Standard 7

This indicator is currently not evaluated through the NEE Classroom Observation, Unit of Instruction, Teacher Professional Development Plan or Student Survey.

In the unit of instruction, the teacher includes a process of formative assessment to inform instruction and summative assessment to evaluate student learning.

A student might say this teacher:

• often tests us to see what we know or can do
• tells us how we did on tests soon after we take them
• re-teaches the parts we need help with after a test
• tests us over the long run - more than once on the same content

The teacher consistently involves students in self-assessment.

In the classroom, this might look like:

• Teacher fully integrates student-led assessment into the instruction
• Teacher consistently uses a variety of student self-assessment strategies
• Students can accurately communicate their learning status based on assessment data

A student might say this teacher:

• teaches us how to judge our own progress in this class
• expects me to keep track of how well I am learning in this class
• asks us to think about how we are doing this the class

This indicator addresses the teacher's ability to monitor the effect of instruction on individual students and the whole class. It is about formative assessment of a particular kind. Formative assessment has multiple meanings, but in NEE we use the term to refer to quick checks for understanding as the lesson is progressing. The purpose is to inform modification of teaching and learning activities in real time. Thus, it is information used to guide instruction as part of the instructional process. Questioning is the most common form of this kind of formative assessment. However, other kinds of formative assessment might include solving problems on a whiteboard or answering spot quizzes with fist-to-five, thumbs up, or clicker techniques.

To score high on this indicator, the teacher conducts formative, on-the-spot assessment for both the whole class and individual students and must also take appropriate corrective action when modifications to instruction need to be made. Strong, corrective action can be in the form of modifying the lesson if a high number of students are not understanding, providing scaffolding as students work through cognitive errors or incorrect answers, or asking further questions to ascertain whether students are mastering the objectives of the lesson.

Questioning is the most common form of this kind of formative assessment. Questioning helps teachers identify student knowledge deficits. However, other kinds of formative assessment might include solving problems on a whiteboard or answering spot quizzes with fist-to-five, thumbs up, or clicker techniques. While formative assessment improves achievement for most students, it may be more effective for low-achieving students. The National Research Council endorsed formative assessment as an important classroom activity.

In the classroom, this might look like:

• Teacher monitors the learning of the whole class and many individuals
• Teacher uses multiple checks for understanding
• Teacher engages in effective formative assessment
• Teacher monitors learning progress
• Teacher uses assessment for learning
• Teacher uses systematic monitoring of learning progress
• Teacher uses strategies such as questioning, whiteboarding, thumbs up, fist-to-five, observing student work, etc.
• On-the-spot assessment is seamless throughout instruction
• Strong, appropriate corrective action is taken to ensure learning of almost all students

A student might say this teacher:

• explains the lesson in different ways if we don’t get it at first
• knows when we understand the lesson
• checks often to make sure we understand the lesson as we go along
• has a way to make sure everyone is learning

In the early childhood classroom, the same look-fors are applicable, but the method of assessment may place greater reliance on informal teacher observation, portfolios, data tracking sheets and anecdotal notes. Teachers often cannot assess all three-year-olds at once (although some activities may provide quick checks for understanding among all learners), so evaluators may focus on percentage of time rather than percentage of students. Assessment should be developmentally appropriate, may involve scaffolding and be tailored to individual learner’s zone of proximal development.

This indicator is currently not evaluated through the NEE Classroom Observation, Unit of Instruction, Teacher Professional Development Plan or Student Survey.

This indicator is currently not evaluated through the NEE Classroom Observation, Unit of Instruction, Teacher Professional Development Plan or Student Survey.