{"id":4500,"date":"2020-06-19T06:43:29","date_gmt":"2020-06-19T06:43:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mathletics.com\/blog\/?p=4500"},"modified":"2021-11-12T01:26:08","modified_gmt":"2021-11-12T01:26:08","slug":"5-student-friendly-formative-assessments-for-post-covid-classes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mathletics.com\/blog\/educators\/5-student-friendly-formative-assessments-for-post-covid-classes\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Student-Friendly Formative Assessments for Post-COVID Classes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-1 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:5%;padding-right:0%;padding-bottom:5%;padding-left:0%;margin-bottom: 0px;margin-top: 0px;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#eae9e9;border-style:solid;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-0 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last\" style=\"margin-top:0%;margin-bottom:0%;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy\" style=\"background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;\"><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-1\"><p>With our students readjusting to (relative) classroom normality post-COVID, teachers are now trying to find out just how much students learned during their time away from school.<\/p>\n<p>But with many of our students on shaky ground\u00a0\u2013 emotionally and academically \u2013 slapping a high-stakes assessment in front of them in their first weeks back is anything but productive.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, we need\u00a0student-friendly, low-stakes formative assessments to get a sense of student progress.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve compiled 6 strategies that will give you the insights you need, without causing anxiety or setting students up for failure.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related post: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mathletics.com\/blog\/educators\/how-to-make-post-pandemic-reports-meaningful\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How to Make Post-Pandemic Reports Meaningful<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">@media only screen and (max-width:768px) {.fusion-title.fusion-title-1{margin-top:11px!important;margin-bottom:11px!important;}}<\/style><div class=\"fusion-title title fusion-title-1 fusion-sep-none fusion-title-text fusion-title-size-two\" style=\"margin-top:5px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:5px;margin-left:0px;\"><h2 class=\"title-heading-left fusion-responsive-typography-calculated\" style=\"margin:0;--fontSize:24;line-height:1.95;\"><p data-fontsize=\"25\" data-lineheight=\"30\">Entry tickets and exit slips<\/p><\/h2><\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-2\"><p>Give students an opportunity to demonstrate their learning at the beginning and end of each lesson via this brief reflective activity.<\/p>\n<p>At the beginning of the lesson, have your students fill out an entry ticket. This can be used to check their understanding of the content that has already been covered. Try using the following prompts:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Identify 3 points you remember from yesterday\u2019s lesson<\/li>\n<li>The thing that has interested me most about this topic so far is__<\/li>\n<li>Right now I\u2019m feeling __ about this lesson because I ___<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>At the end of the lesson, students can follow this up with an exit slip. This should assess their understanding of the lesson content and identify any gaps in understanding that remain. You might use such prompts as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What\u00a0 3 points you are taking away from today\u2019s lesson?<\/li>\n<li>What are 3 things you are still uncertain about?<\/li>\n<li>What are you hoping to learn in our next lesson?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Student answers don\u2019t have to take a written form either. Your students might prefer rating themselves on a scale or assigning themselves an emoji such as ? ? or ? depending on their confidence.<\/p>\n<p>After they\u2019ve all been collected, use the slips to assess student progress \u2013 both over the course of the lesson and overall.<\/p>\n<\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">@media only screen and (max-width:768px) {.fusion-title.fusion-title-2{margin-top:11px!important;margin-bottom:11px!important;}}<\/style><div class=\"fusion-title title fusion-title-2 fusion-sep-none fusion-title-text fusion-title-size-two\" style=\"margin-top:22px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:22px;margin-left:0px;\"><h2 class=\"title-heading-left fusion-responsive-typography-calculated\" style=\"margin:0;--fontSize:24;line-height:1.95;\">Peer assessment<\/h2><\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-3\"><p>Students are often more comfortable receiving feedback from their peers as opposed to their teacher, and peers can translate constructive feedback into student-friendly language. Both factors make it a powerful formative assessment strategy when done well.<\/p>\n<p>Use the following guidelines for peer assessment:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Provide exemplars of feedback that is specific, constructive and detailed if students have never prepared it before.<\/li>\n<li>Partner students carefully if you are concerned about the integrity of peer feedback. Alternatively, you could choose to make it anonymous.<\/li>\n<li>Make sure peer feedback takes a written form so that you can access it. Student feedback is often more considered when committed to writing as well.<\/li>\n<li>Use the feedback itself as a formative assessment of the student\u00a0<em>providing<\/em>\u00a0that feedback. If they struggle to articulate their thoughts or identify significant aspects of a peer\u2019s work, then they are likely to have their own gaps in understanding.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">@media only screen and (max-width:768px) {.fusion-title.fusion-title-3{margin-top:11px!important;margin-bottom:11px!important;}}<\/style><div class=\"fusion-title title fusion-title-3 fusion-sep-none fusion-title-text fusion-title-size-two\" style=\"margin-top:22px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:22px;margin-left:0px;\"><h2 class=\"title-heading-left fusion-responsive-typography-calculated\" style=\"margin:0;--fontSize:24;line-height:1.95;\">Self-assessment<\/h2><\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-4\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mathletics.com\/blog\/educators\/fun-ways-students-self-assess-mathematics-confidence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Self-assessment<\/a> reveals a student\u2019s level of understanding and locates the areas that need intervention. Give students a copy of the rubric you ordinarily use for assessment, but this time ask them to fill it out.<\/p>\n<p>Make sure you model the process first if your students have never done this before. Talk through the assessment criteria and highlight the self-questioning and reflective language that can be used for each.<\/p>\n<p>Self-assessment can also take the form of a simple questionnaire or survey for younger students. Just make sure you tie the questions you ask back to the assessment criteria in student-friendly language.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong>\u00a0if you discover your rubrics are too complex for students to use for self-assessment, this is a\u00a0 sign they need to change. The most effective rubrics should be transparent enough for teacher\u00a0<em>and<\/em>\u00a0student use.<\/p>\n<p>Besides being private and pressure-free, self-assessment is also a prime means of developing students\u2019 metacognitive abilities. With repeated practice, they\u2019ll be able to instinctively reflect on their learning as a matter of course.<\/p>\n<\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">@media only screen and (max-width:768px) {.fusion-title.fusion-title-4{margin-top:11px!important;margin-bottom:11px!important;}}<\/style><div class=\"fusion-title title fusion-title-4 fusion-sep-none fusion-title-text fusion-title-size-two\" style=\"margin-top:22px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:22px;margin-left:0px;\"><h2 class=\"title-heading-left fusion-responsive-typography-calculated\" style=\"margin:0;--fontSize:24;line-height:1.95;\">Low-stakes quizzes<\/h2><\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-5\"><p>Quizzes are a quick and easy way to assess student progress, and online platforms such as Kahoot and Quizlet can make it an engaging whole class activity.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re going to create your own quiz it\u2019s worth including a scoring system. The inclusion of points incentivizes student effort even if it doesn\u2019t have any impact on an overall grade.<\/p>\n<p>Quizzes can serve as learning opportunities as well as assessments. Try the following strategies:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Stick to one concept but sequence the questions so they become steadily more challenging. Students will see how simple processes and understandings can be applied to more complex questions.<\/li>\n<li>Provide meaningful answers. Explain why an answer is correct and how it can be reached.<\/li>\n<li>Team it with a reflective activity such as an exit slip (above). After a quiz, students will have a clearer idea of their own strengths and weaknesses.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">@media only screen and (max-width:768px) {.fusion-title.fusion-title-5{margin-top:11px!important;margin-bottom:11px!important;}}<\/style><div class=\"fusion-title title fusion-title-5 fusion-sep-none fusion-title-text fusion-title-size-two\" style=\"margin-top:22px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:22px;margin-left:0px;\"><h2 class=\"title-heading-left fusion-responsive-typography-calculated\" style=\"margin:0;--fontSize:24;line-height:1.95;\">Gamified learning programs that measure student progress<\/h2><\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-6\"><p>The friendliest formative assessments will put the accent on fun and engagement. Gamified learning programs do this by providing feedback on students\u2019 progress as they move through interactive virtual worlds.<\/p>\n<p>As an example, our own <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mathletics.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mathletics<\/a> and Readiwriter Spelling programs are built around gamified learning challenges designed to promote engagement in mathematics and literacy.<\/p>\n<p>For students, they\u2019re fun (and slightly addictive) games to play, but on the teacher\u2019s end, they deliver real-time data on student progress. You\u2019ll be relieved to know there\u2019s no marking required either \u2013 it\u2019s automatic.<\/p>\n<p>The best part?<\/p>\n<p>While you get assessment data, students get all the bright-eyed, high-fiving moments that come with gamified learning. They\u2019ll get big joy out of the little moments, like seeing their name on the Mathletics leaderboard or receiving a certificate when they achieve 1000+ in-game points.<\/p>\n<p>It ensures formative assessment does more than just measure learning \u2013 it celebrates it too. And at a time when we all need a bit of a confidence boost, that\u2019s never been more important.<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-2 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:5%;padding-right:0%;padding-bottom:5%;padding-left:0%;margin-bottom: 0px;margin-top: 0px;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#eae9e9;border-style:solid;\" ><\/div>\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":4501,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ 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