FORMATIVEASSESSMENT

THE RGPS JOURNEY• Training: Questioning Technique• PLCs since 2011• Deepening Phase of HA implementation (2014-2016)• 2 PLC teams: P1 and 2 teachers• Progress report cards for P1 and 2• Time tabled time/ e record sharing• Other initiatives e.g mini whiteboard, lollipop, traffic lights

MY JOURNEYMy personal journey in formative assessment

SIN – UK - NIE

Fed, is best

Tried, is best

Done, is best

SO WHAT’S YOUR JOURNEY?

How has your journey been in formative assessment?

Let’s find out!

CHECKING OUR UNDERSTANDIN

G

SO WHAT’S YOUR JOURNEY?

How has your journey been in formative assessment?

Let’s find out!

CLARIFYING OUR UNDERSTANDINGMyth # 1: Formative assessment

cannot result in a numerical grade

Summative assessment = numerical gradesFormative assessment = qualitative performance

descriptors

• NOT TRUE! Actually, it is not the grade or the lack of grade that makes the assessment summative or formative. Summative assessment = Qualitative performance

descriptorsFormative assessment = numerical grade

CLARIFYING OUR UNDERSTANDINGMyth # 1: Formative assessment cannot result in a

numerical grade• What makes an assessment tool summative is the fact that it is administered at

the END of a learning cycle. • Examples of summative assessment are final exams and proficiency exams. • An oral test with qualitative can-do statements, administered at the END of a

course, is summative. • Conversely, formative assessment is used to “evaluate students in the process

of ‘forming’ their competence and skills with the goal of helping them to continue that growth process” (Brown, 2004, p. 6).

• A graded test aimed at gauging student’s retention of the course content, followed by re-teaching of the areas students had difficulty with and re-testing, is an example of formative assessment, even if it generated a numerical grade.

CLARIFYING OUR UNDERSTANDINGMyth # 2:Multiple choice tests

are always summative, while performance assessments such as portfolios are always formative

How an assessment tool is used  determines whether it is summative or formative, and not

whether it is a test or another type of assessment.

CLARIFYING OUR UNDERSTANDING

Myth # 3:Formative assessments are not realistic, as students will have to take summative assessments their whole lives

How many summative assessments do we actually take in life?

Most of what we learn in life are assessed formatively.

We make a mistake, receive feedback on it, and have a chance to correct our path the next time.

E.g. cooking

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNT TODAY?•What makes an assessment tool summative is

the fact that it is administered at the END of a learning cycle. (When)

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNT TODAY?•How an assessment tool is used  determines

whether it is summative or formative, and not whether it is a test or another type of assessment.

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNT TODAY?7 strategies of Assessment for Learning

MOVING ON…•“FA Times” during contact time• Online Sharing Community (Google Plus Community)• Sharing of Articles, good practices, reflections•Core Team: Janice Yeo, Liang Min, See Peng, Clara