Ongoing Assessments

Formative assessment is a part of ongoing assessments. Since formative assessments are usually completed during lessons, they are quick and easy ways to assess learning while teaching. On the other hand, summative assessments are also a part of ongoing assessments. These assessments what sum up the growth of student learning throughout a unit are part of the constant flow of assessments being used in the classroom.

What are Ongoing Assessments?

Ongoing Assessments are the process of providing students with clear responses to their performances of understanding in a way that will help them improve next performance. (Blythe, 1)

These types of assessments give teachers the insights they need in order to decide what students know, what students may need reengagement with, and what students are not getting at all. By conducting ongoing assessments, teachers are regularly getting the information they need to plan their upcoming lessons.

There are Two Key Features of Ongoing Assessment

Establishing Criteria and Providing feedback are the two principle components of the ongoing assessment process.

The criteria must be clearly presented in the beginning of each performance of understanding, or objective. This will allow both the students and the teacher to be on the same page when it comes to the expected growth throughout the learning segment. This should be well communicated to the entire class, allowing for clearly communicated standards.

The feedback given by the teacher to the students should be frequent. The feedback can take place both formally and informally, however it must occur often. When giving feedback, it is essential to begin with the strengths of the students work. Give them the praise first and highlight key things they have done that stand out. This will set the tone for the conference. Following this, you may give explanation as to what you think can use improvement. Always confer with strategies to benefit the student.

Feedback is not limited to student/ teacher conferencing. It is essential for students to frequently assess themselves and their peers as well.

Key Vocabulary

Assessment: The wide variety of methods or tools that educators use to evaluate, measure, and document the academic readiness, learning progress, skill acquisition, or educational needs of students

Criterion: a principle or standard by which something may be judged or decided.

Differentiation: refers to a wide variety of teaching techniques and lesson adaptations that educators use to instruct a diverse group of students, with diverse learning needs, in the same course, classroom, or learning environment.

Effectiveness: the degree to which something is successful in producing a desired result; success.

Feedback: information about reactions to a product, a person's performance of a task, etc. which is used as a basis for improvement.

Formative Assessment: refers to a wide variety of methods that teachers use to conduct in-process evaluations of student comprehension, learning needs, and academic progress during a lesson, unit, or course.

Objective: Brief statements that describe what students will be expected to learn by the end of school year, course, unit, lesson, project, or class period.

Running Records: An assessment tool which provides an insight into a student’s reading as it is happening.

Student Engagement: refers to the degree of attention, curiosity, interest, optimism, and passion that students show when they are learning or being taught, which extends to the level of motivation they have to learn and progress in their education.

Summative Assessment: used to evaluate student learning, skill acquisition, and academic achievement at the conclusion of a defined instructional period—typically at the end of a project, unit, course, semester, program, or school year

What does the Research Say?

Ongoing Assessment is a key factor in student success. It is not enough to just have assessments at the end of a segment. Rather, you must be communicating on an evaluative level with your students each and every day. It is important to remember that ongoing assessments don't have to take up a lot of time, you just have to do them. Without this, teachers will be unaware of where there students are, and what they need in order to meet their goals.

We use ongoing assessments to evaluate what students can do on their own. After this, proper intervention should be taken. Students should be provided with highlights, and the best way for students to learn what to improve on is to first self reflect. The teacher should ask the student what they think they need to improve on and go from there. There are times where these assessments are very brief which would then call for a quick response of what to work on immediately.

Differentiation

Teachers use ongoing assessments to decide which students need extra help, and which students are exceeding expectations. With that being said, keeping up with ongoing assessments allows teachers to ensure students are meeting their goals. Additionally, there are many different types of assessments you can use. As a teacher, you will want to assess students frequently in the way that works best for the students. Some examples of ongoing assessments are stated in the strategies section, however one essential way of providing differentiation would be to give the students a choice between two or three options of assessment. This will allow the student to show the teacher what they know in the format that most accurately represents their learning.

"Teachers of ELLs are often well-positioned to assess students through their performance, examining student work, observing oral language development, and evaluating incremental progress. Ongoing, performance-based assessments may reveal strengths and growth increments not detectable by annual high-stakes testing" (Hurley, 1). Whether it be students learning English, students with special needs or accommodations, or neurotypical students, it is important to provide choice in assessments, as well as keep these assessments up to date.

Strategies

The assessments that take place frequently in the classroom do not need to be done in such a way that they take up your teaching time, instead they can be done formally or informally. Some ways to assess students are through conferences, check in sheets, stoplight cards, exit tickets, peer review, turn and talks, worksheets, quizzes, etc.

Portfolios are amazing tools which can be used to track student progress. Within these portfolios, you can include running records, fluency math, as well as any relevant product created by the student. This can track student development over time, as well as allow teachers to see whether or not students are meeting the desired goals.

Running Records are a great example of ongoing assessments. These should be done frequently throughout the school year to make sure students are not only reading at their grade level, but also challenging themselves to take the next steps and improve their abilities.

Assessments should take place either formally or informally every single day in the classroom. Without constant assessment, it is impossible for students to see where students stand in relation to the content.

Resources to Learn More and Videos in Practice

Workshop

References

“All Terms.” The Glossary of Education Reform, 23 Oct. 2013, www.edglossary.org/all-terms/.

“Brown University.” Ongoing Assessment | Teaching Diverse Learners, www.brown.edu/academics/education-alliance/teaching-diverse-learners/assessment/ongoing-assessment#hurley.

Hurley, S. R., & Tinajero, J. V. (Eds.). (2001). Literacy assessment of second language learners. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

“Ongoing Assessment: Literacy Basics.” Literacy Basics RSS2, 2013, literacybasics.ca/assessment/ongoingassessment/.

“Running Records.” Department of Education and Training Victoria, 29 Aug. 2018, www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/english/literacy/readingviewing/Pages/examplerunning.aspx.

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