Formative

Assessment in the
Science Classroom
Carl Wozniak
Northern Michigan University

How do we know what students

know?
Assessment
Summative (identifies student knowledge
acquisition)
Formative (Identifies success of teaching practice)

Examples of summative
assessments
MEAP tests
End-of-unit tests
Chapter tests
Mid-term exams
Final exams
Summative tests are designed to gauge the degree to
which students can understand and apply knowledge,
or create new knowledge from what they learned.

Formative assessment
Formative assessment is merely a tool of good
instructional practice
It helps a teacher know whether students are
understanding material
It helps students know if they understand the
material without penalty.
It provides information about teaching technique so
the teacher can adjust teaching style, pacing, or
modalityor determine if there is a need to reteach.

Formative assessment techniques

Goal-setting and clear expectations
Prior to teaching, students know the goal of the
instruction and the criteria for reaching it. ( Rubrics,
prior student work, or exemplars, for example.)

Observation
Includes walking around the room to identify individual
concerns, but also gauging the gestalt learning in the
room.
It also lets you pick up on repeat negative behavior, poor
study skills, and peer interactions.

Formative assessment techniques

Questioning strategies
Asking questions during your lesson provides
instant feedback to assess student understanding
and promotes deeper thinking in your students
Examples: hand signals (thumbs up or thumbs
down, analogy prompt (A mitochondrion in an
animal cell is like a what in a plant cell?)
Whats wrong with Does anyone have any
questions?

Formative assessment techniques

Classroom discussion (Link 1, Link 2)
Allows for checks on depth of knowledge
Provides an opportunity for students to voice their
opinions

3-2-1 Reflection (post-instructional activity)

Directed paraphrasing (transform information for a
specific audience)
Card sorts (students group cards by characteristics

Formative assessment techniques

Exit/admit slips (written responses at lessons end)
Visual representations and Graphic organizers
(visual models)
Peer/self assessment
Individual white boards (personal accountability)
Learning/response logs (journals and reflections)
Kinesthetic assessments (movement)

Formative assessment techniques

Laundry day (cleaning up shortcomings)
Four corners (students take a stand on
controversial topics)
Think-pair-share (summarization strategy)
One sentence summary: Link 1, Link 2 (focuses
concentration on big ideas)
Application cards (real-world applications)

Formative assessment techniques

Chain notes: Building on others thoughts
Commit and toss: Anonymous responses
Fact first questioning: Higher order thinking
Fishbowl think-aloud: Listen in on thinking
Human scatterplot: Kinesthetic
Muddiest point: Identify most difficult concepts
POMS: Point of Most Significance. Opposite of
muddiest point

Formative assessment techniques

Odd one out: Choose what doesnt belong
P-E-O probes: Predict, explain, observe
No hands questioning: Reinforces learning for all