An Alternative to Testing: Formative Assessment

Abstract: The argument over how to

appropriately measure what students
have learned from school is still up for
debate. There have been various tactics
introduced regarding the process of
assessment in schools. One of the most
successful strategies found was formative
assessment. Though the most commonly
used form of assessment in secondary
education has been summative
assessment, formative assessment has
proven to be quite effective. The reasons
for this are encouragement to learn not
memorize, the use of feedback, and
targeting multiple learning styles.
Keywords: formative assessment,
positive, assessment
As a teacher, some form of measuring
students progress must be instated to
report back to the school. Thus,
assessment was introduced. Assessment
is a way of testing students knowledge
and comprehension in each subject. This
is transformed into a score and eventually
tallied into a grade. Think of assessment
as a benchmark; once one chapter or unit
is covered, a type of assessment is
arranged. Though there are numerous
types of assessment, the most commonly
used in secondary education is
summative assessment.
Summative vs. Formative
To find examples of summative
assessment, think back to any type of
assessment that you had in elementary,
middle, or high school. You probably
thought of a test, possibly multiple choice
or an essay. This is exactly what
summative assessment is: an evaluation
of student knowledge by exams, projects,
and papers. The goal of summative
assessment is to have the students reach
a certain benchmark that has been
established (Boston, 2002). A grade is
given for these tasks and is a defining
factor on how successful the student will
be in the class. These forms of
assessment tend to be high stakes,
sometimes altering a students ability to
perform to their full potential. A common

example would be provoking test anxiety

in certain students. Formative
assessment, on the other hand, is lowstakes and values understanding more
than evaluation. Formative assessment is
more part of the learning process than
the testing process, which means they
are not graded as summative
assessments are. Instead, they provide
practice and reflection for the students,
much like a helpful homework assignment
(Dodge 2011).
Formative assessment has a goal of
monitoring students progress throughout
the learning process. This is achieved
through activities such as summarizing
what they have learned in the class and
what they have questions about, concept
mapping, journaling, and numerous
others (Formative vs. Summative
Assessment). This provides teachers with
a realization of what most students are
easily grasping and which specific issues
multiple students may have. The teacher
can then cover the confusing material
again, and clarify any concerns that
students have until the class has a full
understanding. More importantly,
students gain an idea about what they
understand and what concepts they need
help grasping. The tensions are low with
formative assessment, because there are
no certain grades involved. It is purely for
the fact of understanding the material
and becoming knowledgeable on the
subject.
Concerned more about the knowledge
learned rather than simply a right or
wrong answer, formative assessment aids
students in persevering through difficult
learning. The idea is that a student
cannot just memorize information, but
they must delve deeper and understand
why the answer is what it is, as opposed
to just getting the answer right (Boston,
2002). The true goal of education should
not be a percentage earned from a test.
Rather, it should be the information
learned and how much of that information
was retained and transformed into
knowledge.
The Importance of Feedback

Instead of merely receiving a test

back with red pen marks slashed
throughout, formative assessment will
provide the student with a type of
feedback. This feedback comes in various
forms, such as a discussion, comments on
a paper or essay, circling the right
answers with an explanation, or going
over a test in class. The student then
would be able to see where and how they
messed up. Not only would they be able
to correct their mistakes, but also prevent
themselves from making the same
mistake again. Without time to reflect on
and interact meaningfully with new
information, students are unlikely to
retain much of what is covered in their
classrooms. Without taking the time in
class to reflect on the new information,
students are not likely to retain what they
covered in the lesson (Dodge, 2011).
Feedback will not only benefit the
students, but also the teacher (12
Awesome). Giving students a simple task
at the end of the class, such as writing
down two things they learned and one
thing they were confused on, the teacher
can then gain an insight as to what the
majority of students are struggling with.
The teacher can then be sure to review
the information and help students during
the progress. From there, the teacher can
decide how to alter their lesson plans for
years to follow (12 Awesome Formative
Assessment Examples, 2015).
Students themselves will also
experience internal feedback through the
use of tactics from formative assessment
(Nicol). Using the same example, from
writing down what they retained and what
they are confused about, students
become aware about what they need help
with. After that, the student will be more
focused in following class sessions on the
information that they couldnt fully grasp
previously. Cognitively, motivationally,
and behaviorally, the student will alter
their learning process to successfully
retain the information and fill previous
gaps (Nicol, 2006).
Formative assessment has been
exceptionally helpful for low-achieving
students, along with students with
disabilities (Boston, 2002). This reverts
back to the idea of feedback. By providing
constructive criticism, the student will

learn by becoming aware of what they do

and do not understand from the lesson.
They then can ask questions, look
through material, or seek help regarding
the areas that they are uncertain about.
Formative assessment supports the idea
that every student can achieve high
levels of learning. Typically, students
attribute low scores and poor
performance to lack of ability. A few low
test grades in say, mathematics, would
then convince the student that they are
simply bad at math. They would then be
discouraged and unwilling to study in the
subject because they believe that they
are a failure (Boston, 2002). This is the
cycle of how low-achieving students start.
Learning Styles
Another benefit to formative
assessment is that it appeals to various
learning styles. With formative
assessment, it is more than just a cookie
cutter test with multiple choices, fill in the
blanks, or a five paragraph essay. To this
day, the quest to find a teaching
technique that suits each and every
student is still in action. However,
formative assessment makes it easy to
appeal to each learning style with
different lessons.
There are three major types of
learning styles: auditory, visual, and
kinesthetic. Auditory, learning best by
hearing and listening, can be achieved
through formative assessment by
activities such as small/whole group
discussions, listening to podcasts, and
interactive lectures. Visual learners
benefit the most from seeing the ideas.
Concept mapping and using dry-erase
boards would be types of visual formative
assessment. Kinesthetic learning is when
a student learns best by physically doing
an activity themselves as opposed to
reading or listening. Formative
assessment applies to these learners by
playing games, doing skits, and making
videos.
Assessment for Learning
Formative assessment also breaks the
standard of assessment of learning and
changes the saying to assessment for
learning (Dodge, 2011). This phrase

sums up the advantage of formative

assessment. Instead of testing the
students on what they know, we should
be testing them to get a feel of what they
know and what they need help with. From
there, teachers can target areas of
concern and explain further, therefore
using assessment as a tool for learning.
Using these check-ups that
formative assessment provides, teachers
are able to take the fear out of testing. In
fact, students have been proven to prefer
more frequent testing as opposed to a
few large tests (Rushton, 2005). However,
the timing of it all is very important. The
feedback needs to be given to the
students within a couple of days of the
test/assignment. That way, the material
and their answers and thought processes
are still fresh in their heads and the
feedback will be useful. Elsewise,
students will have forgotten their
reasoning for certain responses and the
feedback will not be helpful (Rushton,
2005). Along with that, the assessment
needs to take place shortly after the
material is learned. If not, the information
may slip from the students heads, even if
they were to know the material at the
time of the lessons.
In all, educational systems need to
acknowledge the many advantages that
formative assessment has to offer.
Whether it be through the focus on

learning rather than memorizing,

feedback, or the targeting of each
learning style, formative assessment is
beneficial. Though formative assessment,
we are straying away from a high-stake,
anxiety-ridden testing culture and moving
towards a culture that values learning
over scores.
References
12 Awesome Formative Assessment Examples.
(2015, April 13). Retrieved September 28,
2015.
Boston, C. (2002). The Concept of
Formative
Assessment. ERIC Digest.
Dodge, J. (2011). 25 Quick Formative
Assessments for a Differentiated
Classroom: Grades 3-8. Scholastic.
Formative vs Summative Assessment
Teaching Excellence & Educational
Innovation. Carnegie Mellon
University. (n.d.). Retrieved
September
28, 2015.
Nicol, D. J., & MacfarlaneDick, D. (2006).
Formative assessment and self
regulated learning: A model and
seven principles of good feedback
practice.
Studies in higher education,
31(2), 199218.
Rushton, A. (2005). Formative
assessment: a key
to deep learning?.
Medical Teacher,
27(6), 509-513.