This document discusses informal and formative assessments. It provides details on different types of informal assessments including teacher observations, questions, and student reflections. It also discusses the validity, reliability, advantages, and limitations of informal assessments. Finally, it defines formative assessment and notes that formative assessments should be implemented gradually to effectively guide instruction and ensure students are learning.

1. Trend, Challenge, Issue
Presentation
April Dailey
MED/560
March 17, 2013

2. 5 Connections between Globalization
and education
#1 Challenge
View of teaching as a Profession

3. Informal Assessments
The main types of informal assessments include
teacher observations, teacher questions, and student
reflections.
The majority of assessments used in classrooms are
informal.
Assessents occur in an ongoing, continuous manner.

4. Teacher Observations
Teacher Observations: watching and/or listening to
students as they perform an activity, or judging a
product they have produced.
• purpose is to record and describe student behavior
as it naturally occurs
• can provide information with respect to:
the quality of student performances
the processes and procedures students use to
complete assignments
the processes and procedures teachers use in
providing instruction

5. Teacher Questions
Teacher Questions: informal, unplanned,
spontaneous oral inquiries posed by teachers to
students.
• useful as a means of monitoring student
understanding during instruction
• both lower- and higher-order questions can be
posed
• can also be used as a form of student self-
reflection

7. Student Reflections
Student Reflections: brief narratives or self-reports
written by students concerning the subject matter
being studied.
• variations of journals or learning logs
• completed periodically throughout a unit
• may consist of summaries of material,
questions raised during class, characteristics of
a project, etc.
• provide opportunities for teacher and students
to discuss comments and questions

8. Validity and Reliability of Informal
Assessments
 Validity
• can be adversely affected by prejudging or anticipating
student behaviors
• inappropriate indicators of student characteristics are
sometimes selected
 Reliability
• affected by lack of adequate sampling of behaviors
• inferences drawn in one setting may not extend to others

9. Advantages and Limitations of
Informal Assessments
Advantages
• are efficient and adaptable
• can be built into flow of lesson (no interruption)
• can be used to monitor instruction and learning
Limitations
• observations are limited only to those behaviors
that occur naturally
• teachers observe only a fraction of student
behaviors
• many informal observations go undocumented
and, therefore, are likely forgotten

10. Formative Assessments…….
are assessments FOR learning
that measure a few things
frequently.

11. Formative Assessment
A formative assessment, like a physical examination,
can provide both the “doctor” and the “patient” with
timely information regarding the patient’s well-being
and can help with a prescription for an ailing person
or assist a healthy person to become even stronger.

12. Formative Assessments
Common formative assessments
represent the most effective strategies
for determining whether the
guaranteed curriculum is being
taught…….. and more importantly,
learned !!!!

13. What happens when you move to
formative assessment too quickly?

14. SOME FINAL THOUGHTS
Formative Assessment:
Refers to what happens on a daily basis in the classroom
Provides teachers with information about specific next instructional steps for
students:
Assessment Drives Instruction.
Students know where they are at instructionally and where they need to go
On-going assessment provides continual feedback that helps students
progress over time