Formative Assessments

What are formative assessments?

Formative assessments are low-stakes activities (either ungraded or lightly graded) that allow the instructor to check students’ learning. These assessments also allow students to monitor their own learning and identify areas that may need improvement. Formative assessments can profoundly improve student outcomes when instructors use them correctly.

Here are a few ideas of simple formative assessments to get you started.

  • Minute papers—Give students a minute or two to respond to a question you pose about a concept or idea. Review their papers to check for understanding.
  • Self-reflection—Ask students to write about or fill out a rubric about their own learning. When students have to examine their own learning, they are able to take more responsibility for the process and know how to improve.
  • 3-2-1—At the end of class have students write down three things they learned, two things they found interesting, and one question they have.
  • Polls—Conduct in-class polls to ask questions about ideas and concepts you are exploring. Polls can give you as the instructor a quick and visual representation of how students understand the material.
  • Discussions—Monitor a discussion that takes place either in class, on a digital written platform, or via a video platform such as Flipgrid or VoiceThread.
  • Concept maps—Ask students to map out concepts and relationships from the things they are learning in class.