INFORMATIVE/CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT (IFA)

“Formative assessment is a planned process in which teachers and students use assessment-based evidence to adjust what they’re currently doing.” (W. James Popham) Self-assessments, quizzes, polls, body signals, student conferences, journaling, quick summaries, exit slips and examination and discussion of student work relative to rubrics are all examples of the many methods teachers and students can use to check for understanding; serve as evidence of where students stand and shed light on what needs to happen to keep students moving forward.

The process of formative assessmentor informative assessment (IFA), as we refer to it in the WV ESEA Flex Waiveris most frequently described in terms of three essential components:

  1. IFAsare used as sources of information for both students and teachers. The data is considered feedback about the learning and about the teaching.
  2. IFA data is acted upon by teachers, students or both. The right informative assessment or configuration of assessments can define the size and specific features of the gap between where a learner is and the learning target. These characteristics must be used to adjust or sustain the learning experiences.
  3. The third essential component means accepting that assessment is informative when…
  4. Additional chances to demonstrate success are part of the equation
  5. IFA is embedded in the learning process, and when
  6. Instruction is adjusted to provide relevant, meaningful practice experiences

Typically, IFA processes are categorized by actions conducted before, during and after instruction. Examination and analysis of each category of teacher and student behaviors provides models to support expansion of IFA practice. A third process structure that aligns with the purposes of IFA is DuFour and Eaker’s (1998) Critical Questions: (1) What do we expect students to learn? (2) How will we know if they are learning? (3) What will we do when students are proficient? …and (4) How do we respond when students don’t learn?

Balanced Assessment: The Key to Accountability and Improved Student Learning, NEA (2003) has this to say about IFA: “To maximize student success, assessment must be seen as an instructional tool for use while learning is occurring and as an accountability toolto determine if learning has occurred. Because both purposes are important, they must be in balance.”IFA goes beyond auditing or even evaluating student progress to helping students learn what they need to learn to sustain growth when it is used as a source of feedback and leads to action.Informative assessment functions as yardsticks teachers can use to measure the distance between where their students stand relative to each learning target, as well as a compass that points towards instructional adjustments that are needed to personalize learning. In these ways, IFA steers UDL and DI decisions. A classroom environment rich in IFA is a classroom where UDL and DI can thrive.

Today’s learners, more than ever, need to build understanding of how they learn and what it takes for them to learn. Involvement in designing and adjusting the variables in response to informative assessment becomes essential practice; becomes part of the education students need to function as life-long learners.

For more information contact:

Office of Special Programs304.558.2696