Understanding Formative Assessment

If your assessment doesn’t guide how you teach or help students adjust how they learn, then it’s not a formative assessment.” — Popham (2008)

What Is Formative Assessment?

Formative assessment is a purposeful process used by teachers during instruction to gather evidence of student learning. It’s not a single test or activity, but a set of strategies and tools designed to help both teachers and students make informed decisions about the next steps in the learning process.

The information collected helps teachers determine:

• What concepts need reteaching or reinforcement, and

• What changes students need to make to improve their understanding.

What Formative Assessment Is Not

Formative assessment is not a graded assessment. It’s not meant to label or rank students, nor is it a high-stakes activity used to make final decisions about achievement. Instead, it’s an ongoing process that occurs throughout instruction—not just at the end of a unit or lesson.

If your use of formative assessment doesn’t influence how you teach or help students improve how they learn, then it’s not truly formative.

Formative Assessment vs. the 5E Model

A common misconception is that formative assessment is the same as the 5E Instructional Model. However, formative assessment is not the engaging videos, stories, or activities used to introduce a concept. Rather, it’s the methods used to gauge learning at each stage of the 5E process.

These methods may include:

• Thought-provoking questions

• Short quizzes or polls

• Games that reinforce understanding

• Exit tickets, reflections, or class discussions

All of these help teachers determine whether students are grasping key ideas and what adjustments are needed.

Why Formative Assessment Matters

Formative assessment serves a greater purpose: it helps students achieve broader curricular goals. To accomplish this, teachers must first understand the specific subskills and enabling knowledge students need to master before they can meet overall learning outcomes.

When used effectively, formative assessment transforms classrooms into spaces where both teachers and students are constantly learning, adjusting, and growing together.