Formative Assessments & Their Role In Elevating Excellence

For many educators in District 303, formative assessments serve as a diagnostic tool, helping them to analyze the effectiveness of their teaching methods. Receiving real-time feedback on student achievement encourages flexibility, as instructors are able to tailor lessons to each individual class and revisit concepts that kids may be struggling with.

Tina King, Senior Director of Learning and Teaching,  compares formative assessment data to mission control.

“If I don’t get good feedback along the way when we’re flying the shuttle, we’re not going to hit that target,” King said. “[Formative assessment] is that super clarity for teachers on learning targets and that input along the way, so we don’t get to the end of a unit of study and realize that we didn’t get students where they need to be.”

Formative assessments can take many different forms, from entrance slips, to homework checks, to short quizzes. Jennifer Anderson, Math Department Chair at St. Charles North, believes that no matter how they look, formative assessments emphasize ongoing learning, rather than one-time evaluations.

“That’s really important for students to be explaining their work as they go because then those misconceptions can come to light. That’s our teaching moment, for our teachers to jump in and say ‘I’d like to add on to that’ or provide some clarification,” Anderson said. “Or turn it to other students [and ask] ‘anybody want to add to this?’ to help provide and get that conversation going amongst them.”