Formative Assessment

What is formative assessment?  It is checking on understanding, it is helping students see where they are making mistakes and putting them on a more solid path to success with the standards.  It is creating "Do Nows" at the beginning of class to see where everyone is in the process, it is creating "Exit Tickets" to see how people have progressed through the class.  It is re-directing, re-evaluating, re-grouping, before, during and after larger assessments.  It is discussions in class about the material that has been presented, or about readings that you have been doing with your students.  It is homework, and how that relates to the standards, domains, and other possible important ideas.  It is anything that a teacher uses to help students along the way towards success, towards grasping concepts, towards realizing their persevering selves in the long run.

As a music teacher, I am constantly using formative assessments in my classroom.  I have a "Do Now" on the board every day.  I give students time in class to create rhythm pieces, or create songs, or practice pieces that are from books on the piano.  As they are working, I go around and check on their work, and this is formative assessment.  I work on rhythm combinations that we clap or speak out loud, and when they are doing these, I listen for those who are not getting it, or who are not clapping or speaking the rhythms along with us.  I ask for volunteers to do rhythm solos, and this helps my students to try out their combinations by themselves and perform these for the class without the high stakes of knowing it is for a "grade".  However, if we are really using the formula of standards based reporting correctly, there really is nothing BUT formative assessment, because the end result is no longer to have a "final grade", the end result is for the students to have reached and mastered the standard.  So- in "PBL" as it has been named, all assessment should really be understood as "formative" rather than a "final" or "summative" assessment, otherwise we are not helping the students to reach their potential in every subject.  As there is always more music to learn, more rhythms to play, more ideas about music to "master" there will be no end to "formative assessment" in music class at York Middle School!

Here we are reading and learning at Gma's house, formative assessment is the best way!! ⇪