This week, our School Improvement Planning Team discussed possible Common Core State Standard formative assessments that would provide the data needed to inform further instruction.
We discussed NWEA MAPS and the time it takes to test; digging into the data to inform instruction takes more time. We moved to Khan Academy, but that is not aligned to CCSS but does provide immediate feedback to students and teachers for where to go next. And there’s Edmodo Snapshot which, like Khan Academy, allows for teacher choice in assessment and immediate feedback for students and teachers; it is also aligned with the CCSS.
I”m also trying Actively Learn: immediate feedback aligned with CCSS because teachers choose the questions to embed. NewsLEA may also offer such an effective format.
Which brings us to a great post by Tracy Watanabe on Google Forms: assessments created by teachers to document CCSS progress.
Instruction is informed by the assessment of student work based on the objectives selected by the teacher. Students are informed by the constructive feedback [what’s on track; what’s still to learn] from peers and the teacher. Assessment data that is that close to instruction and immediate would provide best the road map for learning success.
What assessment tools does your district — or do you — include for your formative assessments?
Image Source: Formative Assessment License AttributionNoncommercial Some rights reserved by Ken Whytock
WC 227
