FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT (Assessment for learning)

100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Pretest
Assessments
Formative Assessment During
Unit
Posttest
PRE-ASSESSMENT
Students should take the pre-assessment in sufficient time before the unit to enable the teacher to
have adequate planning time to modify the instructional plan if needed.
Pretests do not have to be complex but they should address the unit standards at the expected
level of thinking skills (Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy) required.
Recording the results on a spreadsheet makes it easy to see the class’s strengths and learning
gaps as well as individual student results. Teachers can then plan on strategies to close the
learning gap and enrichment activities for those who are close to mastering the standards.
Pretests should also be given at the beginning of the course to address the courses key concepts
and competencies required to master the course standards.
Formative Assessment during the Learning Process
Formative assessment is tightly linked with instructional practices. Teachers need to consider
how their classroom activities, assignments, and tests support learning objectives and allow
students to communicate what they know and then use this information to improve teaching and
learning.
Formative assessment is integrated within each instructional activity. This integration requires a
diversification of the means of assessment. Assessment methods include direct teacher
observation, exchanges among students at various points in the instructional activity, and wholeclass
discussions that enable students to present different ways of understanding a task (Allal &
Lopez, 2005).
FLS Page 8