Assessments

Purpose of Formative and Summative Assessments

Formative

These are to collect data of learning to see whether or not adjustment to lesson/unit are needed.
These can be formal or informal.
These help reduce any math anxiety by allowing the teacher to meet the students where they are at and it is not for a grade so students can perform their best without the high stakes pressure.
The pre-assessment is included in this type of assessment.

Summative

These occur at the end of a unit for the teacher to collect data to see what the students understood and who may need more help with the concept.
The questions in this type of assessment cover the standard(s) that were targeted.

Both formative and summative assessments open the door for adjustments to practice in the sense that formative assessments allow the teacher to see if changes to the next lesson need to be made, and summative assessments allow the teacher to see what the students took away from the lesson/unit and who may or may not need more instruction on the concept.

Math Anxiety

Students can be anxious about the subject of math, and sometimes can be nervous when solving problems.
Assessments can help reduce this by allowing the teacher to see where they can provide supports and assistance for the students.
The more frequent students partake in assessments (formative or summative), they will be more comfortable and used to what they entails.

Formal vs Informal Formative Assessments

Formal

These are able to give teachers accurate and written data for each student for each concept.
For the most part these are planned on the teacher's calendar.
Examples include quizzes, projects, presentations.

informal

These happen during a lesson.
It is a way for the teacher to check-in with the students about where they are at with the concept and understanding.
Students often do not see this as a way of assessment.
Examples include observations made by teacher walking around, thumbs up/thumbs down, and exit tickets at the end of the lesson.

Questioning Strategies

Essential INquiry Question

These are created for the lesson plan.
These include two questions: one is "how?" and the other is "why?"
These are directly related to the learning outcomes.
These give purpose for the students on why they are learning this concept.

Scaffolding Question

These are asked to help students expand on their knowledge.
There are usually a bunch of these questions asked to help guide students to discover the answers themselves.
Ultimately, these are used to guide student thinking.

Higher Level Thinking Question

These questions can not be answered using background knowledge like scaffolding questions.
These require the students to think outside the box for the answer.
These are usually open-ended that open the door for the students to explore a concept on a deeper level and require a more developed answer than yes or no.

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