Database of Formative Assessments

An assessment designed to give the students supervised practical application of a skill/concept previously covered in the class.  The students apply their knowledge of the content to solve problems, use a skill to perform a task, or design a model.  

The students have finished learning about/researching a specific topic, and now are asked to demonstrate their understanding by applying the knowledge, tools, and skills necessary to complete a task or solve a complex problem.

Often times this assessment results in a product of some kind.

Teachers can provide feedback both during and after the assessment.  Generally the feedback given during an assessment like this would be descriptive in nature to provoke critical thought among the students.  Feedback given at the end of the assessment would be a cumulative survey of the product with prompts to provide insight on what was done well and what could have been done to improve.

Students can be given opportunities to critique each other's work along the way, or be included in the cumulative evaluation once the product is finished or the skill has been demonstrated.

The data collected during this type of assessment is generally used as hard evidence of learning, but may provide opportunities for the teacher to address gaps in understanding.

The opportunities for student metacognition depend on how the teacher designs the assessment.  The teacher may provide generic prompts during the assessment to elicit a self-evaluation thought process from the student.  Peer input is generally incorporated when a grade is not being taken, or after the grade has already been recorded to ensure that the teacher is truly measuring the individual understanding of each student.

Technology may be required depending on the nature of the content, but this type of assessment relies heavily on teacher evaluation of a demonstration or final product.