Formative Assessment: Examples of Forms Filled in by Finnish Teachers, Children and Their Parents
21.11.2022
How to conduct formative assessment? Finnish experts Anja Huurinainen-Kosunen and Riia Palmqvist shared not general but quite concrete recommendations during a series of webinars organized by the Learning Together project and the Reform Support Team.
In particular, they proposed a set of forms that teachers, children and parents fill in during the school year in order to plan and conduct formative assessment.
Formative assessment tools
Formative assessment should begin with teacher self-assessment (Form 1). This is, in fact, SWOT analysis of the teaching practice, teacher’s skills and capabilities, which makes them understand what knowledge or skills are missing (possible trajectory of teacher development) and what strengths they can rely on when developing formative assessment criteria for their students.
form_1_enStarting from the 5th grade, as recommended by the experts, students are already independent enough to plan their educational activities and set goals. You can therefore ask children to define their individual goals for the school year (Form 3 is filled in at the beginning of a school year). Children can assess their previous achievements, skills, abilities and behavior and set new challenges for themselves. Goals can be established both for the educational process and educational activity in general as well as for subjects. In the second case, the efficiency of planning and, according to practical observations, effectiveness will be higher.
During the school year, students can be asked to fill in self-assessment tables. They are supposed to analyze their work and behavior as well as answer questions and sometimes put marks for themselves. Experts recommend that the teacher and student discuss the results of such self-assessment on an individual basis, so that the child receives full feedback on the development of his or her self-assessment skills. However, in addition to a particular behavior in the classroom, it is also useful for the child to practice reflection. Based on the study and analysis of such student questionnaires, the teacher can draw a conclusion about the atmosphere in the team, the needs of each student as well as plan their work so that each child can receive help and support for their educational trajectory. It is recommended that these questionnaires are also reviewed and commented on by student’s parents, who should answer the question of how realistic their child’s assessment of the situation and behavior is.
form_3_enFilling in such questionnaires is the basis for further dialogue between the teacher, the child and parents, when all parties can express their expectations from the further.
educational process. The teacher should also conduct a conversation with each student individually to find out real reasons for negative processes that the teacher may have noticed in the questionnaires (for example, lack of comfort for the child, unwillingness to work individually or in groups, presence of temporary special needs, etc.).
You can also ask the class to assess their group work (Form 7). As a rule, such an assessment is carried out upon completion of project activities. The child not only answers the question by saying «Yes» or «No», but can also leave a detailed comment for the teacher. However, it is important that the child feels comfortable and trusts the teacher.
For children of primary school age (grades 1-4) special questionnaires are developed that let children carry out reflection and self-assessment according to their age: the questions here are simple and relate mainly to the organization of instruction, but the teacher can change them at his or her discretion and in accordance with the tasks.
form_7_enIt is recommended that younger students fill out such questionnaires weekly, and also give them to their parents for signature, so that they can track their child’s success in terms of behavior. This also helps the student focus on what he or she can improve in his/her behavior.
Older children (approximately from the 5th grade) can conduct not only self-assessment, but also assessment of their classmates or partners in academic subjects in a group/pair. The teacher, accordingly, will be able to draw a conclusion about the efficiency of group work and the level of interaction of students in the classroom.
Learning results and their discussion
Based on the results of the teacher’s assessment and self-assessment, it is recommended to discuss achievements in an individual format with students and their parents. In primary school, this kind of discussion can be initiated by a classroom teacher, in high school – by a class leader who collects information from subject teachers and analyzes it with the objective of presenting it to parents. The main task of such a discussion is to fix the current situation, set goals for the future and identify what kind of assistance the child needs and who can provide it.
At the end of the first semester, it is recommended to conduct an interim assessment. To do this, you should invite a child to reflect, recollect the goals, which were set at the beginning of the year, and think on what has already been achieved and what needs to be finalized. The students assess their work in each of the subjects as well as competencies that they have managed or failed to acquire. In
addition to filling in the tables, students are also proposed to give detailed answers to questions about their academic achievements and behavior. It is recommended to inform parents about the results of such assessment.
Parents should be active participants in their child’s educational process. Therefore, the teacher (classroom teacher) is asked to involve them in the assessment of their child’s behavior. After all, students spend a significant part of their time at home, and the teacher needs to understand how they behave outside the educational institution and how their extracurricular activities are organized.
It is also recommended to involve the child and his/her parents in a joint discussion of events at school. In order for adults to share their own conclusions and observations on the child’s reaction to the educational process, the teacher can offer to fill in a special questionnaire, where the first part is child’s opinion recorded by adults, and the second part is parents’ comments and suggestions on how to organize a learning process.
Formative assessment planning
Formative assessment is carried out throughout the year, and the analysis of the results lets the teacher draw a conclusion about the efficiency of learning as well as determine the individual trajectory of each student and help that they need. However, this activity also requires careful planning.
Finnish experts propose to use template tables. This will help structure the work on the formative assessment and introduce parents and students to this process in order to work on it together and as efficiently as possible.
This material has been prepared for the Learning Together project and published on the NUS portal following a series of webinars carried out by the Learning Together project + the EU project and the Reform Support Team at the end of 2021.
This document was produced with the financial assistance of the European Union and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union or the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.