Formative and Summative Assessments in Current Unit

EDU 6160 bPortfolio Post 2                            Ian Lewis                                 October 16, 2016

Discuss the formative and summative assessment plans for a unit presently being taught in your class.

Midway through October, the end of the first quarter of my 7^th grade internship experience at Narrows View Intermediate is growing near. In social studies, we have completed the first unit on the Byzantine and Muslim empires and are on to the second, a bit of an impromptu unit on politics, as the election is upon us. In English Language Arts, the students are finishing a final explanatory paragraph this weekend, and have a single selection to read before the first unit regarding the review of fiction plot structure is over.

Throughout both of these units, I have observed and participated in the administration of multiple formative assessments. With the end of each unit, I will have experienced summative assessment as well. Shermis and Di Vesta explain how assessment is integral, not separate from instruction, and that assessment of student progress occurs daily (2011, p. 83). I have experienced this in both subjects. In social studies, an example of formal formative assessment would be restructuring the week lesson outline after progress through a chapter of the four in the unit seemed to be difficult for students to understand. After we thought the students were able to take notes on their own after demonstration of note taking for the first chapter, we instructed them to take notes (in pairs) for another chapter. However, this proved to be confusing, with some students not knowing what types of notes to take. Therefore, we rearranged the schedule in order to incorporate a guided note taking the next day. Informal formative assessment that assisted in this decision included observations of the social and performance context (Shermis and Di Vesta, 2011, p. 87-89) of students working in pairs, but faltering to decide, even with two minds, which notes were important to take. The summative assessment for the unit consisted of a test comprised of multiple choice, data analysis, and short response questions. Regarding the data analysis section, a social studies pre-assessment at the beginning of the year showed that many students needed more practice analyzing data (whether in form of tables, graphs, charts, maps, etc.), and thus this area has been emphasized in order to act as a marker of student growth throughout the year.

In ELA, the paragraph due this coming Monday represents the second of the quarter. Therefore, it will allow for analysis of student progress in relation to their last piece, a form of formal formative assessment. After writing a summary paragraph for the first few ELA reading selections, the students were then instructed how to create an eleven sentence explanatory paragraph for the next selection, and an associated non-fiction text; both were used to cite text evidence as support in the paragraph. Students added this paragraph to their writing folders, which include a reflection chart for each new piece of writing throughout the year; based on written feedback on the rubric, and oral feedback from my mentor teacher and myself, students reflected on what they did well and what they could improve next time. With this second piece, we will be able to analyze student growth and progress, and they will hopefully note their own growth in their reflection charts. Similar to social studies, we also had students complete a reading/writing pre-assessment. The essays they wrote for this were the first piece of work added to the writing folders, and each student received an individual conference regarding their assessment, including the grading rubric, areas of strength, and areas for improvement. This verbal informal formative assessment allowed for student and teacher to be on the same page regarding expectations of writing reflection and progress for the remainder of the year. Once the final reading selection is complete, students will also take a unit test related to plot structures and their relation to the various selections read, which will act as a summative unit assessment.

Overall, it is obvious of the importance of integrated assessment, both summative and formative, and how they each shape and interact with the teaching and learning processes. Not discussed in detail above, but the simplest of strategies, such as a show of hands or thumb survey regarding current understanding, or asking students to restate a learning target, are all minor, but integral aspects of daily assessment in the classroom that have all been put to practice as well. Throughout the next units in both subjects, I will continue to be aware of the various assessments and their importance to shaping future teaching.

Reference List:

Shermis, Mark D. and Di Vesta, Francis J. (2011). Classroom Assessment in Action. Rowman &   Littlefield Publishers, Inc., Plymouth, UK.