AUSSIE

Blog entry posted January 8th, 2009 by Mike Staunton

Formative Assessment

I would like to propose a name change and call it 'formative teaching', because that's what it really is.  The use of the word 'assessment' next to the word 'formative' can be misleading, given all the baggage that comes with the term 'assessment' these days.  Formative assessment is really about the teacher's teaching and not solely the student's learning.

Teachers use the results of assessment to be formative ... the results 'inform' teaching ... thus it is the teaching that has to change for it to be formative. Formative teaching is a two way loop because if a teacher does not alter his/her teaching in light of assessment data, than nothing
is going to change in the data next time.  The results have to give form to what the teacher does next.

Consider it his way ... if a teacher finds him/herself saying to a student or a class "if I've told you once I've told you a hundred times"  then it is the teacher who is the slow learner and who is not being formative.

I would love to hear your comments or experiences on formative assesment.

  --Mike Staunton, AUSSIE Consultant