“Making Time for Formative Assessment”Keynote 2016
©2016 Jan Chappuis, Assessment in Support of Learningwww.janchappuis.com 1
Making Time for Formative Assessment
Jan ChappuisPortland, OR@janchappuis
Pearson Assessment Training Institute 23rd Annual Summer Conference
July 7, 2016
Instruct
Assign
Grade
Plan
Barriers to Making time for
formative Assessment
1 Misunderstanding assessment’s role in teaching
2 Planning insufficient time for penalty-free practice
3 Giving formative assessment, but not doing formative assessment
“Making Time for Formative Assessment”Keynote 2016
©2016 Jan Chappuis, Assessment in Support of Learningwww.janchappuis.com 2
Barrier #1
Misunderstanding assessment’s role in teaching
John Hattie’s Synthesis in Visible Learning
• 815 meta-analyses of factors influencing student achievement
• 52,000 studies—millions of students
• 146,000 effect sizes • 138 factors• “Hinge point” of >0.4 SD
“(T)he act of teaching reaches its epitome of success after the lesson has been structured, after the content has been delivered, and after the classroom has been organized. The art of teaching, and its major successes, relate to ‘what happens next’…”
Hattie, 2009, p. 2
“Making Time for Formative Assessment”Keynote 2016
©2016 Jan Chappuis, Assessment in Support of Learningwww.janchappuis.com 3
Understanding the Importance of Assessment to Learning
Initial instruction
Student action
FeedbackPeer feedback Student self-assessment
Teacher-guided
instruction
Teacher (and student) analysis of learning need
Grade
“If learning is a predictable process, which most of the time proceeds as planned, then instructional correctives should be needed rarely; most of the time, students will learn what they have been taught, but occasionally they will not.
“In this view, feedback and instructional correctives are pathological aspects of instruction, needed only when things go wrong…
“Making Time for Formative Assessment”Keynote 2016
©2016 Jan Chappuis, Assessment in Support of Learningwww.janchappuis.com 4
“However, if learning is an unpredictable process, then feedback and instructional correctives are central to learning; without them, little effective instruction can take place.”
Wiliam, 2013, p. 197
Learning something well requires practice with feedback and
interventions.
Students’ “not knowing” is not a problem.
It is our profession.
Shape a better vision of what it means to teach well.
1. Cause substantive, relevant learning.2. Create competent, confident
learners.
Solution to Barrier #1:Misunderstanding assessment’s role in teaching
“Making Time for Formative Assessment”Keynote 2016
©2016 Jan Chappuis, Assessment in Support of Learningwww.janchappuis.com 5
Barrier #2:
Planning insufficient time for penalty-free practice
“Kids who are smart don’t have to practice.”
“If I’m not already good at this, I probably won’t be getting better.”
Deliberative practice leads to competence.
When mastery requires hard work, it doesn’t mean you are not capable.
It is in practice that we develop persistence and a commitment to
achievement.How we set practice up, what we
ask students to do, and what we do in response all have a powerful impact on
their behaviors and achievement as learners.
Chappuis, 2015
“Making Time for Formative Assessment”Keynote 2016
©2016 Jan Chappuis, Assessment in Support of Learningwww.janchappuis.com 6
Crooks, 1988, p. 468
“Too much emphasis has been placed on the grading function of evaluation and too little on its role in assisting students to learn.”
Too much summative assessment causes:
Reduction in intrinsic motivation Increase in test anxiety Increased ability attributions for success
and failure, which undermines effort Lowered self-efficacy in weaker students Reduction in effective feedback Poorer social relationships among
students
Wiliam, 2013, p. 205, citing Crooks’ research
Learning problems caused by grading everything:
Struggling students give up too soon
Works against students’ directing effort to improved learning
Works against developing a learning orientation to schooling
“Making Time for Formative Assessment”Keynote 2016
©2016 Jan Chappuis, Assessment in Support of Learningwww.janchappuis.com 7
“This is worth points”Or
“This is worth learning”
And then make your actions bear that out.
Plan sufficient time for penalty-free practice.
The primary purpose of maintaining a classroom environment that is warm, trustworthy, and empathetic is to allow learning to thrive on error. An essential element of classroom management, then is to establish and enforce ground rules that create a “safe harbor for welcoming error and thence learning.”
--Hattie, 2012, p. 165
He teaches us that it’s fine not to get it right the first time as long as when we do it again it’s better than last time.”
--Patricia, Grade 8
“Making Time for Formative Assessment”Keynote 2016
©2016 Jan Chappuis, Assessment in Support of Learningwww.janchappuis.com 8
Look for systemic roadblocks Pacing guides built on the “plan,
instruct, assign, assess” model Grading policies requiring summative
grades each week Grading everything students do
Solution to Barrier #2:Planning insufficient time for penalty-free practice
Barrier #3:
Giving formative assessment, but not doing formative assessment
Formative Assessment:Formal and informal processes
teachers and students use to gather evidence
for the purpose of informing next steps in learning
--Chappuis, Stiggins, Chappuis, & Arter, 2012
“Making Time for Formative Assessment”Keynote 2016
©2016 Jan Chappuis, Assessment in Support of Learningwww.janchappuis.com 9
“Doing” Formative Assessment Diagnosing current state of student
learning and understanding, with action taken based to improve learning and correct misunderstandings
Providing descriptive feedback, with guidance on how to improve, during the learning
Developing student self- and peer-assessment skills
Who examines the information?
Who interprets the information?
Who acts on it?
Take action
Further instruction Offer feedback
Have students offer peer feedback, self-assess, and set goals for next steps
Diagnose
“Making Time for Formative Assessment”Keynote 2016
©2016 Jan Chappuis, Assessment in Support of Learningwww.janchappuis.com 10
Seven Strategies of Assessment for Learning
Where am I going?1. Provide a clear and understandable vision of the learning
target.2. Use examples and models of strong and weak work.
Where am I now?3. Offer regular descriptive feedback during the learning.4. Teach students to self-assess and set goals for next steps.
How can I close the gap?5. Use evidence of student learning needs to determine next
steps in teaching.6. Design focused instruction, followed by practice with
feedback.7. Provide students opportunities to track, reflect on, and
share their learning progress.
When we “do” formative assessment, we make sure our
diagnostic assessments don’t just tell us, “Do something.”
We ensure they help answer the question, “Do what?”
And our students can answer that question for themselves.
“Making Time for Formative Assessment”Keynote 2016
©2016 Jan Chappuis, Assessment in Support of Learningwww.janchappuis.com 11
Learn how to involve studentsProvide: A vision of what it looks like when it is
done well Opportunities to practice with feedback
and support Development of self-assessment
capabilities
Solution to Barrier #3:Giving formative assessment but not doingformative assessment
Roadblocks
1 Misunderstanding assessment’s role in teaching
2 Planning insufficient time for penalty-free practice
3 Giving formative assessment, but not doing formative assessment
“Making Time for Formative Assessment”Keynote 2016
©2016 Jan Chappuis, Assessment in Support of Learningwww.janchappuis.com 12
Guardrails
Actively seek evidence of what students do not “get” and plan lessons to address learning needs.
Build sufficient opportunities for practice, with feedback, into your plans.
Create opportunities for students to self-assess, offer peer feedback, and set goals for next steps.
Assessment is an essential part
of teaching well.
Find the time.
Involve your students.
References
Black, P. & D. Wiliam. 1998. Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in Education (5)1, 7-74.
Chappuis, J. 2015. Seven strategies of assessment for learning, 2e. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
Chappuis, J., R. Stiggins, S. Chappuis, & J. Arter. 2012. Classroom assessment for student learning: Doing it right—Using it well, 2e. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
Hattie, J. 2009. Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. New York, NY: Routledge.
Wiliam, D. 2013. Feedback and instructional correctives. In J. H. McMillan (Ed.), The SAGE handbook of research on classroom assessment (pp. 197-214). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.