Formative Assessments

Most schools and teachers are focused on summary assessments. While this has the tendency to run through the curriculum, the importance of formative assessments is often overlooked. Formative assessments refer to the process of checking whether the students understand the lessons effectively. Formative assessments guide the instruction of the class. Such assessments are administered during instruction. Teachers have the tendency to ask the students if they understand the lesson and then move on to the next lesson. As such, if teachers will not administer an assessment, the students will lag behind learning and will stall them in future lessons. While other students may move on to the new lessons, there will be students who will get stuck to the previous lessons. There are many factors that contribute to the academic progress of any student. Formative assessments must be ongoing especially if the students do not fully understand the lessons.

Importance of Formative Assessments in the Classroom

With a good teaching materials, teachers will be able to observe the performance of the students. With the eDoctrina tools, the teaching materials are flexible enough when teachers encounter the uncertainties in each lesson. Through quality teaching materials, teachers may be able to uncover various skill gaps.

During formative assessments, teachers are able to discern what part or what information is not clear to the students. Re-teaching or reviews may be appropriate. This is also not about surprising students with quizzes after each lesson or even before the lesson. Surprise quizzes, for instance, may be used to guide and inform instruction. Specific lessons can be accompanied with true or false or multiple choice questionnaires about the lesson. With this, teachers can check any misconception among them if there are any.

Of course, you can never underestimate the power of observation in the classroom. Oftentimes, the students will be silent or will say yes to pass the lessons especially if the material is too complicated to comprehend. The teacher should observe their actions and behaviors to determine if they need additional attention. Sometimes it is more important to observe the student than asking them whether they understand the lesson.

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