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Hello everyone! My name is Sofia, and I am a pre-service teacher at Dominican University. I was wondering, what is your experience and/or opinion of observing students as a formative assessment? Thank you.

Hi Sofia, I teach Kindergarten EIP (Early Intervention program). However, I was a general ed. kindergarten teacher for many years. My opinion is that we need to use multiple kinds of assessments. These can be paper/ pencil, computer, a ticket out the door, thumbs up, thumbs down, oral response, picture response, etc. I absolutely think observation can be used as a formative assessment. We collect evidence by observing students. We observe what they do, what they don't do, and various behaviors. Many times in my lesson plans, you will find sticky notes of what I have observed my students struggling with in lessons. That way, I know who needs extra support, who may need to be paired with a buddy, or who might just need a few extra turns. Observations provide us the opportunity to monitor, assess, and document evidence of what we have seen and heard. 

Hi Sofia,

I agree with Kristine! I think various assessments should be used in the classroom. Look at the different formal and informal assessments that can be done to help you access your students. Informal assessments are exit tickets, thumb up/thumb down, listening to student dialogue during class conversations, and quick checks while completing independent practice. Formal assessments are common assessments, standardized tests, and other assessments that collect data. I was taught to use quick notes during small group instructions about students who needed extra support and maybe a quick note to remind me of my thinking. I hope this helps.