The chapter talks about using a student’s writing as a formative assessment for reading. This can begin at early elementary levels where a child’s oral language is reflected in their journal writing and develops to skills such as comparing, sequencing, contrasting, etc. I have seen those skills specifically taught in third grade. In high school, writing can also reflect different kinds of genres and comprehension of reading. It suggested that as class sizes become larger, formative assessments w… Continue

I worked through chapters 4 and 5 little by little thanks to some snow days. This morning I sat down to re-read what I had already forgotten :) and make more notes. Then I was ready to finish the book. I think reading those first 5 chapters again and thinking about my comments written in the margins was a good strategy. First of all, this book makes more sense when read through without 4 week breaks (at least for me with my memory challenges). Secondly, thinking about the notes I made in the mar… Continue

This was an informative chapter that clarified some things about formative assessment that I've been wondering about. I was relieved to read that not all formative assessment is formal and preplanned. Most of what I do during speech therapy sessions would be termed "formative assessment" since I am constantly checking for proficiency and consistency and independence. If I don't see evidence of these during my informal checks (i.e. conversational speech), then I revise what I am planning to do. O… Continue