands for Recall, Summarize, Question, Connect, Comment. Students start with recall which involves listing words or phrases that they recall from class. They then summarize the words by putting them all into a sentence that explains the topic. For Question, they list any questions they have that are unanswered. For connect, students write about connections between the lesson and the overall goals of the unit of work. For Comment, students provide a feedback comment to the teacher evaluating their teaching.
41. Run an Opinion Poll – Poll the students on their opinion of the topic and examine the responses. The teacher can gauge students’ knowledge based on their answers in the poll.
42. Running Records – Have students take notes throughout the class on questions they have and things they don’t understand. As you come around to check on the student, ask them to show their running records notecard.
43. Spaced Repetition Testing – Students are given pop quizzes at strategically placed intervals to help students remember information they may be forgetting. For example, you might give students a quiz after 1 day, then 3, then 8, then 15. The answers from the quiz can help you assess student retention of knowledge learned in class.
44. Sticky Notes – Have students leave a sticky note on their desk with a comment about what they would like to know more about.
45. Student Becomes Teacher – Have the student teach the concept they are learning to a small group of peers.
46. Students Create a Test – Have each student create a 20-question test that they would use to test someone on the topic. Students write the answers to the test on a separate paper. Then, have the students swap mock-up tests with each other and fill out the answers.
47. Submit a Research Proposal – Have students submit a mock (or real!) research proposal stating what they would want to research further into the topic they have been discussing. Get them to discuss what they would research, why they are curious about that aspect, and how they would go about it. This can reveal a great deal of new information about the student’s current level of knowledge.
48. Submit an Essay Plan – For students writing an essay, get them to submit their essay plan for approval. Using this method, you can catch if a student is off track and correct the course so they submit a high-quality essay.
49. TAG Feedback – Have students assess one another by getting them to tell a peer what they did well, ask them a question about their knowledge, then give feedback to their peer.
50. Text Rendering – Students take one quote that they think is the most important or illuminating from an article and explain why they think it’s the best quote.
51. Think-Pair-Share – Students spend one minute individually writing down key points from what they learned. They then pair up with a partner and compare notes. Finally, the pair share what they learned with the class. The class can ask questions and the teacher can assess the pair’s knowledge from their presentation and responses.
52. Timeline (Historical) – Students create a historical timeline demonstrating their knowledge of the sequence of events from a historical process or series of events.
53. Timeline (Lesson Reflection) – A lesson reflection timeline gets students to reflect on their lesson by writing down
54. Ungraded Essay – Have students submit an essay or essay draft that is not graded. Students submit the essay only for feedback, which will inform their final submission.
55. Venn Diagram – Students use a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast two elements of what they are learning. The outer sides of the Venn diagram show unique features of each element. The overlap shows the similarities.
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Instant Formative Assessment for Teachers
56. Fingers Up – Have students show their level of knowledge by showing a certain number of fingers. One finger means uncertainty and discomfort while five fingers means strong confidence with the content.
57. Hand Thermometer – Students put their hand up only a distance they think they are comfortable with the knowledge. A low hand up shows mild comfort, a medium shows moderate understanding, and a stretched hand shows high confidence in the content.
58. Quick Nod – Ask students to nod if they understand. This can be great as a very fast way to check for comprehension in the middle of a task.
59. Red / Green Cards – Provide students with red and green cards. They can hold up the green card if they are ready to move on to the next part of the lesson or the red card if they’re still confused.
60. Thumbs Up, Middle, Thumbs Down – Have students quickly respond with their thumbs to show levels of understanding or enthusiasm.
61. Traffic Lights – An extension of red/green cards, the traffic lights system also have an amber color for students who are feeling tentative about their progress. For this one, you can pair students who held up green lights with those who held up amber lights to teach each other while the teacher works with students who held up red lights.
62. Two Roses and a Thorn – Have students present two things they are happy or knowledgeable about, and one thing they are still finding “prickly”.
63. Watch Body Language – Students who misunderstand may be crossing their legs, looking away, or frowning.
Self-Evaluative Formative Assessment
64. Self-Evaluation on Marking Rubric – Provide students the criteria you will be using to grade their work (also known as a marking rubric) and get them to self-assess what grade they think they will get.
65. Self-Sort – Have students choose which level they are at in a task: beginner, intermediate, or advanced, and have them select the next piece of work based on their self-evaluated level.
66. SMART Goals Self-Evaluation – Have the students complete a personal SMART Goal template demonstrating what their goals are and whether they think they are on track for achieving it.
67. SWOT Analysis – Have students complete a SWOT analysis that demonstrates what their strengths are in relation to what they are learning, what their weaknesses are, opportunities for improvement for the rest of the unit of work, and threats that they could avoid. This will make sure they stay on track.
Technology Enhanced Formative Assessment
68. Blog About It – Have students write weekly 200-word blog posts about what they learned and comment on each student’s blog comment assessing what they did well and what they need to focus on in the next week.
69. Clickers – Use clickers (instant Yes/No responses – technology required) to provide instant feedback to the teacher on their level of understanding.
70. Forum Comments – Have students submit one forum comment per week to their online discussion board for the teacher to provide a formative assessment and comment on what they did well and how to improve.
71. Padlet – Have students use the Padlet app to contribute their ideas to a virtual notice board to show their thoughts and knowledge to the group.
72. Text the Answer – Have students text an answer to you in 50 words or less once they have completed the task.
73. Twitter Comment – Have students tweet what they learned in class today and tweet a reply to a friend’s comment.
74. Write 1 if you Understand, 2 if you Don’t – This is a task for online lessons. Have students simply write a 1 or 2 in the chatbox. This can also get quiet groups to start contributing in a small no-risk step.
75. YouTube Communities Poll – Have students complete a YouTube poll using the YouTube communities tab.
Related Articles:
- Constructive Feedback Examples
- Achievement test examples
Formative assessment are usually informal evaluations that give students an opportunity to pivot and improve based on the teacher’s feedback. A the same time, it’s valuable for the teacher who needs to assess students’ current knowledge and pain points in order to adjust their teaching practices and maximize students’ chances of passing the summative assessment that will occur at the end of the unit of work.
Chris Drew (PhD)
Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education.
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Teach. Learn. Grow.
Teach. learn. grow. the education blog.
75 digital tools and apps teachers can use to support formative assessment in the classroom
- Supports formative instructional strategies and ways to activate learners to be resources for themselves and peers
- Is free or awful close to it (under $10 per year, where possible)
- Allows both students and teachers to take the activator role when possible (sometimes teachers need to get things started)
Before you dig into the tools, I encourage you to spend some time thinking about exactly what you want to accomplish with your students. “How to pick the right digital tool: Start with your learning goal” by Erin Beard can help you wrap your head around goals and guide you in choosing the best tool for the task. “27 easy formative assessment strategies for gathering evidence of student learning” can help you decide what strategies work best for you and your students.
Record audio and video
- Animoto Gives students the ability to make a 30-second video of what they learned in a lesson.
- AudioNote A combination of a voice recorder and notepad, it captures both audio and notes for student collaboration.
- Edpuzzle Helps you use video (your own, or one from Khan Academy, YouTube, and more) to track student understanding.
- Flipgrid Lets students use 15-second to 5-minute videos to respond to prompts. Teachers and peers can provide feedback.
- QuickVoice Recorder Allows you to record classes, discussions, or audio for projects. Sync your recordings to your computer easily for use in presentations.
- Vocaroo Creates audio recordings without the need for software. Embed the recording into slideshows, presentations, or websites.
- WeVideo Lets you use video creatively to engage students in learning. Teachers and students alike can make videos.
Create quizzes, polls, and surveys
- Crowdsignal Lets you create online polls, quizzes, and questions. Students can use smartphones, tablets, and computers to provide their answers, and information can be culled for reports.
- Edulastic Allows you to make standards-aligned assessments and get instant feedback.
- FreeOnlineSurveys Helps you create surveys, quizzes, forms, and polls.
- Gimkit Lets you write real-time quizzes. And it was designed by a high school student!
- Kahoot! A game-based classroom response system that lets you create quizzes using internet content.
- MicroPoll Helps you create polls, embed them into websites, and analyze responses.
- Naiku Lets you write quizzes students can answer using their mobile devices.
- Obsurvey Designed to make surveys, polls, and questionnaires.
- Poll Everywhere Lets you create a feedback poll or ask questions and see results in real time. Allows students to respond in various ways. With open-ended questions, you can capture data and spin up tag clouds to aggregate responses.
- Poll Maker Offers unique features, like allowing multiple answers to one question.
- ProProfs Helps you make quizzes, polls, and surveys.
- Quia Lets you create games, quizzes, surveys, and more. Access a database of existing quizzes from other educators.
- Quizalize Helps you create quizzes and homework.
- Quizizz Guides you through designing quizzes and lets you include students in the quiz-writing process.
- Quizlet Lets you make flashcards, tests, quizzes, and study games that are mobile friendly.
- Survey Hero Designed to build questionnaires and surveys.
- SurveyMonkey Helpful for online polls and surveys.
- SurveyPlanet Also helpful for online polls and surveys.
- Triventy Lets you create quizzes students take in real time using individual devices.
- Yacapaca Helps you write and assign quizzes.
- Zoho Survey Allows you to make mobile-friendly surveys and see results in real time.
Brainstorm, mind map, and collaborate
- AnswerGarden A tool for online brainstorming and collaboration.
- Coggle A mind-mapping tool designed to help you understand student thinking.
- Conceptboard Software that facilitates team collaboration in a visual format, similar to mind mapping but using visual and text inputs.
- Dotstorming A whiteboard app that allows digital sticky notes to be posted and voted on. This tool is best for generating class discussion and brainstorming on different topics and questions.
- Educreations Whiteboard A whiteboard app that lets students share what they know.
- iBrainstorm Lets students collaborate on projects using a stylus or their finger.
- Miro Allows whole-class collaboration in real time.
- Padlet Provides a blank canvas for students to create and design collaborative projects.
- ShowMe Interactive Whiteboard Another whiteboard tool to check understanding.
- XMind Mind-mapping software for use on desktop computers and laptops.
Present, engage, and inspire
- BrainPOP Lets you use prerecorded videos on countless topics to shape your lesson plan, then use quizzes to see what stuck.
- Buncee Helps students and teachers visualize, communicate, and engage with classroom concepts.
- Five Card Flickr Uses the tag feature from photos in Flickr to foster visual thinking.
- PlayPosit Allows you to add formative assessment features to a video from a library or popular sites, such as YouTube and Vimeo, to survey what students know about a topic.
- RabbleBrowser Allows a leader to facilitate a collaborative browsing experience.
- Random Name/Word Picker Facilitates random name picking. You can also add a list of keywords and use the tool to prompt students to guess words by providing definitions.
- Socrative Uses exercises and games to engage students with a topic.
- Spark Lets you add graphics and visuals to exit tickets.
- Typeform Helps you add graphical elements to polls.
Generate word or tag clouds
- EdWordle Generates word clouds from any entered text to help aggregate responses and facilitate discussion. Word clouds are pictures composed of a cloud of smaller words that form a clue to the topic.
- Tagxedo Allows you to examine student consensus and facilitate dialogues.
- Wordables Helps you elicit evidence of learning or determine background knowledge about a topic.
- WordArt Includes a feature that allows the user to make each word an active link to connect to websites, including YouTube.
Get real-time feedback
- Formative Lets you assign activities, receive results in real time, and provide immediate feedback.
- GoSoapBox Works with the bring-your-own-device model and includes an especially intriguing feature: a confusion meter.
- IXL Breaks down options by grade level and content area.
- Kaizena Gives students real-time feedback on work they upload. You can use a highlighter or give verbal feedback. You can also attach resources.
- Mentimeter Allows you to use mobile phones or tablets to vote on any question a teacher asks, increasing student engagement.
- Pear Deck Lets you plan and build interactive presentations that students can participate in via their smart device. It also offers unique question types.
- Plickers Allows you to collect real-time formative assessment data without the need for student devices.
- Quick Key Helps you with accurate marking, instant grading, and immediate feedback.
Foster family communication
- Remind Lets you text students and stay in touch with families.
- Seesaw Helps you improve family communication and makes formative assessment easy, while students can use the platform to document their learning.
- Voxer Lets you send recordings so families can hear how their students are doing, students can chat about their work, and you can provide feedback.
Strengthen teacher-to-student or student-to-student communication
- Biblionasium Lets you view books students have read, create reading challenges, and track progress. Students can also review and recommend books to their peers.
- Classkick Helps you post assignments for students, and both you and your students’ peers can provide feedback. Students can also monitor their progress and work.
- ForAllRubrics Lets you import, create, and score rubrics on your tablet or smartphone. Collect data offline, compute scores automatically, and print or save the rubrics as a PDF or spreadsheet.
- Lino A virtual cork board of sticky notes, it lets students ask questions or make comments on their learning.
- Online Stopwatch Provides dozens of themed digital classroom timers to use during small- and whole-group discussions.
- Peergrade Helps you create assignments and upload rubrics. You can also anonymously assign peer review work. Students can upload and review work using the corresponding rubric.
- Spiral Gives you access to formative assessment feedback.
- Verso Lets you set up learning using a URL. Space is provided for directions. Students can add their assignment, post comments, and respond to comments. You can group responses and check engagement levels.
- VoiceThread Allows you to create and share conversations on documents, diagrams, videos, pictures, and more.
Keep the conversation going with live chats
- Backchannel Chat A teacher-moderated version of Twitter.
- Chatzy Supports live, online chats in a private setting.
Create and store documents or assignments
- Google Forms A Google Drive app that allows you to create documents students can collaborate on in real time using smartphones, tablets, and laptops.
- Piazza Lets you upload lectures, assignments, and homework; pose and respond to student questions; and poll students about class content. This tool is better suited for older students as it mimics post-secondary class instructional formats.
There are several resources for learning more about formative assessment and responsive instruction strategies. Consider our formative practices workshops , where school and district teams can gain a better understanding of the role formative practice plays in instruction and the four foundational practices to use in the classroom. Or for a quick start, download our eBook “Making it work: How formative assessment can supercharge your practice.”
Jump in, try new tools and methods, and have fun!
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A formative assessment is a teaching move -- a question, an activity, or an assignment -- that a teacher performs to gain information about student learning. It is formative in that it is intentionally done for the purpose of planning or adjusting future instruction and activities.
All 27 of these formative assessment strategies are simple to administer and free or inexpensive to use. They’ll provide you with the evidence of student learning you need to make lesson plan adjustments and keep learning on target and moving forward.