FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT IN TEACHING ENGLISH

Formative Assessment in Teaching English

Formative Assessment in Teaching English.

Introduction

Assessment concerns the gathering of information. This can range from a teacher asking 'How are you this morning?' to administering a SAT at the end of a key stage. Although at opposite ends of the assessment spectrum, both provide information about a child, both are done for different reasons and both will be used in different ways. Assessment may be criterion referenced (where success is measured against the task itself) or norm referenced ('locating work in relation not only to the task but also to the work of others' (Clemson & Clemson, 1996, p35)). In order to be useful assessment must first be valid and reliable. Validity means that an assessment must measure what it is supposed to measure. Reliability means that is should be consistent or repeatable.

Formative assessment in teaching English

Successful middle schools engage students in all aspects of their learning. There are many strategies for accomplishing this. One such strategy is student-led conferences. As a classroom teacher or administrator, how do you ensure that the information shared in a student-led conference provides a balanced picture of the student's strengths and weaknesses? The answer to this is to balance both summative and formative classroom assessment practices and information gathering about student learning.

Assessment is a huge topic that encompasses everything from statewide accountability tests to district benchmark or interim tests to everyday classroom tests. In order to grapple with what seems to be an over use of testing, educators should frame their view of testing as assessment and that assessment is information. The more information we have about students, the clearer the picture we have about achievement or where gaps may occur.

Formative Assessment is part of the instructional process. When incorporated into classroom practice, it provides the information needed to adjust teaching and learning while they are happening. In this sense, formative assessment informs both teachers and students about student understanding at a point when timely adjustments can be made. These adjustments help to ensure students achieve, targeted standards-based learning goals within a set time frame. Although formative assessment strategies appear in a variety of formats, there are some distinct ways to distinguish them from summative assessments.

One distinction is to think of formative assessment as "practice." We do not hold students accountable in "grade book fashion" for skills and concepts they have just been introduced to or are learning. ...